Lesik Kati Ara (born November 12, 1937,

Takengon Takengon is a town in Aceh, Indonesia. The town itself sits on three administrative districts of the Central Aceh Regency—Bebesen, Kebayakan, and Lut Tawar, and acts as the seat of Central Aceh Regency. The town is in the highlands of western Su ...

Aceh Aceh ( , ; , Jawi script, Jawoë: ; Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, Old Spelling: ''Atjeh'') is the westernmost Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the northern end of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capit ...

), better known as LK Ara, is an Indonesian poet.

Brief biography and creativity

Ara graduated from the secondary school of the

Taman Siswa ''Taman Siswa'' (), officially the Tamansiswa Educational Association Headquartered in Yogyakarta (), was a Javanese Pedagogy, educational movement and school system founded by Ki Hadjar Dewantara in 1922. It began by founding a kindergarten ...

(literally "Garden of Students" or "Students' Garden") system in

and the Department of Journalism Studies at the

University of North Sumatra The Universitas Sumatera Utara ( or USU) is a public university located in the city of Medan in North Sumatra, Indonesia. It is situated in Padang Bulan, in the Medan Baru subdistrict of Medan, close to the City Centre, with a total area of 122 h ...

. He worked a teacher in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

from 1959 to 1962, in the office of the Prime Minister in 1962 and 1963, and from 1962 to 1985 at the

Balai Pustaka Balai Pustaka (; also spelled Balai Poestaka, both meaning "Bureau of Literature") is the state-owned publisher of Indonesia and publisher of major pieces of Indonesian literature such as '' Salah Asuhan'', '' Sitti Nurbaya'' and '' Layar Terk ...

publishing house, as a correspondent of several newspapers in

Medan Medan ( , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sumatra. The nearby Strait of Malacca, Port of Belawan, and Kualanamu International Airport make Medan a regional hub and multi ...

. He also collected folklore. He is the author of 35 poetry collections (first in 1969), compiler of two anthologies of poems by Aceh poets (1995, 2003). In his poems, along with a description of the nature of his native place, a great attention is given to the difficult life of peasants, especially of collectors of the coffee beans which is a local speciality of the area. He often recites his poems at the various meetings of poets both at home and in other countries (Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei). April 6, 2018, he participated in the meeting of the President of Indonesia

Joko Widodo Joko Widodo (; born 21 June 1961), often known mononymously as Jokowi, is an Indonesian politician, engineer, and businessman who served as the seventh president of Indonesia from 2014 to 2024. Previously a member of the Indonesian Democratic ...

with a group of Indonesian writers in the State Palace in Jakarta.

Awards

*Prize of the Government of Aceh (2009)Sastra. Puisi-puisi L.R. Ara
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Family

Ara's father is H. Harun Rashid, his mother is H. Siti Maryam, and his spouse is Ine Hidayah.

References

Indonesian writers Indonesian male poets 20th-century Indonesian male writers Gayonese people 1937 births Living people University of North Sumatra alumni {{Indonesia-poet-stub