 Mr.
Pramoedya Ananta Toer has written many novels which raise penetrating
questions of national independence and the emancipation of mankind for
the whole world. His novels have exerted an influence well beyond the
national boundaries of Indonesia. This makes him one of the truly great
writers of Asia.
Mr. Pramoedya was born
in Blora, Central Java, now Indonesia in 1925. As he grew up, he was greatly
influenced by his father, who was a nationalist and schoolteacher, and
his mother, who was caring and independent-minded. At the age of 17, he
went to Jakarta alone to study politics, economics and Indonesian language,
which was later to become the official language of the country. He was
awakened to literature through his reading of many novels. He started
to publish his own works, while employed as an editor at various publishing
houses. In 1945, in the midst of the war triggered by the declaration
of independence of Indonesia, he was arrested and imprisoned by the Dutch
colonial forces. The novel he wrote in prison, "The Fugitive",
was highly appreciated both within and without Indonesia, making Mr. Pramoedya
known to the international societies as a writer. Following this novel,
he continued to write. His early works include "Guerilla Family",
"Stories from Blora", "The Downtrodden", "Corruption"
and "On the Banks of Kali Bekasi".
Under the influence
of China's proletarian literature, Mr. Pramoedya initiated a movement
to promote social participation among the writers in the late 1950s. In
1959, however, his work which dealt with the overseas Chinese, became
the reason for his second arrest and imprisonment. He was once again arrested
for the third time in 1965 in the coup-attempt, so-called 'September 30
Movement', and he was in custody for 14 years until he was released in
1979 as the last political prisoner. The Buru tetralogy, which consists
of "This Earth of Mankind", "Child of All Nations",
"Footsteps" and "House of Glass", was the fruit of
his story-telling to fellow political prisoners in the places to which
he had been exiled. These novels are set in Indonesia between 1898 and
1918 under Dutch colonial rule. They have a Javanese hero who has received
a Dutch-style education. In the story, the hero lives under the oppressive
colonial rule as well as under the spell of local customs. Suffering from
the double agonies of both of these existences, he began to understand
the importance of national independence. This tetralogy is a historical
novel on the grand-scale, reflecting Mr. Pramoedya's ardent wish for the
independence of the Indonesian nationals and the emancipation of mankind
in general.
Mr. Pramoedya's impressive
talent is clearly indicated in the fact that he contributed to the maturation
of the Indonesian language as a vehicle for literature. He has also tacitly
woven the issue of nationalism so well into his stories, and his writing
is of the highest quality. His works stand as world-class literature.
All the works of the tetralogy, which was completed after his release
in 1979, have been, and are now still, officially banned from publication
in Indonesia. Though this has deprived people in Indonesia of the opportunity
to read them, he has enjoyed a large reputation for his works both at
home and abroad.
The ban in Indonesia
on his tetralogy will be lifted sometime in the near future; therefore,
Mr. Pramoedya's writings will continue to influence not only Indonesian
literature but also that of the world. His work deserves acclaim; thus,
he is a truly worthy laureate of the Grand Prize of the Fukuoka Asian
Culture Prizes. |
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