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Anwar Chairil (1922-1949) |
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Indonesian writer who lived wildly and died young, but who had a deep influence on Indonesian postindependence poetry and prose. Anwar Chairil was the primary architect of the Indonesian literary revolution. He released poetry from the bonds of traditional forms and language, and his idealistic challenge, "I want to live for another thousand years" ("Aku mau hidup seribu tahun lagi"), made him an artistic icon already during his life-time. With his energetic devotion to his calling, he is regarded as the principal figure of the Angkatan '45 (Generation of 1945) and one of the greatest poets of his country. Though bullets should pierce my skin Wounds and poison shall I take aflee And I should care even less I want to live for another thousand years Anwar Chairil was born in Medan, East Sumatra, into a family which
had moved to Djakarta. Nothing much is known about his parents. In one
poem he wrote: "My mother falls asleep, sobbing, / Prison crowds are
always lonely, / Even my father stretches out, bored, / His eyes fixed
on the carved-stone crucifix!" (The Complete Poetry and Prose of Chairil Anwar, edited and translated by Burton Raffel, 1970, p. 89) From a young age, Chairil showed a passion for books. After attending elementary school, Chairil
studied at a Dutch-language middle school, M.U.L.O. (Meer Uitgebbreid
Lager Onderwijs). Throughout his
literary career, Chairil read widely and deeeply – in Dutch, German,
English, Spanish and French. The turning point of his youth came when
his parents separated. Tulus, Chairil's father, married another woman,
and stopped supporting his son's education. Chairil began to write as an adolescent, before he moved in 1940 with his mother, Saleha,
to Djakarta. There he led a restless exitence. "I'm going straight on . . . straight on, understand?!!!" (The Development of Modern Indonesian Poetry by Burton Raffel, 1967, p. 82) At one point he lived at 19 Jalan
Latuharhari, and did some trade in secondhand goods. With the money he
had earned he bought Dutch and English books (when he didn't steal them outright). When he found
a job at a statistics office, he moved with his mother to a house in
Kampong Kwitang. After two months, he stopped going to work, complaining
his Japanese supervisors at the office twisted numbers to make
propaganda. During the
Japanese occupation he was tortured by the Kempentai (Japanese military police) for some names
and addresses; "it hurt too much" and he gave in. Naturally, he
knew members of the resistance. In a letter
to his girlfriend Ida Nasution, Chairil
praised Colonel
Yamazaki Yasuyo, the hero of the battle for Attu in 1943: "A brave warrior from Attu! Ah, be in
harmony with this noble spirit. The personification of the ideal!" ( The Complete Poetry and Prose of Chairil Anwar, edited and translated by Burton Raffel, 1970, p. 168) It
was an unusual prose poem, considering that he writer was an
Indonesian, not a Japanese poet. Chairil's heroes also included Jesus. For a period, Chairil worked in the editorial board of Gema Suasana,
but was rarely seen in the office. More of his time Chairil spent
in hanging around with his friends. "When I die I don't want it to be
in a bed. I want to die in the middle of the street," Chairil once
said. He had no permanent address, he moved constantly from one place to another. Sometimes he slept under the bridges. Well aware of the prize that he would pay
for his destructive lifestyle, Chairil wrote in his final notebook:
"Let's / Leave here / Just as we planned, just / As we agreed /
Once". (Anthology of Modern Indonesian Poetry, edited by Burton Raffel, 1968, p. 52) From a short-lived marriage to Hapsah, a daughter of the highly respected Haji
Wiraredja, he had a daughter. When they first met, Chairil had left
Djakarta and introduced himself as a war correspondent. He took part in
the Indonesian struggle for Independence, fighting on the side of the
nationalistic movement of 1945. (Chairil Anwar: The Poet and His Language by Boen S. Oemarjati, 1972, p. XXII) His health broken, Chairil died on April 28, 1949, in
