William Auld
Encyclopedia
William Auld was a Scottish
poet, author, translator and magazine editor who wrote chiefly in Esperanto
. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature
in 1999, 2004, and 2006 making him the first and only person to be nominated for works in Esperanto. His magnum opus
, La infana raso (The Infant Race), is a long poem that, in Auld's words, explores "the role of the human race in time and in the cosmos," and is based heavily on The Cantos
by Ezra Pound
.
Auld began to learn Esperanto in 1937 but only became active in the propagation of the language in 1947, and from then on wrote many works in Esperanto. He edited various magazine
s and review
s, including Esperanto en Skotlando (1949–1955), Esperanto (1955–1958, 1961–1962), Monda Kulturo (1962–1963), Norda Prismo (1968–1972), La Brita Esperantisto (1973–1999) and Fonto (1980–1987). He was the Vice-President of the World Esperanto Association
(1977–1980), president of the Academy of Esperanto (1979–1983), and honorary president of the Esperanto PEN
Centre.
In 2001, he donated his large personal collection of Esperanto literature
to the National Library of Scotland
, where it is now housed.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
poet, author, translator and magazine editor who wrote chiefly in Esperanto
Esperanto
is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...
. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature
Nobel Prize in Literature
Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
in 1999, 2004, and 2006 making him the first and only person to be nominated for works in Esperanto. His magnum opus
Magnum opus
Magnum opus , from the Latin meaning "great work", refers to the largest, and perhaps the best, greatest, most popular, or most renowned achievement of a writer, artist, or composer.-Related terms:Sometimes the term magnum opus is used to refer to simply "a great work" rather than "the...
, La infana raso (The Infant Race), is a long poem that, in Auld's words, explores "the role of the human race in time and in the cosmos," and is based heavily on The Cantos
The Cantos
The Cantos by Ezra Pound is a long, incomplete poem in 120 sections, each of which is a canto. Most of it was written between 1915 and 1962, although much of the early work was abandoned and the early cantos, as finally published, date from 1922 onwards. It is a book-length work, widely considered...
by Ezra Pound
Ezra Pound
Ezra Weston Loomis Pound was an American expatriate poet and critic and a major figure in the early modernist movement in poetry...
.
Auld began to learn Esperanto in 1937 but only became active in the propagation of the language in 1947, and from then on wrote many works in Esperanto. He edited various magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
s and review
Review
A review is an evaluation of a publication, a product or a service, such as a movie , video game, musical composition , book ; a piece of hardware like a car, home appliance, or computer; or an event or performance, such as a live music concert, a play, musical theater show or dance show...
s, including Esperanto en Skotlando (1949–1955), Esperanto (1955–1958, 1961–1962), Monda Kulturo (1962–1963), Norda Prismo (1968–1972), La Brita Esperantisto (1973–1999) and Fonto (1980–1987). He was the Vice-President of the World Esperanto Association
World Esperanto Association
The World Esperanto Association is the largest international organization of Esperanto speakers, with members in 121 countries and in official relations with the United Nations and UNESCO. In addition to individual members, 70 national Esperanto organizations are affiliated to UEA...
(1977–1980), president of the Academy of Esperanto (1979–1983), and honorary president of the Esperanto PEN
International PEN
PEN International , the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere....
Centre.
In 2001, he donated his large personal collection of Esperanto literature
Esperanto literature
Esperanto literature began before the official publication of the constructed language Esperanto; the language's creator, L. L. Zamenhof, translated poetry and prose into the language as he was developing it as a test of its completeness and expressiveness, and published several translations and a...
to the National Library of Scotland
National Library of Scotland
The National Library of Scotland is the legal deposit library of Scotland and is one of the country's National Collections. It is based in a collection of buildings in Edinburgh city centre. The headquarters is on George IV Bridge, between the Old Town and the university quarter...
, where it is now housed.
Collected poetry
- Spiro de l' pasio (1952)
- La infana raso (1956)
- Unufingraj melodioj (1960)
- Humoroj (1969)
- Rimleteroj (with Marjorie BoultonMarjorie BoultonMarjorie Boulton is a British author and poet writing in both English and Esperanto.Author of Zamenhof: Creator of Esperanto — a biography of L. L...
, 1976) - El unu verda vivo (1978)
- En barko senpilota (1987)
- Unu el ni (1992)
Anthologies
- Angla antologio 1000-1800 (poetry editor, 1957)
- Esperanta antologio (1958/1984)
- 25 jaroj (poetry editor, 1977)
- Skota antologio (associate editor, 1978)
- Sub signo de socia muzo (1987)
- Nova Esperanta Krestomatio (1991)
- Plena poemaro: Miĥalski (ed. 1994)
- Tempo fuĝas (1996)
Translations from English
- La balenodento, by Jack LondonJack LondonJohn Griffith "Jack" London was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone...
(1952) - Epifanio, by ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
(1977) - La urbo de terura nokto, by James ThomsonJames Thomson (B.V.)James Thomson , who wrote under the pseudonym Bysshe Vanolis, was a Scottish Victorian-era poet famous primarily for the long poem The City of Dreadful Night , an expression of bleak pessimism in a dehumanized, uncaring urban environment.-Life:Thomson was born in Port Glasgow, Scotland, and, after...
