HB Jassin dies of stroke<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Hans Bague Jassin, the \"Pope of Indonesian
\nliterature\", died on Saturday at the age of 83.<\/p>\n
Jassin died at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital almost 12
\nhours after suffering a stroke.<\/p>\n
The health of the noted literature documentarian and critic
\nhad been deteriorating for some time after five previous strokes.<\/p>\n
President Abdurrahman Wahid, after paying his last respects at
\nJassin's residence in Tanah Tinggi, Central Jakarta, lauded him
\nas a \"literary giant\".<\/p>\n
\"HB Jassin is a giant figure of Indonesian literature. I was
\nbrought up with his writings and I respected him,\" Abdurrahman
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Later in the afternoon Jassin was given a full state burial at
\nKalibata Heroes Cemetery, South Jakarta, after earlier being
\ntaken to the HB Jassin Documentation Center at Taman Ismail
\nMarzuki arts center, where hundreds of people prayed for him.<\/p>\n
Many literature figures such as Ajib Rosidi, Taufik Ismail and
\nGoenawan Mohamad were seen at the mass prayer.<\/p>\n
The scene at the burial was moving.<\/p>\n
Jassin's daughter, Helena Magdalena, wept throughout the
\nceremony, which was attended by some 200 people.<\/p>\n
Unpublished<\/p>\n
Jassin health had been deteriorating since 1996. Since then he
\nhad all but suspended much of his work. He was mostly confined to
\na wheel chair.<\/p>\n
It was after this fifth stroke that his contributions to
\nIndonesian literature started to peter out.<\/p>\n
At the time he was translating four books into Indonesian --
\n1001 Hari: Kisah-kisah Parsi (1001 Days: Persian Stories),
\nJalaluddin Rumi, Percakapan Burung-burung (Bird Talk) and Kasidah
\n(Chant).<\/p>\n
The work was then continued by his associates.<\/p>\n
Percakapan Burung-burung is completed but has yet to be
\npublished and the translation of Kasidah remains unfinished. Only
\nthe first volume of 1001 Hari: Kisah-kisah Parsi has been
\ncompleted and published.<\/p>\n
In the last year of his life he spent most of his time with
\nhis third wife, Yuliko Wilhem, and one of his nieces, Rita
\nJassin, who assisted in his efforts to remain active.<\/p>\n
Jassin left behind four children from his three marriages:
\nHanibal, Mastinah, Yulius and Helena Magdalena.<\/p>\n
Jassin was divorced from his first wife Tientje van Buren,
\nwhile his second wife Arsiti died in 1962. He married Yuliko, who
\nis 26 years his junior, 10 months later.<\/p>\n
Born on July 31, 1917, in Gorontalo, North Sulawesi, he was
\ninitially named Hamzah. His nickname was Jamadi.<\/p>\n
Jassin once said that his interest in literature was passed on
\nto him by his father, who was an avid reader.<\/p>\n
He began to write earnestly in the mid 1940s.<\/p>\n
His compassion for literature led him to work as an editor for
\nMimbar Indonesia magazine in 1947. He later moved to Zenith,
\nKisah and Sastra magazines.<\/p>\n
Jassin graduated from the University of Indonesia and between
\n1958 and 1959 studied at Yale University in New Haven,
\nConnecticut, the United States.<\/p>\n
In 1975, he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree by the
\nSchool of Literature at the University of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
In 1978, Jassin was embroiled in controversy for his
\ntranslation of Al Qur'an Bacaan Mulia (The Koran, the Noble
\nBook).<\/p>\n
Many questioned his competence in translating the Islamic holy
\nbook, doubting his knowledge of Islam and the Arabic language.<\/p>\n
Unfazed, he followed it up with another controversial
\ntranslation, Al-Qur'an Berwajah Puisi (The Koran in Poetry).<\/p>\n
Another of his noted translations was Multatulli's Max
\nHavelaar.<\/p>\n
Jassin initially desired to become writer and poet, but to
\nmany of his contemporaries his greatest legacy was as a literary
\ndocumentarian.<\/p>\n
His best known works reflect this: Angkatan 45 (1945
\nGeneration), Kesusastraan Indonesia Modern dalam Kritik dan Esei
\n(Indonesian Modern Literature in Criticism and Essays) and Sastra
\nIndonesia sebagai Warga Sastra Dunia (Indonesian Literature as a
\nMember of World Literature).<\/p>\n
Generations to come will feel the impact of his contributions
\nnot only through his work but also through the HB Jassin Literary
\nDocumentation Center. Established in 1976, the embryo of the
\ncenter was Jassin's own collection which he had assembled since
\n1940.<\/p>\n
It now boasts a catalog of some 30,000 books and magazines.<\/p>\n
As a social and literary critic, Jassin was also not free from
\npolitical controversy.<\/p>\n
He was given a one-year prison sentence to be followed by a
\ntwo-year probation period in 1971 because as editor of Sastra
\nliterary magazine he refused to reveal the identity of an
\nanonymous writer who wrote a story which was considered by the
\ncourt as blasphemous.<\/p>\n
While his writings may not be in the highest annals of
\nIndonesia literary work, his contribution to the field is second
\nto none.<\/p>\n
It is Jassin who will be remembered for saving Indonesian
\nliterature for the next generation.<\/p>\n
As celebrated writer Taufik Ismail said: \"From his hands,
\nIndonesian literary men were born.\" (dja)<\/p>",
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