occupied Djakarta. He died at the mythical age of 27, like Rupert Brooke, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and Jean Michael Basquiat. During the last periopd of his life, Chairil had suffered from syphilis, tuberculosis, typhys, and cirrhosis of the liver. He never saw his dreams of freedom, victory, and hope to come true ("words are truth") – it was the task of his followers to carry the flame, the Gelenggang artists. And so they issued a declaration of belief, Surat Kepertjajaan Gelegggang, in February 1950. A posthumous collection of Chairil's poems stirred a controversy of plagiarism. No doubt, he had lifted words, phrases and sentences from 'The Young Dead Soldiers Do Not Speak' (1940) by the American poet Archibald MacLeish and incorporated them in his poem 'Krawang-Bekasi' (1949). Both poems commemorate the death. MacLeish's poem was written for a memorial servive, Chairil's poem dealt with the Rawagede massacre committed by Dutch soldiers during the colonial war of 1945-49. "They say, We were young. We have died. Remember us. / They say, We have done what we could but until it is finished it is not done." (Archibald MacLeish) "We died young. All that remains of us: bones covered with dust. / Remember, remember us! / We've tried, done all we could". (Anwar Chairil, in The Complete Poetry and Prose of Chairil Anwar, edited and translated by Burton Raffel, 1970, p. 127) Chairil served on the editorial board of one of the most important literary journals of the period, Siasat (Strategy), established in Jakarta in 1947. Its cultural column, called "Gelanggang" (Forum), attracted a number of progressive minds belonging to the Angkatan '45. This politically conscious literary and cultural movement, describing itself as the voice of the Indonesian revolution, identified with European modernism in the search for new literary forms and accents. From this generation emerged writers such as Pramoedya Ananta Toer, often called Indonesia's greatest modern prose-writer, and Mochtar Lubis, a courageous political journalist and novelist, who contributed both short stories and essays to Siasat. The most celebrated work of fiction in Dutch by an Indonesian author was the novel Buiten het gareel
(1940) by Suwarsih Djojopuspito. Bahasa Indonesia, a language which
formally came to exist in 1928, became through Chairil's writings a
vital literary language. The earliest Indonesian novels were published
in the 1920s. Pudjangga Baru (The New Writer) literary school, established in 1933, influenced greatly the development of
literature. It advocated the idea that traditional literary forms had
to be replaced by modern means of expression. Its founders and first
editors were Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana and Armijn Pané, the brother of
Sanusi Pané. The 45 Group reflected the ideas of the independence struggle. It has been said that the difference between the Pudjangga Baru generation and that of 1945 was the difference between hope and impetuosity. Chairil Anwar and his followers tried to released the poetry from the bonds of traditional forms. Other important writers were Idrus, Surwarsih Djojopuspito, Achdiat Karta Mihardja, Toha Mohtar, Mochtar Lubis (imprisoned by the Sukarno regime for four years), and Pramoedya Ananta Toer. The first Indonesian dramatist to gain wide recognition was Utuy Tatang Sontani (1820-1979). Poetry in Javanese since independence was dominated by St. Iesmaniasita and Muryalelana (b. 1932). In preindependence fiction in Sundanese the central figure was Mohamad Ambri (1892-1936). Liem King-hoo has been considered the finest Chinese-Indonesian novelist. None of Chairil's early poetry have survived. According to the
author, he destroyed them. Moreover, much of his work was affected
by Japanese and Dutch censorship. Among his earliest
spared pieces is 'Life' from December 1942: "The bottomless ocean
/ is always banging, / banging, as it tests the strength of our dikes."
(...) Chairil's work is marked by his emotional, and sometimes
unconventional use of language. His poems convey a powerful, vitalistic
individualism; they have a strong sexual tension, as in 'Lagu
biasa' (1943, An Ordinary Song): "She winks, She laughs / And the dry grass blazes up." (The Complete Poetry and Prose of Chairil Anwar, edited and translated by Burton Raffel, 1970, p. 27) Chairil absorbed influences from such Western figures as T.S. Eliot, R.M. Rilke,
Emily Dickinson, the Dutch expressionists H. Marsman and J.J.
Slauerhoff, and modelled his Indonesian poems on them.
Although he did not have higher education, he translated André Gide,
Rilke, John Steinbeck, Marsman and Slauerhoff and others.
Sadly, in need of money, he occasionally signed his own name to a
translated piece. His own approach to writing Chairil once described: "In
Art, vitality is the chaotic initial state; beauty the cosmic final
state." A bohemian like Rimbaud but
with a
taste for fine clothes, Chairil was full of contradictions. He pursued
his freedom as vigorously as he could, and at the same time his
personal aesthetic was a combination of
disciplined technique and despair. In a letter to Ida he explained:
"[Beethoven's] fifth and ninth symphonies did not appear ready made. He
had to work for years before such a work was ripe for the plucking. . .
