Amir Hamzah night at Gedung Kesenian

Amir Hamzah night at Gedung Kesenian

JAKARTA (JP): The Yayasan Dokumentasi Sastra H.B. Jassin, a foundation dealing with the documentation of literary works, will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Indonesian poet and national hero Amir Hamzah.

The event is scheduled to take place at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta from 7:45 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. tomorrow.

Leon Agusta, chairman of the organizing committee, announced that the event will include a poetry reading, a dance performance choreographed by Gusmiati Suid and a lecture by poet Abdul Hadi titled Amir Hamzah dan Relevansi Sastra Melayu (Amir Hamzah and the Relevance of Malay Literature).

The event will also see the launching of a book titled Amir Hamzah Sebagai Penyair dan Manusia (Amir Hamzah As a Poet and a Man).

Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono and Governor Surjadi Soedirdja are expected to attend the event.

Amir Hamzah, often cited as Indonesia's best poet, was born in Sumatra in 1911. He died in a battle against Dutch colonial forces in 1946. (sur)