Alone aboard the Plancus, Amir made the three-day boat trip to Java.
Upon arriving at Batavia, he enrolled at a Christian MULO there, where he completed his last year of junior high school.
Anthony H. Johns of Australian National University writes that he learned some Christian concepts and values.
Also in Batavia, Amir became involved with the social organisation Jong Sumatera.
During this period, the young man wrote his first poems.
Husny credits several to his heartbreak after he found that Aja Bun had been married to another man without Amir's knowing (the two never spoke again), while Dini suggests that the poem "Tinggallah" was written not long after he boarded the Plancus, while he was longing after his parents.

After a brief return to Sumatra, Amir continued to a Boedi Oetomo-operated Algemene Middelbare School (AMS; senior high school) in Surakarta, Central Java, where he studied eastern literature and languages, including Javanese, Sanskrit, and Arabic.
Preferring solitude to the bustle of the dormitories, Amir boarded at a privately owned home of a Surakartan resident.
Later he met several future writers, including Armijn Pane and Achdiat Karta Mihardja; they soon found him to be a friendly and diligent student with complete notes and a spotless bedroom (sheets folded so well, Mihardja later recalled, that a "lost fly could have easily slid over them"), but also a romantic prone to thinking wistfully beneath the lamplight and isolating himself from his classmates.

In Surakarta Amir joined the nationalist movement.
He would meet with fellow Sumatrans and discuss the social plight of the Malay archipelago's populace under Dutch colonial rule.
Though most educated youth at the time preferred using Dutch, he insisted on speaking Malay.
In 1930 Amir became head of the Surakartan branch of the Indonesia Muda (Young Indonesians), delivering a speech at the 1930 Youth Congress and serving as an editor of the organisation's magazine Garuda Merapi.
At school he also met Ilik Sundari, a Javanese woman nearly his age with whom he fell in love.
Sundari, the daughter of Raden Mas Kusumodihardjo, was one of the few female students at the school, and her home was near one of those in which Amir boarded.
According to Dini, the two grew closer, Amir teaching Sundari Arabic and Sundari teaching him Javanese.
They were soon meeting every day, conversing on a variety of topics.

Amir's mother died in 1931, and his father the year after, meaning that his education could no longer be funded.
After his AMS studies concluded, he wanted to continue to study at a law school in Batavia.
As such, he wrote to his brother, Jakfar, who arranged for the remainder of his studies to be paid for by the Sultan.
In 1932 Amir was able to return to Batavia and begin his legal studies, taking up a part-time job as a teacher.
At first, his relationship with Sundari was continued through letters, though she soon continued her studies in Lembang, a city much closer than Surakarta; this allowed the two to meet furtively – when Sundari's parents had discovered their relationship, Amir and Sundari had been forbidden from meeting.

This year Amir's first two poems, "Sunyi" ("Silent") and "Mabuk..." ("Nauseous..."), were published in the March edition of the magazine Timboel.
His other eight works published in 1932 included a syair based on the Hikayat Hang Tuah, three other poems, two pieces of lyrical prose, and two short stories; the poems were again published in Timboel, while the prose was included in the magazine Pandji Poestaka.
Around September 1932 Armijn Pane, upon the urgings of Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana, editor of "Memadjoekan Sastera" ("Advancing Literature", the literary section of Pandji Poestaka), invited Amir to help them establish an independent literary magazine.
Amir accepted, and was tasked with writing letters to solicit submissions; a total of fifty letters were sent to noted writers, including forty sent to contributors to "Memadjoekan Sastera".
After several months of preparations, the initial edition was published in July 1933, under t
Alone aboard the Plancus, Amir made the three-day boat trip to Java. Upon arriving at Batavia, he enrolled at a Christian MULO there, where he completed his last year of junior high school. Anthony H. Johns of Australian National University writes that he learned some Christian concepts and values. Also in Batavia, Amir became involved with the social organisation Jong Sumatera. During this period, the young man wrote his first poems. Husny credits several to his heartbreak after he found that Aja Bun had been married to another man without Amir's knowing (the two never spoke again), while Dini suggests that the poem "Tinggallah" was written not long after he boarded the Plancus, while he was longing after his parents.
After a brief return to Sumatra, Amir continued to a Boedi Oetomo-operated Algemene Middelbare School (AMS; senior high school) in Surakarta, Central Java, where he studied eastern literature and languages, including Javanese, Sanskrit, and Arabic. Preferring solitude to the bustle of the dormitories, Amir boarded at a privately owned home of a Surakartan resident. Later he met several future writers, including Armijn Pane and Achdiat Karta Mihardja; they soon found him to be a friendly and diligent student with complete notes and a spotless bedroom (sheets folded so well, Mihardja later recalled, that a "lost fly could have easily slid over them"), but also a romantic prone to thinking wistfully beneath the lamplight and isolating himself from his classmates.
In Surakarta Amir joined the nationalist movement. He would meet with fellow Sumatrans and discuss the social plight of the Malay archipelago's populace under Dutch colonial rule. Though most educated youth at the time preferred using Dutch, he insisted on speaking Malay. In 1930 Amir became head of the Surakartan branch of the Indonesia Muda (Young Indonesians), delivering a speech at the 1930 Youth Congress and serving as an editor of the organisation's magazine Garuda Merapi. At school he also met Ilik Sundari, a Javanese woman nearly his age with whom he fell in love. Sundari, the daughter of Raden Mas Kusumodihardjo, was one of the few female students at the school, and her home was near one of those in which Amir boarded. According to Dini, the two grew closer, Amir teaching Sundari Arabic and Sundari teaching him Javanese. They were soon meeting every day, conversing on a variety of topics.
Amir's mother died in 1931, and his father the year after, meaning that his education could no longer be funded. After his AMS studies concluded, he wanted to continue to study at a law school in Batavia. As such, he wrote to his brother, Jakfar, who arranged for the remainder of his studies to be paid for by the Sultan. In 1932 Amir was able to return to Batavia and begin his legal studies, taking up a part-time job as a teacher. At first, his relationship with Sundari was continued through letters, though she soon continued her studies in Lembang, a city much closer than Surakarta; this allowed the two to meet furtively – when Sundari's parents had discovered their relationship, Amir and Sundari had been forbidden from meeting.
This year Amir's first two poems, "Sunyi" ("Silent") and "Mabuk..." ("Nauseous..."), were published in the March edition of the magazine Timboel. His other eight works published in 1932 included a syair based on the Hikayat Hang Tuah, three other poems, two pieces of lyrical prose, and two short stories; the poems were again published in Timboel, while the prose was included in the magazine Pandji Poestaka. Around September 1932 Armijn Pane, upon the urgings of Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana, editor of "Memadjoekan Sastera" ("Advancing Literature", the literary section of Pandji Poestaka), invited Amir to help them establish an independent literary magazine. Amir accepted, and was tasked with writing letters to solicit submissions; a total of fifty letters were sent to noted writers, including forty sent to contributors to "Memadjoekan Sastera". After several months of preparations, the initial edition was published in July 1933, under t
Amir Hamzah