Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana

Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana was an Indonesian author who lived from 11 February 1908 to 17 July 1994. He was born in the North Sumatra town of Natal. His ancestors were Minangkabau who migrated to Malaysia in the nineteenth century. He founded and edited Poedjangga Baroe. He was a guiding light in Indonesian literature during its formative years, particularly around the time of independence. Sutan Takdir believed that Indonesia could benefit from Western civilization's values and was a staunch supporter of modernism throughout his life. He was working on a novel at the time of his death in 1994, and he was a Renaissance man himself, having written numerous books on a variety of subjects. Layar Terkembang, his famous novel, portrayed him as a progressive author. On July 17, 1994, he died in Jakarta.

Balai Pustaka, which is the state-owned publisher of Indonesia and publisher of major pieces of Indonesian literature, published his first novel- Tak Putus Dirundung Malang (Misfortune Without End), in 1929. STA Poedjangga Baroe (The New Writer), which they founded and edited with Amir Hamzah and Armijn Pane, was first published in 1933 and contained the best work of prewar writers. As a replacement for Poedjangga Baroe, Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana edited Konfrontasi (Confrontation) in 1953.

During the Japanese occupation, he became a secretary of the Komisi Bahasa Indonesia in 1943. (Indonesian Language Commission). He was a professor of Indonesian at National University in Jakarta from 1946 to 1948.

Birthdate: February 11, 1908
Died: July 17, 1994