Forces towards renewal As a result of all this, dominant factors in the literary landscape of the 1930s were the following: • National consciousness among young Indonesian intellectuals was well-developed. • These intellectuals had formed various groups: there existed, then, a certain degree of organisation. • The need for a national language was felt, as was the need for literary expression in that language. • While a platform for such expression existed in Balai Pustaka, this platform was considered unsatisfactory in that it was government-controlled, and therefore at odds with the urge for nationalist development. The intervention of Dutch language officials was felt to be censorship, and the editorial policy was regarded as an unwarranted harnessing of the emerging language. (Thus, certain words were invariably replaced by more "respectable" synonyms, which seemed to curtail language development as well as freedom of expression.) • At the same time, young intellectuals felt that their classic Malay literature had congealed into set turns of phrase, clichéd descriptions and conventional plots. While literature cannot but operate between the polarities of convention and renewal, classic conventions were now felt to be over-constrictive, and their Western-style schooling had made them conscious of the possibilities for renewal.
A new magazine ''.
Angkatan Pujangga Baru was created as a reaction to all this. This "Generation of the New Literates (or New Poets)" adopted its very name,
Poedjangga Baroe, to emphasise its striving for renewal, attempting to break away both from the set forms of traditional Malay literature and from the yoke of colonial constraints: the objective was a new poetics and a new national consciousness. To this end, in 1933 they founded the first national literary magazine,
Poedjangga Baroe, created by
Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana,
Amir Hamzah (regarded as the greatest of the poets of the late colonial period), and
Armijn Pane. Its main protagonists were the three founders, together with
Sanusi Pane (brother of Armijn). The magazine was published between 1933 and 1942. When the Japanese occupied the country, a request on the part of the editors for permission to continue publication went unanswered, and this was tantamount to a refusal. Publication was resumed in 1948, until the magazine finally folded in 1953. Although influential as the pioneering platform of an emerging Indonesian literature, sales had never been comfortable: Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana has revealed that the periodical's subscription was never much more than 150.
Characteristics Poedjangga Baroe occasionally, and for reasons that have not been explained, included prose in English, and more regularly and perhaps understandably, prose and poetry in Dutch. However, the magazine was characterised by its position as the first literary periodical in the national language. In contrast with
Panji Pustaka (the Balai Pustaka magazine), its editors were all Indonesians, who had as often as not received their editorial training by working for the government publishers in the 1920s. There was one exception:
Beb Vuyk, an
Indo-European (Eurasian) author of Dutch nationality but with strong nationalist sympathies, was briefly on the editorial board before the war broke out. The contents of the magazine were dominated by essays, often touching on the requirements and exigencies of the new literature; and by poetry in the modern vein. This modernism was a conscious breakaway from tradition, although two quite distinct tendencies were discernible.
Romanticism On the one hand, poets (who usually had had a Dutch schooling) connected with a late Romantic movement in Dutch poetry, the
Beweging van Tachtig. (
Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana was the main proponent of this tendency.) • This "Movement of the 1880s" had put emphasis on the individual expression of emotions, and it is this emphasis which was reflected in the new Indonesian poetry. The central role of individual emotions is borne out by the titles of some poems; representative instances are:
Mengeluh ("Complaint"),
Kematian Anak ("The Death of a Child"), or
Di Kakimu ("At Your Feet"). • Nature poetry, in addition, bore witness to the romantic nature of this movement, with titles such as
Sawah ("Rice Fields") or
Bintang ("Stars"). • The influence of Romanticism was discernible, too, in the use of westernising verse forms, notably the
sonnet. This constituted a break with traditional
syair and
pantun. At the same time, practitioners of the new sonnet form maintained that it had its similarities with the
pantun. A traditional sonnet had its
volta, a thematic turn between the eighth and ninth verses, and likewise, a strong contrast is seen between the first and second couplets of a
pantun. The Dutch example was not followed slavishly. In particular, its emphasis on the strictly individual in human experience was rejected. It was the poets' task,
Poedjangga Baroe maintained, to be a social agent, a force for national development. To some of its members, too, the role of the poet was a religious one.
The easterns tradition On the other hand, some members of the movement were not unequivocally in favour of western influence. A countervailing tendency was found in traditional eastern literature. The influence of
Rabindranath Tagore was felt.
Amir Hamzah was greatly attracted to the
Thousand and One Nights, although his intention to translate this work into Indonesian never materialised. The
Bhagavad Gita was translated into Indonesian by him. Sanusi Pane's play
Manusia Baru ("New Humanity") was set in India. Plays were based on Java's past. Amir Hamzah anthologised eastern poetry.
Other works Some works of the Pujangga Baru generation are worthy of especial mention. Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana's short novel
Layar Terkembang ("The Sail Unfolds") is a sensitive portrayal of young women in contemporary Indonesia.
Rustam Effendi with his
Bebasari wrote the first modern play (on a historical theme). Armijn Pane's
Belenggu ("Shackles") dealt with extramarital relations, thus initially giving rise to controversy, but eventually the novel became a classic and has been described as the first
psychological novel in Indonesian.
Authors and works of the Pujangga Baru Generation •
Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana (1908-1994) •
Dian yang Tak Kunjung Padam (1932) •
Tebaran Mega (1935) •
Layar Terkembang (1936) •
Anak Perawan di Sarang Penyamun (1940) •
Hamka (1908-1981) •
Di Bawah Lindungan Ka'bah (1938) •
Tenggelamnya Kapal van der Wijck (1939) •
Tuan Direktur (1950) •
Didalam Lembah Kehidoepan (1940) •
Armijn Pane (1908-1970) •
Belenggu (1940) •
Jinak-jinak Merpati (1950) •
Kisah Antara Manusia (1953) •
Jiwa Berjiwa •
Gamelan Djiwa (1960) •
Sanusi Pane (1905-1968) •
Pancaran Cinta (1926) •
Puspa Mega (1927) •
Madah Kelana (1931) •
Sandhyakala Ning Majapahit (1933) •
Kertajaya (1932) •
Amir Hamzah (1911-1946) •
Nyanyi Sunyi (1937) •
Begawat Gita (1933) •
Setanggi Timur (1939) •
Roestam Effendi (1903-1979) •
Bebasari •
Pertjikan Permenungan •
Sariamin Ismail (1909-1995) •
Kalau Tak Untung (1933) •
Pengaruh Keadaan (1937) •
Anak Agung Pandji Tisna (1909-1978) •
Ni Rawit Ceti Penjual Orang (1935) •
Sukreni Gadis Bali (1936) •
I Swasta Setahun di Bedahulu (1938) •
J.E.Tatengkeng (1907-1968) •
Rindoe Dendam (1934) •
Fatimah Hasan Delais •
Kehilangan Mestika (1935) •
Said Daeng Muntu •
Pembalasan •
Karena Kerendahan Boedi (1941) •
Karim Halim (1918-1989) •
Palawija (1944) ==
Generation 1945 ==