Taufiq Ismail

Taufiq Ismail (born 25 June 1935) is an Indonesian poet, activist and the editor of the monthly literary magazine Horison.

Ismail figured prominently in Indonesian literature of the post-Sukarno period and is considered one of the pioneers of the "Generation of '66".

He completed his education at the University of Indonesia.

Before becoming active as a writer, he taught at the Institut Pertanian Bogor.

Taufiq Ismail was born in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, on June 25, 1935.

He was reared in a teacher and journalist family.

He had wanted to become writer since he was in high school.

His reading hobby was more satisfied when Taufiq became the librarian in Pelajar Islam Indonesia Pekalongan's library, where he read the works of Chairil Anwar, William Saroyan, and Karl May, besides books about history, politics, and religion.

He attended high school in Pekalongan, Central Java, and then Whitefish Bay High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on a scholarship from American Field Service International.

There he read the works of Robert Frost, Edgar Allan Poe, and Walt Whitman.

He also liked Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea.

He began a career as a writer in the 1960s, and was a noted critic of Sukarno's Guided Democracy program, lashing out at the censorship and totalitarian control of Sukarno's government.

Ismail was a joint editor of Horison, a literary magazine, along with D.S. Muljanto, Zaini, Su Hok Djin, and Goenawan Mohamad.

In 1963, he signed the "Cultural Manifesto" as a document that opposed linking art to politics.

This cost him his teaching position at the Institut.

Ismail wrote many poems, of which the best-known are: Malu (Aku) Jadi Orang Indonesia, Tirani dan Benteng, Tirani, Benteng, Buku Tamu Musim Perjuangan, Sajak Ladang Jagung, Kenalkan, Saya Hewan, Puisi-puisi Langit, Prahara Budaya : Kilas Balik Ofensif Lekra, Ketika Kata Ketika Warna and Seulawah-Antologi Sastra Aceh.

Horison was started in July 1966 by Mochtar Lubis and HB Jassin, as a successor to Sastra.

He remains active writing for the magazine as a senior editor.

Bored with his serious writing style, in 1970 he began writing poems mixed with humor.

Taufiq Ismail married in 1971.

He and his wife have one son.

He was a prominent member of the Jakarta Arts Council (Dewan Kesenian Jakarta) and was head of the Jakarta Arts Education Institute (Lembaga Pendidikan Kesenian Jakarta) from 1973 to 1978.

He has won many awards, including the "Cultural Visit Award" from the Australian government (1977) and the S.E.A. Write Award (1994).