11 Facts About Sitor Situmorang

Sitor Situmorang was an Indonesian poet, essayist and writer of short stories.

Sitor Situmorang worked as a journalist and literary critic in Medan, Yogyakarta and Jakarta for a variety of newspapers and periodicals.

Sitor Situmorang was born in 1924 in North Tapanuli, North Sumatra and moved to Jakarta to study at AMS.

Sitor Situmorang began reading more and more Indonesian and western literature, and became inspired to work towards becoming a writer.

Sitor Situmorang started his career as a journalist in North Sumatra at Suara Nasional and Waspada.

Sitor Situmorang was assigned to Yogyakarta and later worked for Berita Indonesia and Warta Dunia.

Sitor Situmorang's brief stay in Paris influenced some of his works, such as Pertempuran dan Salju di Paris and Paris la Nuit.

Sitor Situmorang published Surat Kertas Hijau in 1954, a collection of poems, in which he expressed his emotional and intellectual crisis of love and national identity.

Sitor Situmorang was one of African American author Richard Wright's contacts and interlocutors during Wright's trip to Indonesia for the Asian-African Conference in 1955.

Sitor Situmorang became a prominent member of the Institute of National Culture, which was closely tied to Sukarno, the President of Indonesia at the time.

Sitor Situmorang won awards for his works: Pertempuran dan Salju di Paris, from Jakarta Arts Council and Peta Perjalanan, from Badan Musawarat Kebudayaan Nasional.