Sariamin Ismail: Google celebrates 112th birthday of Indonesian first female novelist


Devdiscourse News Desk | Jakarta | Updated: 31-07-2021 11:45 IST | Created: 31-07-2021 11:45 IST
Sariamin Ismail: Google celebrates 112th birthday of Indonesian first female novelist
By age sixteen she began to explore the world of poetry and her writings were published in several local newspapers such as Pandji Poestaka. Image Credit: Sariamin Ismail / Google Doodle
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Happy Birthday Sariamin Ismail!

Google dedicates an artistic doodle to celebrate the 112th birthday of Indonesian author Sariamin Ismail, who is widely regarded as the first woman in the nation to publish a novel. The doodle is illustrated by Indonesian guest artist Ayang Cempaka.

Sariamin Ismail was born in July 31, 1990 in Talu, West Sumatra, Dutch East Indies (today’s Indonesia). She attended elementary school there and, at the age of ten, began writing syair and other forms of poetry. After completing her graduation in 1921 she studied at a school for female teachers in Padang Panjang.

By age sixteen she began to explore the world of poetry and her writings were published in several local newspapers such as Pandji Poestaka. Sariamin Ismail became a teacher after graduating from the girls' school in 1925, first working in Bengkulu then Bukittinggi. She returned to Pandang Panjang in 1930 and in 1939 began teaching in Aceh, being sent to Kuantan, Riau, in 1941. She continued her writing over the following decades.

Sariamin Ismail was an active writer during a time when Indonesian women’s voices were censored and used many pseudonyms to avoid persecution from local authorities. Between 1928 and 1930 Sariamin was the head of the Bukittinggi branch of Jong Islamieten Bond, an Islamic youth group.

By the 1930s Ismail had become a vocal journalist in the women-run Soeara Kaoem Iboe Soematra under the name Seleguri, condemning polygamy and emphasising the need for a nuclear family.

Based on real-life experiences of romances gone awry, Ismail’s first novel—”Kalau Tak Untung” (If You Are Unlucky)—was released under the pseudonym Selaish in 1933, and made history as the first novel authored by a woman in Indonesian history. This daring book exemplified a rejection of widely held Indonesian traditions such as arranged marriages, a controversial  idea  which characterized her work throughout her career.

In 1937, Ismail began publishing stories in “Soeara Kaoem Iboe Soematra,” a local women’s magazine that promoted the values of the nuclear family in contrast with relationship conventions of the time. She taught into the late 60s and wrote into the mid 90s and left behind numerous anthologies of poetry, novels, and even two children’s stories. After Indonesia proclaimed its independence in 1945, Sariamin spent two years as a member of the regional representative body in Riau.

List of Sariamin Ismail’s work:

Kalau Tak Untung (1933)

Pengaruh Keadaan (1937)

Puisi Baru (1946; poetry anthology)

Rangkaian Sastra (1952)

Seserpih Pinang Sepucuk Sirih (1979; poetry anthology)

Panca Juara (1981)

Nakhoda Lancang (1982)

Cerita Kak Murai, Kembali ke Pangkuan Ayah (1986)

Ungu: Antologi Puisi Wanita Penyair Indonesia (1990)

Thank you Sariamin Ismail for inspiring a new generation of women to use their voices.

Also Read: Francisco Toledo: Google Doodle on Mexican artist & activist’s 81st birthday

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