Horison, a literary magazine, was started in July 1966 by Jassin and Mochtar Lubis as a successor to Sastra, and was edited by Taufiq Ismail, Ds.

[1] In 1971, Jassin was given a one-year prison sentence and a two-year probation period because as the editor of Sastra, he refused to reveal the identity of an anonymous writer who wrote a story which was considered by the court to be blasphemous.

After suffering six strokes towards the end of his life, Jassin died on 11 March 2000 and was buried in the Kalibata Heroes' Cemetery.

During his life Jassin was highly recognized for his work, acquiring the nickname "The Pope of Indonesian Literature" and receiving numerous awards.

His family later moved to Medan, North Sumatra, where he attended a hogere burger school, or five-year secondary education program for native Indonesians.

In 1940, he was offered a position at Balai Pustaka, the Dutch-owned state publishing house, by then-executive director Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana.

[7] In 1971, Jassin was put on trial for blasphemy for refusing to divulge the true name of the author of the short story "Langit Makin Mendung" ("The Sky is Increasingly Cloudy"), which was published in Sastra, which he edited.

In 1976, he founded the HB Jassin Literary Documentation Center (HBJLDC), located in Taman Ismail Marzuki, with books from his own collection, which was begun in 1940.

[11] Jassin died at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Jakarta after suffering a stroke (his sixth) on the morning of 11 March 2000.

Approximately 200 people attended a prayer service for him at the HBJLDC, including noted writers Taufiq Ismail, Ajip Rosidi, and Goenawan Mohamad.