Amir Hamzah

Amir Hamzah 

Born Feb. 28, 1911, in Binjai, Northern Sumatra; died Mar. 19, 1946, in Kuala Bingai. Indonesian poet. Studied at European schools. One of the founders of the journal Pudjangga Baru.

In his poetry, Amir Hamzah further developed the achievements of the Malayan classical school. He wrote the collection Quiet Songs (1937), which reflects his pessimistic outlook. He celebrated the struggle for freedom in his ballad devoted to the Malayan national hero Hang Tuah. He translated into Indonesian the ancient Indian philosophical poem Bhagavad-Gita, and the poetry of Omar Khayyam, Kabir, Li Po, Tu Fu, and others.

WORKS

Buah Rindu. Jakarta, 1952.
Sastera Melayu lama dan radja 2 nja. Medan, 1952.
In Russian translation:
[“Stikhi.”] In the collection Tsvety dalekikh beregov. Moscow, 1966.

REFERENCES

Sikorsky, W. Indoneziiskaia literatura. Moscow, 1965.
Jassin, H. B. Amir Hamzah radja penjair Pundjangga Baru. Jakarta, 1967.
Teeuw, A. Modern Indonesian Literature. The Hague, 1967.

W. V. SIKORSKY