Born Teluk Belitung (Sep 19, 1963), currently resides in
Taufik Ikram Jamil, born in Teluk Belitung, Riau, in 1963, is a poet and a writer of short stories and novels and now lives in the provincial capital of Pekanbaru. After graduating from the Riau University’s Faculty of Teacher Training and Education in 1987, he worked as a journalist for the following nineteen years (including at Kompas, a major national daily). He has published two novels and three collections of poetry, one of which, tersebab aku melayu (because i’m a malay, 2010) was shortlisted for the Khatulistiwa Literary Award. The Riau Arts Council designated him a Guardian of Artistic Tradition (Seniman Pemangku Negeri) in 2004, and then Arts Laureate (Seniman Perdana) in 2005.