Pramoedya Ananta Toer

Pramoedya Ananta Toer (1925 – 2006) is considered to be one of Indonesia’s greatest modern literary figures. Born on the island of Java, he took part in Indonesia’s revolt against Dutch rule in 1945, and in 1947 he was jailed for two years for carrying anti-Dutch documents. While in prison, he wrote his first novel, The Fugitive, about the struggle against colonialism, which established his reputation and launched an extraordinary literary career. From 1950 to 1965, Pramoedya played an increasingly important role in Indonesian intellectual life. First as a member of Lekra, the Institute of People’s Culture, and later as editor of Lentera (Lantern), the cultural section of the leftist paper Bintang Timur (Eastern Star), Pramoedya advocated a new socially conscious Indonesian literature. He was also one of the founders of the Multatuli Literature Academy and a teacher at the Dr. Abdul Rivai Academy for Journalism in Jakarta. Arrested during the Indonesian government’s massive repression of 1965, Pramoedya was imprisoned until 1979, spending the last ten years on the brutal Buru prison island, where he composed his best-known novel, the Buru Quartet. From 1979 – 1992 he was placed under house arrest in Jakarta, and was eventually released after the downfall of the Suharto regime. During this time he wrote The Girl From the Coast, a semi-fictional novel based on his grandmother’s life, and the memoir A Mute’s Soliloquy (1995). Pramoedya is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades, including the PEN Freedom to write award, the Ramon Magsaysay Award, France’s Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and the Japanese Fukuoka Asian Culture Grand Prize.