Usman Awang

In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Awang is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Usman.

Datuk Usman Awang
Native name	Usman Awang
Born	July 1929 (age 95) Kuala Sedili, Johore, Malaysia
Died	Kuala Lumpur
Occupation	poet, short-story writer, dramatist
Language	Malay
Nationality	Malaysian
Citizenship	Malaysia
Years active	1951-2001
Notable awards	South-East Asian Writer's Award (1982)

Usman Awang (12 July 1929, Kuala Sedili, Johore – 29 November 2001, Kuala Lumpur) was a Malaysian poet, playwright, novelist and Malaysian National Laureate (1983).

Brief biography

The name at birth is Wan Osman Wan Awang. He was born into a poor peasant family. He graduated from the 6th grade of the Malay school. During the Japanese occupation, he was hijacked by the Japanese to Singapore for forced labor. After the war in 1946-1951 he served in the police Johore and Malacca. In 1951, he moved to Singapore, where he initially worked as a proofreader and then as a reporter for the newspaper "Melaya Raya" (Great Malaya). Later he joined the weekly "Mingguan Melayu" (Malay Weekly), in 1952 - the newspaper "Utusan Melayu" (Malayan Envoy), began publishing the first poems and stories on the pages of these newspapers. After the Declaration of Independence in 1957, he lived in Kuala Lumpur and until 1985 worked in the Council on Language and Literature of Malaysia. Usman Awang died of heart attack on 29 November 2001 in Kuala Lumpur. He was buried at Bukit Kiara Muslim Cemetery, Kuala Lumpur.

Creativity

In the early period he used the pseudonym "Tongkat Warrant" ("The Baton"). One of the founders of the movement “Angkatan-1950” which advocated "Literature for society" . The author of several collections of poetry, more than twenty plays, one novel ("Tulang-Tulang Berserakan" - "Scattered bones"), numerous short stories and journalistic articles. His works are translated into 11 languages of the world, including English.

Social activities

He was the first Chairman of the literary organization "Pena" (Pen) (1961-1965). In 1964, together with others he created a protest movement against the infringement of the Malay language status ("Coffin 152") . In 1986, he initiated the creation of the Council for Translation and Creative Works of Malaysia. He headed the Friendship Society "Malaysia-China" from the time of its creation in 1992.

Awards

• S.E.A. Write Award (1982)
• State Literary Prize (1983).
• Title Malaysian National Laureate (1983)
• Honorary Doctor University of Malaya

Criticism. Opinions

Creativity of the poet is imbued with humanistic ideas. The prominent Malaysian critic Syed Husin Ali, one of his closest friends, wrote about him:

Usman is popularly considered, and most justifiably too, as perhaps the best poet in the Malay language. Most important, he is accepted without question as a people’s poet. Writing since 1955, Usman did not produce a very large corpus of poetry, only about 200 of them. But the man, his personality, his poetry and his ideas have a much deeper and wider influence than that number would suggest. Much of his poems are simple, clear, often romantic, and just beautiful. He is a master at weaving words into striking phrases, sentences and verses that are of exceptional classical beauty and sometimes appear to be nostalgic and even escapist"

. And here's how the Soviet orientalist B.B.Parnickel assessed the creativity of the writer:

With rich, euphonious, in a way traditional language, he wrote a lot and enthusiastically about his homeland, love, freedom, and the wave of his emotions affects truly magicaly his readers }}

Legacy

Several places and honours were named after him, including:

• Sekolah Kebangsaan Dato Usman Awang, a primary school at Kampung Kota Kechil in Kota Tinggi, Johor.
• Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Dato' Usman Awang, a secondary school which was formerly known as Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Taman Perling located at Taman Perling in Johor Bahru, Johor.
• Jalan Dato' Usman Awang, a road in Sedili, Johor.
• In May 15, 2014 in Kuala Lumpur the Usman Awang Foundation was established which annually awards the National Integration Award named after Usman Awang.
• In April 2016, a stamp and envelope with the image of the writer were issued

Bibliography

• Pogadaev, Victor. “Bapa Sastera Melayu Moden” (The Father of Modern Malay Literature). – “Berita Hrian”, 5 December 2001.
• Pogadaev, Victor. “‘Dari Bintang ke Bintang’ papar kekuatan puisi Usman” ("From One Star To Another" Shows the High Level of Usman' Poetry). – ”Berita Harian”, 16 March 2002.
• Zurinah Hassan, Sasterawan negara Usman Awang (National Laureate Usman Awang). Kuala Lumpur:Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2006. ISBN 978-983-62-9164-6
• Muhammad Haji Salleh. Seorang Penyair, Sebuah Benua Rusuh: Biografi Usman Awang (A Poet and Revolting Continent: Usman Awang' Biography). Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2006. ISBN 983-62-8759-0, ISBN 978-983-62-8759-5
• Usman Awang: Penghubung Sastera Moden Dengan Akar Tradisi (Usman Awang: A Linc Between Modern and Traditional Literature). Editor, Hamzah Hamdani. Johore Baru: Yayasan Warisan Johor, 2003. ISBN 983-2440-04-1, ISBN 978-983-2440-04-8
• Halilah Haji Khalid. Usman Awang Dalam Esei dan Kritikan (Usman Awang in Essays and Ctitics). Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2004.
• Chong Fah Hing. Karya Usman Awang dari Persepsi Masyarakat Cina (Works of Usman Avang in the perception of the Chinese community). - Dlm. Menyirat Inspirasi. Penyelenggara Dato 'Dr. Ahmad Khamal Abdullah, Johor Bahru: YWJ Citra Holdings Sdn. Bhd. 2010, pp. 109-113. ISBN 978-967-5361-04-3

External links

• Keeping dad’s legacy alive (The Sun Daily)
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