Usman was born in Padang, West Sumatra, on 12 December 1916. He received his childhood education at a series of Islamic-oriented schools, beginning with a Thawalib School in Padang Panjang. In 1937 he graduated from the Islamic College in Padang, moving to Batavia the following year to become a Malay-language teacher at a Muhammadiyah-run school. During his lifetime Usman taught at a number of schools. During the Japanese occupation of Indonesia and ensuing revolution Usman wrote a number of short stories dealing with themes ranging from travel to true love and diligence; these were published in various local magazines. Eleven of these were later compiled in the anthology Sepanjang Jalan , which was published in 1953 by Balai Pustaka, Indonesia's state publisher. By 2005 the book had seen three printings. After the publication of Sepanjang Jalan Usman wrote two histories of Indonesian literature, Kesusastraan Lama Indonesia and Kesusastraan Baru Indonesia. These two histories were written in brief and arranged chronologically. Between his two histories Usman published a hikayat, or traditional Malay prose, entitled Hikayat Iskandar Zulkarnain. Working with HB Jassin, Usman translated some of Poerbatjaraka's works of Javanese literature as Tjerita Pandji in 1958. In 1960 he published an academic work regarding the Indonesian language and literature, entitled Kedudukan Bahasa dan Sastra Indonesia. Usman graduated from the University of Indonesia in 1961 with a degree in literature before formally earning his teacher's diploma the following year. During the next fifteen years, until his death in Jakarta on 25 July 1976, Usman wrote extensively. This included 20 new retellings of Indonesian fairy tales and Putri Bunga Karang.
Views
Usman defined old Malay literature as those written before Abdullah bin Abdulkadir Munsyi came to prominence. He cited the latter author's focus on the everyday experiences of the average person, a divergence from the traditional stories of "gods, giants, or fabulous fairy tales with beautiful princesses and magnificent castles". This can be differentiated with the more nationalist periodisation, such as that of A. Teeuw, which emphasise an "Indonesian" awareness. Regarding Balai Pustaka's language policies during the colonial period, Usman wrote that although the publisher's prescribed Malay was not as organic or free to develop as those in outside publications, it was much less restrictive than traditional written forms.
Legacy
Usman has been cited by Australian professor of Indonesian literature Keith Foulcher as an early pioneer of Indonesian literary criticism. The inspiration for the faculty of literature at Andalas University in Padang is credited to a speech, entitled "Pembangunan Daerah Sumatera Barat", which Usman delivered at a seminar in 1964. The speech called for the area's educational facilities to be further developed to reunite West Sumatra with the rest of Indonesia after it had been alienated for housing the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia some five years earlier. However, Usman was not involved in the administrative efforts behind the faculty's establishment, which took until 1982.