. So if I write without putting a total effort into my work, I may
degenerate into an improvisator." ('Chairil Anwar: An interpretation' by A.H. Johns, in Bijdragen Tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde CXX, 4, 1964) Curious about the world and full of lust for new experiences, he socialized
both with the cultural elite and people on the fringes of society.
Chairil could not endure sitting in an office bound to a desk.
"I'm a wild beast / Driven out of the herd," he said. Wenny
Achdiat, the daughter of the writer Achdiat
Karta Mihardja, recalls him as "red-eyed, wild-haired, disorganised and
ill-mannered, with a loud rough voice." (Daughter of Independence by Bryce Alcock, Wenny Achdiat, 2013, p. 42) Among Chairil's most famous poems is 'Aku' (March 1943), a cry for freedom and life ("Aku mau hidup seribu tahun lagi"). Another poem from this period is 'Dipo Negoro' (1943), the title referring to an early nineteenth-century hero of the Indonesian national struggle: "Destruction rather than slavery / Annihilation rather than tyranny. / Even if the goal is only achieved in death / In life it must be experienced." (Translated by A. Teeuw; 'Sharp Gravel, Indonesian poems by Chairil Anwar. Translated by Donna M. Dickinson' by A. Teeuw, in Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, Deel 117, 3de Afl., 1961) Periodicals gave Chairil a forum to publish his work. There are several posthumous books, the first of which were Deru Tjampur Debu (1949) and Kerikil Tadjam dan Jang Terampas dan Jang Putus (1949), which collected his poetry. In addition to around 70 major poems, Chairil wrote some essays and radio addresses, and fragmentary translations. Due to his influence, the developing Indonesian language attained equality with other languages as a literary medium. Chairil's complete poetry and prose has been published in English in The Voice of the Night (1992), translated by Burton Raffel. For further reading: 'In Search of Marble Monuments: The Wandering Poems of Chairil Anwar' by Hendrik M. J. Maier, positions asia critique, Volume 29, Number 1, February (2021); 'Translation or Intertextuality: A Literature Comparative Analysis of "The Young Dead Soldiers Do Not Speak" by Archibald MacLeish and "Krawang Bekasi" by Chairil Anwar' by Fathu Rahman and Fakhriawan Fathu Rahman, in ELSYA: Journal of English Language Studies, Vol. 1, No. 3, October (2020); 'Figurative Meaning Used by Chairil Anwar on his Poetry 'Krawang-Bekasi' by Dhiana Fadjarwati, in JournEEL, Vol. 1 No. 2, December (2019); Friends and Exiles: A Memoir of the Nutmeg Isles and the Indonesian Nationalist Movement by Des Alwi, edited by Barbara S. Harvey (2008); 'Anwar, Chairil,' in The Encyclopedia of World Literature, Vol. 1, edited by Steven R. Serafin (1999); Modern Indonesian Literature, Vol. I, by A. Teeuw (1979); Cultural Options and the Role of Tradition by A.H. Johns (1979): 'Modern Indonesian literature in brief ' by M. Balfas, in Handbuch der Orientalistik, Abt. III: Literaturen, Abschnitt 1 (1976); A Thematic History of Indonesian Poetry: 1920-1974 by H. Aveling (1974); Chairil Anwar: The Poet and His Language by Boen S. Oemarjati (1972); 'A Survey of Events Surrounding "Manikebu": The Struggle For Cultural and Intellectual Freedom in Indonesian Literature' by Keith R. Foulcher, in Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, Deel 125, 4de Afl. (1969); Chairil Anwar, Pelopor Angkatan 45 by H.B. Jassin (1968); Modern Indonesian Literature by A. Teeuw (1967); The Development of Modern Indonesian Poetry by B. Raffel (1967); 'Chairil Anwar: An interpretation' by A.H. Johns, in Bijdragen Tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde CXX, 4 (1964); 'My Love's on a Far-Away Island' and 'A Room', translated by Burton Raffel and Nurdin Salam, in Contemporary Asian Poetry, Winter (1962-1963); Pokok dan Tokoh by A. Teeuw (1959); Chairil Anwar by H.B. Jassin (1956); 'Chairil Anwar Pelopor Angkatan '45'' by H.B. Jassin, in Mimbar Indonesia, May 14 (1949); 'Chairil Anwar. Penjair Revolusioner Indonesia' by H.B.Jassin, in Pantja Raja (1947) Selected works:
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