Jakarta – Sitor Situmorang, one of Indonesia's most prominent poets, passed away on Saturday night local time in the Netherlands, at the age of 91.

"I was told by his family this morning. His weight had dropped to a mere 37 kilograms," historian J.J. Rizal said on Sunday, as quoted by news portal Tempo.co.

Sitor's body is currently at his wife's residence in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, according to J.J. Rizal, who said the writer had died of natural causes.

"Sitor was the only writer of the Generation of '45 who was still productively writing at the age of 85," he added.

Born in North Tapanuli, North Sumatra, Sitor started his career as a journalist at Indonesian daily newspapers Suara Nasional (1945-46) and Waspada (1947). He then ventured into writing literary books and received multiple awards for several of his works, including "Pertempuran dan Salju di Paris," ("Struggle and Snow in Paris," 1956), a collection of short stories.

Sitor was a prominent member of the Institute for People's Culture (LEKRA), which was closely tied to former Indonesian president Soekarno. He was imprisoned in 1965 following the rise of Gen. Suharto and was not released until 1976. He never stood trial.

Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/renowned-poet-sitor-situmorang-dies-age-91/