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Chairil Anwar Quotes

Chairil Anwar was an Indonesian poet and member of the "1945 Generation" of writers. He is estimated to have written 96 works, including 70 individual poems.

Anwar was born and raised in Medan, North Sumatra, before moving to Batavia with his mother in 1940, where he began to enter the local literary circles. After publishing his first poem in 1942, Anwar continued to write. However, his poems were at times censored by the Japanese, then occupying Indonesia. Living rebelliously, Anwar wrote extensively, often about death. He died in Jakarta of an unknown illness.

His work dealt with various themes, including death, individualism, and existentialism, and were often multi-interpretable. Drawing influence from foreign poets, Anwar used everyday language and new syntax to write his poetry, which has been noted as aiding the development of the Indonesian language. His poems were often constructed irregularly, but with individual patterns. Wikipedia  

✵ 26. July 1922 – 28. April 1949
Chairil Anwar photo
Chairil Anwar: 5 quotes0 likes

Famous Chairil Anwar Quotes

“I want to live another thousand years.”

Chairil Anwar

"Aku" ["Me"] (March 1943), p. 21
The Complete Poetry and Prose of Chairil Anwar (trans. Burton Raffel)

“I don't intend to share fate,
Fate which is a universal loneliness.”

Chairil Anwar

"Pemberian Tahu" ["A Proclamation"] (1946), p. 184
The Complete Poetry and Prose of Chairil Anwar (trans. Burton Raffel)

“To mean something, once
Then death”

Chairil Anwar

"Dipo Negoro" (1943), p. 7
The Complete Poetry and Prose of Chairil Anwar (trans. Burton Raffel)

“But oh my heart that will not give itself
Break, you bastard, ripped by your loneliness!”

Chairil Anwar

"Sia-Sia" ["In Vain"] (February 1943), p. 11
The Complete Poetry and Prose of Chairil Anwar (trans. Burton Raffel)

“Love's a danger that quickly fades.”

Chairil Anwar

"Tuti Artic" ["Tuti's Ice Cream"] (1947), p. 125
The Complete Poetry and Prose of Chairil Anwar (trans. Burton Raffel)

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