(1960) was born and raised in Jakarta. His family history - with Arab, Pakistani and Betawi ancestors - reflects the cosmopolitan character of the city of his birth. He studied Russian and American Studies at the Universitas Indonesia in Jakarta. At the moment he teaches at the department of Russian at the Universitas Indonesia. His poetic genius was established with his volume of poems Dari Batavia sampai Jakarta, 1619-1999 for which he received the prize for the best Indonesian volume of poetry 1998-2000’. Other publications are Manusia, Mitos, dan Mitologi (1998), Pintu, Etalase, Batavia Centrum (collected poetry, 1998), and Konflik Nilai dalam Sejarah Perkembangan Sastra Rusia.

was born in Ujung Pandang 12 July 1945. Aside from being a novelist, his talents cover the gamut of creative enterprise including painting, essay-writing, music arranging, singing, songwriting, playwriting, stage directing, acting and teaching. He has penned some 100 works, a number of which has been translated and brought to life on stage. These include Sekuntum Melati Buat Rima (1968), Orexas (1980), Untung Surapati (1980) Pingkan dan Matindas (1985) and Di Sebuah Sudut Taman (1999).