Biographical Article: PRAMOEDYA

Biographical Article: PRAMOEDYA ANANTA TOER

"I'm bored with being an author," Pramoedya Ananta Toer pronounced in late 1984. Properly, he said, he should have just been a farmer, like his childhood aspirations. However, he was still carrying out his "duty to report" after having been released from Buru Island for around five years. Pram it seems has no skills aside from writing. Now he is preparing a Geographical Dictionary.

Pram is driven to compile the dictionary, they say, because no other writer has done anything like it. But that is probably not the only reason. After his novels The Human Earth and Child of All Nations, which he wrote in Buru, were prohibited from circulating, writing a dictionary was in fact safer.

His father, Toer, a former teacher and activist with the Blora branch of the PNI who was also a writer, seems to have had a lot of influence on Pram's perspective. Besides, Pram once went to school at the Taman Siswa, which was nationalist in conception. Beginning with his appearance through the short story "Kemana" in the magazine Pancaraya, 1947, Pram's name grew prominent with the novel Kranji-Bekasi Jatuh in the same year. Also that year he finished Sepuluh Kepala Nica, which was lost in the hands of Balingka Publishers, Pasar Baru, Jakarta.

A former second lieutenant in the Siliwangi Division, Pramoedya was later imprisoned in Bukit Duri jail, Jakarta (1948-1949). It was there that he wrote the short story collection Percikan Revolusi and the novel Perburuan (winning First Prize from the Balai Pustaka). On getting out of jail, Pram wrote the short story "Mereka yang Dilumpuhkan" [sic: should be "Dia yang Menyerah"] (later included in his Tjerita dari Blora), which won the BMKN prize, 1952-1953. Later "Bukan Pasar Malam" also appeared.

In 1953 Pram lived in the Netherlands along with his family at the invitation of the Dutch-Indonesian Institute for Cultural Cooperation, Sticusa. There he wrote Korupsi and Midah si Manis Bergigi Emas. Up through 1960, he was less productive, with the exception of Sekali Peristiwa di Banten Selaten, but its quality was below par. After that he began to take interest in historical matters. Panggil Aku Kartini Saja, I and II were born.

There are some who consider Pram's greatness derives from his books Bumi Manusia, Anak Semua Bangsa, Jejak Langkah [and Rumah Kaca]. "Criticism's matchmaker-ism, isn't it," he says indifferently. He avoids commenting on the works of other authors, except to say, "I need reading that provides 'vitamins' for my life."

Living in the house his wife built while he was in Buru, Pram seems mostly to wallow in his book-filled study. He is a heavy smoker.

For the original Indonesian, see: Apa dan Siapa: Pramudya at Tempo Interaktif Translation ©1996 Alex G Bardsley