Indonesian author Chairil Anwar (1922–1949) wrote 75 poems, 7 pieces of prose, and 3 poetry collections.

[2] Born in Medan, North Sumatra, Anwar studied at schools run by the Dutch colonial government until around 1940, when he and his mother moved to the capital, Batavia (now Jakarta).

[6] Anwar possessed a passionate individualism, and the line "I want to live another thousand years" from "Aku" is often quoted.

As the years passed, this individualism developed into a feeling of mortality and surrender; ultimately it is difficult, if not impossible, to identify a single theme which unites all of Anwar's work.

[8] After his death Anwar was criticised for plagiarism, with several works revealed to have been uncredited translations of foreign poems.