20 Facts About Chairil Anwar

Chairil Anwar was an Indonesian poet and member of the "1945 Generation" of writers.

Chairil Anwar is estimated to have written 96 works, including 70 individual poems.

Chairil Anwar's work dealt with various themes, including death, individualism, and existentialism, and were often multi-interpretable.

Chairil Anwar's poems were often constructed irregularly, but with individual patterns.

Chairil Anwar was born in Medan, North Sumatra on 26 July 1922.

Chairil Anwar attended local schools for native Indonesians, until dropping out at the age of 18 or earlier.

Chairil Anwar later said that he had known he wanted to be an artist since the age of 15, having already written poetry in the then-dominant style.

Chairil Anwar wrote his last poem, "Cemara Menderai Sampai Jauh", in 1949.

The Dutch scholar of Indonesian literature A Teeuw suggests that Anwar was aware that he would die young, pointing to "Jang Terampas dan Jang Putus", which has a theme of surrender, and predicts that he will be buried in Karet.

Teeuw writes that the only feature common to all of Chairil Anwar's work is an intensity and joie de vivre that reflects Chairil Anwar's radicalism, which permeated all aspects of his life.

Muhammad Balfas notes that Chairil Anwar was an "intellectual poet", with his works being "detached".

Teeuw writes that Chairil Anwar used everyday language in his poetry, which is emphasized by using it in an unusual manner.

Chairil Anwar exploited the morphology of Indonesian, using prefixes and suffixes to make the language more dynamic and give a stronger impression.

The previous generation had mainly been influenced by traditional verse and nationalism, while the 1945 Generation, including Chairil Anwar, dealt with Western-influenced individualism and existentialism.

Balfas notes that Chairil Anwar was capable of using foreign "ideas, images, and atmosphere" in his poems, generally from the West but in one poem clearly Japanese.

Teeuw writes that Chairil Anwar came under fire after his death for plagiarism.

Balfas notes that even though Chairil Anwar evidently used other people's poems as the basis for some of his, he generally changed them enough and brought new ideas to make them his own.

Chairil Anwar's poems have been translated into English, French, and Dutch.

Chairil Anwar's eyes were "red, [and] somewhat wild, but always like he was lost in thought", while his movements were like "one who simply did not care".

Yampolsky notes that Chairil Anwar provided numerous anecdotes for his friends due to his eccentricities, including kleptomania, plagiarism, womanizing, and being constantly ill.