Hasif involvement with TUK began in 1999 when he began working with Kalam. Previously he studied economics at the University of Indonesia but left this to follow his true calling working with language and literature. In 1992, along with several colleagues, he founded Gorong-Gorong Budaya, a discussion group that published a number of books on culture.
An accomplished translator and editor, Hasif is particularly known for his excellent translations of poetry and prose to English from Indonesian, his English being polished by one year living in New Zealand with the AFS Intercultural Learning Program. Among his work, he translated and co-edited with Margaret dan Leon Agusta the poetry anthology The Poets’ Chant (1995) that was published in connection with the Istiqlal International Poetry Reading ’95. He edited the short story collection Para Pembohong (1996). Translated selected fiction works of Jorge Luis Borges under the title Labirin Impian (1999). Presently, he works as the editor of Kalam and co-editor of Prosa, as well as developing discussions of poetry in the cultural column “Bentara” in the newspaper Kompas.