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Islands in focus: Poet Leon Agusta dies at 77
Poet Leon Agusta, a seminal modern Indonesian literary figure, died on Thursday in his hometown of Padang, West Sumatra
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P
oet Leon Agusta, a seminal modern Indonesian literary figure, died on Thursday in his hometown of Padang, West Sumatra. He was 77.
Padang-based Leon Agusta Institute secretary Yurnaldi said that Leon had an asthma attack in the morning and died in hospital in the afternoon.
Leon Agusta was the penname of Ridwan Ilyas, who was born in Sigiran, Maninjau, on Aug. 5, 1938. The poet, whose works from 1962 to 2011 were compiled in Gendang Pengembara (The Drifter's Drum), is survived by wife Margaret Rose Glade and son Paul Agusta.
Paul, a noted film director and actor, said that his father had asked to be 'taken home' to Padang 10 days ago.
'The burial will take place in Padang. Everything is forgiven, because we were happy once,' said Paul, as reported by detik.com.
Paul was quoting the last line of his father's poem titled 'Suasana' (Ambience), written in 2010.