(1977) - Don Johano, Kanto 1, by Lord Byron (1979)
- La robaioj de Omar Kajam, by Edward FitzgeraldEdward FitzGerald (poet)Edward FitzGerald was an English writer, best known as the poet of the first and most famous English translation of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. The spelling of his name as both FitzGerald and Fitzgerald is seen...
(1980) - La sonetoj, de ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
(1981) - Fenikso tro ofta, by Christopher FryChristopher FryChristopher Fry was an English playwright. He is best known for his verse dramas, notably The Lady's Not for Burning, which made him a major force in theatre in the 1940s and 1950s.-Early life:...
(1984) - Montara vilaĝo, by Chun-chan Je (1984)
- La graveco de la Fideliĝo, by Oscar WildeOscar WildeOscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
(1987) - La komedio de eraroj, by ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
(with Asen M. Simeonov, 1987) - Omaĝoj. Poemtradukoj (1987)
- Gazaloj, by Hafiz (1988)
- Spartako, by Leslie MitchellLeslie MitchellDr Leslie Mitchell is a leading British authority on 18th century history.Mitchell is historian and Emeritus Fellow of University College and a member of the History Faculty at the University of Oxford, England. He has been Dean of the college, appeared in the Univ Revue, and was editor of the...
(1993) - La stratoj de Aŝkelono, by Harry HarrisonHarry HarrisonHarry Harrison is an American science fiction author best known for his character the Stainless Steel Rat and the novel Make Room! Make Room! , the basis for the film Soylent Green...
(1994) - Teri-strato, by Douglas DunnDouglas DunnDouglas Eaglesham Dunn, OBE is a Scottish poet, academic, and critic. He currently lives in Scotland.-Background:Dunn was born in Inchinnan, Renfrewshire. He was educated at the Scottish School of Librarianship, and worked as a librarian before he started his studies in Hull...
(1995) - La kunularo de l' ringo, by J.R.R. Tolkien (1995)
- La du turegoj, by J.R.R. Tolkien (1995)
- La reveno de la reĝo, by J.R.R. Tolkien (1997)
- La hobito, by J.R.R. Tolkien (poems and songs; with Christopher Gledhill, 2000)
- Kantoj, poemoj kaj satiroj, by Robert BurnsRobert BurnsRobert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
(with Reto RossettiReto RossettiReto Rossetti was a poet and an Esperantist professor. He was Italian-Swiss and retained his nationality, although he lived all his life in Britain. His professional career as a teacher in art colleges culminated as Head of the art education department at Bristol university...
, 1977) - Jurgen, by James Branch CabellJames Branch CabellJames Branch Cabell, ; April 14, 1879 – May 5, 1958) was an American author of fantasy fiction and belles lettres. Cabell was well regarded by his contemporaries, including H. L. Mencken and Sinclair Lewis. His works were considered escapist and fit well in the culture of the 1920s, when his...
(2001)
Translations
- Aniaro, by Harry MartinsonHarry MartinsonHarry Martinson was a Swedish sailor, author and poet. In 1949 he was elected into the Swedish Academy. He was awarded a joint Nobel Prize in Literature in 1974 together with fellow Swede Eyvind Johnson. The choice for Eyvind Johnson and Harry Martinson was very controversial as both were on the...
(from SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
with Bertil Nilsson, 1979)
Song collections
- Floroj sen kompar (with Margaret HillMargaret HillMargaret Hill is a peak rising to 1874 m on Rucker Ridge, 5 nautical miles east of Mount Rucker, Royal Society Range, Victoria Land. Named after Margaret Clark, a geologist with the 1977-78 New Zealand Geological Survey field party in this area. The form of the name has been selected to avoid...
, 1973), British folksongs translated into Esperanto - Kantanta mia bird (with Margaret Hill, 1973), British folksongs translated into Esperanto
- Dum la noktoj (with Margaret kaj David HillDavid Hill-Politicians:* David B. Hill , Governor of the U.S. state of New York, 1885–1891, U.S. Senator from New York, 1892–1897* David Jayne Hill , politician from New York, United States Assistant Secretary of State, 1898–1903...
, 1976), original songs
Textbooks
- Esperanto: A New Approach; (1965)
- Paŝoj al plena posedo (1968)
- A first course in Esperanto (1972)
- Traduku! (1993)
Essay collections
- Facetoj de Esperanto (1976)
- Pri lingvo kaj aliaj artoj (1978)
- Enkonduko en la originalan literaturon de Esperanto (1979)
- Vereco, distro, stilo (1981)
- Kulturo kaj internacia lingvo (1986)
- La fenomeno Esperanto (1988)
- La skota lingvo, hodiaŭ kaj hieraŭ (1988)
External links
- The Infant Race – an EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
translation of La infana raso (often considered Auld’s major work of poetry) - The Bairnlie Race – a ScotsScots languageScots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
translation of La infana raso - An Cinneadh Leanabail – a Scots Gaelic translation of La infana raso
- Anna
- Septembra mateno
- Rimleteroj (between William Auld and Marjorie BoultonMarjorie BoultonMarjorie Boulton is a British author and poet writing in both English and Esperanto.Author of Zamenhof: Creator of Esperanto — a biography of L. L...
) - Obituary published in The ScotsmanThe ScotsmanThe Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
- Auld's poetry in English translation at Poems Found in Translation
- - "William Auld - Master Poet of Esperanto by Girvan McKay. Includes 3 translations of Auld's work La infana raso into English, Scots & Gaelic