Biography

Toeti Heraty was born in Bandung

Bandung

Bandung is the capital of West Java province in Indonesia, and the country's third largest city, and 2nd largest metropolitan area in Indonesia, with a population of 7.4 million in 2007. Located 768 metres above sea level, approximately 140 km southeast of Jakarta, Bandung has cooler...

, West Java

West Java

West Java , with a population of over 43 million, is the most populous and most densely populated province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, it is slightly smaller in area than densely populated Taiwan, but with nearly double the population...

 on November 27, 1933. Following her family tradition, she pursued medicine at the University of Indonesia

University of Indonesia

The Universitas Indonesia, is a state, comprehensive world class university located in Depok, West Java and Salemba, Jakarta, Indonesia. Universitas Indonesia is the oldest tertiary-level educational institution in Indonesia...

 (UI) from 1951 until 1955. Then she took an advanced degree in psychology in 1962 and wrote her thesis on Simone de Beauvoir

Simone de Beauvoir

Simone-Ernestine-Lucie-Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir, often shortened to Simone de Beauvoir , was a French existentialist philosopher, public intellectual, and social theorist. She wrote novels, essays, biographies, an autobiography in several volumes, and monographs on philosophy, politics, and...

. At Leiden University

Leiden University

Leiden University , located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. The royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau and Leiden University still have a close...

, Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 she took her degree in Philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

 and produced a dissertation on "The I/Ego in Culture" or "Aku Dalam Budaya". Heraty completed her doctorate in philosophy at the University of Indonesia in 1979 with a thesis on "The Self and Culture".

Despite her studies in hard sciences, she found her inclination towards arts and literature. Besides being a poet, she is a philosopher, a art historian and a human rights activist.

She first began to write as a college student and since 1966 has been a frequent contributor to Indonesia's leading cultural and literary journals. She has since then occupied herself actively in the academic world. She taught in the Faculty of Psychology at Padjadjaran University. She co-founded (along with Soerjanto Poespowardojo) the Department of Philosophy of the Faculty of Arts at [UI] and served as a lecturer. She also remained the chairperson of both the Department of Philosophy and the post-graduate program for Philosophy Studies. Heraty also served as dean of the Lembaga Pendidikan Kesenian, Jakarta Institute of the Arts, and as acting professor at the Faculty of Arts at UI in 1994.
She released her first major collection of poems, "Sajak-Sajak 33" (Poems at 33) in 1974, including "Dua Wanita" (Two Women), "Siklus" (Cycle) and "Geneva Bulan Juli" (Geneva in July). She released her second volume of collected poems, "Mimpi dan Pretensi" (Dreams and Pretenses) in 1982. She has also edited a volume of Dutch

Dutch

Dutch usually refers to:*Something from or related to the Netherlands*Dutch people, people from the Netherlands or their descendants*Dutch language, spoken in the Netherlands, Belgium, Suriname, Curaçao, Aruba, Bonaire, Saba, Sint Maarten, and Sint Eustatius.* Something associated with German, ...

 and Indonesian poetry, and a collection of poetry by women.

Her most recent poem, "Calon Arang: the Story of A Woman Victimized by Patriarchy", a book-length lyric, provides critical insights into the standard perception of Indonesia's great archetypal figure, Calon Arang

Calon Arang

Calon Arang is a character in Javanese and Balinese folklore from the 12th century. It is still unknown who composed this story. A very important Latin-alphabet copy of the text is in the Netherlands, namely in the Koninklijke Instituut Bijdragen.-Story:...

. The poem presents a three-dimensional picture of a woman who stands against the repressive, patriarchal society, but unfortunately is perceived as a legendary witch.
Heraty's poetry reflects not just her feminist stance, but also her love for arts. Her house in Menteng

Menteng

Menteng is a subdistrict of Central Jakarta, one of the administrative city which forms the special capital territory of Jakarta, Indonesia.The subdistrict is best known as the location of the Menteng residential area, a new urban design developed in the 1910s to become a residential area for Dutch...

, Jakarta

Jakarta

Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...

, is a gallery of famous paintings by Affandi

Affandi

Affandi was born in Cirebon, West Java, as the son of R. Koesoema, who was a surveyor at a local sugar factory. Affandi finished his upper secondary school in Jakarta, but he forsook his study for the desire to become an artist. Affandi taught himself how to paint since 1934...

, S. Sudjojono, Srihadi Soedarsono among many others. She also headed the Yayasan Mitra Budaya Indonesia, (YMBI, Foundation for Lovers of Indonesian Culture) in 1998. She is the founder of "Jurnal Perempuan", which is a feminist magazine that raises issues concerning women. Heraty offers her services to a non-government organization, Suara Ibu Peduli, that works for the empowerment of women.

External links

• http://www.poetrytranslation.org/poems/183/Jogging_in_Jakarta"Jogging in Jakarta"
• http://www.lontar.org/index.php?page=author&id=26"Lontar Foundation"
• http://indonesiatera.com/TOETY-HERATY-FRAGMEN-OTOBIOGRAFI-PENCARIAN-BELUM-SELESAI.html"Fragments of Autobiography"
• http://www.winternachten.nl/winternachten/deelnemerpagina.php?deelnemer_id=0049&editie=3&taal=engels"Writers Unlimited"