William Auld (6 November 1924 – 11 September 2006) was a British poet, author, translator and magazine editor who wrote chiefly in

Esperanto Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communic ...

Life

The grave of William Auld, Dollar churchyard

Auld was born at

Erith Erith () is an area in south-east London, England, east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the historical county of Kent. Since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Bexley. It lies nort ...

in Kent, and then moved to Glasgow with his parents, attending Allan Glen's School. After wartime service in the Royal Armed Forces, he studied English literature at

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, and then qualified as a teacher. In 1960, he was appointed to a secondary school in

Alloa Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; educated Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; gd, Alamhagh, possibly meaning "rock plain") is a town in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is on the north bank of the Forth at the spot wher ...

and he remained there for the rest of his life. He was nominated for the

Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

in 1999, 2004, and 2006, making him the first person nominated for works in Esperanto. His

masterpiece A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

, ''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 partly based on '' The Cantos'' by

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Fascism, fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works ...

. Auld began to learn Esperanto in

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into ...

but only became active in the propagation of the language in

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

, and from then on wrote many works in Esperanto. He edited various magazines and

review A review is an evaluation of a publication, product, service, or company or a critical take on current affairs in literature, politics or culture. In addition to a critical evaluation, the review's author may assign the work a rating to indi ...

s, including '' Esperanto en Skotlando'' (1949–1955), ''

'' (1955–1958, 1961–1962), '' Monda Kulturo'' (1962–1963), '' Norda Prismo'' (1968–1972), '' La Brita Esperantisto'' (1973–1999) and '' Fonto'' (1980–1987). He was Vice President of the

Universal Esperanto Association The Universal Esperanto Association ( eo, Universala Esperanto-Asocio, UEA), also known as the World Esperanto Association, is the largest international organization of Esperanto speakers, with 5501 individual members in 121 countries and 9215 th ...

(1977–1980), President of the

Academy of Esperanto The Akademio de Esperanto (AdE; en, Academy of Esperanto, link=yes) is an independent body of Esperanto speakers who steward the evolution of said language by keeping it consistent with the ''Fundamento de Esperanto'' in accordance with the Decla ...

(1979–1983), and President of the Esperanto

PEN A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity wh ...

Centre (1999–2005). He donated his personal collection of nearly 5000 books in and about Esperanto to the

National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS) ( gd, Leabharlann Nàiseanta na h-Alba, sco, Naitional Leebrar o Scotland) is the legal deposit library of Scotland and is one of the country's National Collections. As one of the largest libraries in t ...

, where it is now housed, in 2001. He died in Dolair/

Dollar, Clackmannanshire Dollar ( gd, Dolair) is a small town with a population of 2,800 people in Clackmannanshire, Scotland. It is east of Stirling. Toponymy Possible interpretations are that Dollar is derived from ''Doilleir'', an Irish and Scots Gaelic word mea ...

and is buried in Dollar churchyard. The grave lies on the approach path to the church from the main road.

List of works

Collected poetry

*''Spiro de l' pasio'' (1952) *''La infana raso'' (1956) *''Unufingraj melodioj'' (1960) *''Humoroj'' (1969) *''Rimleteroj'' (with

Marjorie Boulton Marjorie Boulton (7 May 1924 – 30 August 2017) was a British author and poet writing in both English and Esperanto. Biography Marjorie Boulton studied English at Somerville College, Oxford where she was taught by C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tol ...

, 1976) *''El unu verda vivo'' (1978) *''En barko senpilota'' ( Edistudio, 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 London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

(1952) *''Epifanio'', by

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

(1977) *''La urbo de terura nokto'', by James Thomson (1977) *''Don Johano, Kanto 1'', by

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

(1979) *''La robaioj de Omar Kajam'', by Edward Fitzgerald (1980) *''La sonetoj'', de

( Edistudio, 1981) *''Fenikso tro ofta'', by

Christopher Fry Christopher Fry (18 December 1907 – 30 June 2005) was an English poet and playwright. He is best known for his verse dramas, especially '' The Lady's Not for Burning'', which made him a major force in theatre in the 1940s and 1950s. Biograp ...

(1984) *''Montara vilaĝo'', by Chun-chan Je (1984) *''La graveco de la Fideliĝo'', by

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

(1987) *''La komedio de eraroj'', by

(with Asen M. Simeonov, 1987) *''Omaĝoj. Poemtradukoj'' (1987) *''Gazaloj'', by Hafiz (1988) *''Spartako'', by Leslie Mitchell (1993) *''La stratoj de Aŝkelono'', by Harry Harrison (1994) *''Teri-strato'', by

Douglas Dunn Douglas Eaglesham Dunn, OBE (born 23 October 1942) is a Scottish poet, academic, and critic. He is Professor of English and Director of St Andrew's Scottish Studies Institute at St Andrew's University. Background Dunn was born in Inchinnan, Re ...

(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) *''La Hobito, aŭ Tien kaj Reen'', by J. R. R. Tolkien (poems and songs; with Christopher Gledhill, Evertype 2015, , ) *''Kantoj, poemoj kaj satiroj'', by

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

(with

Reto Rossetti Reto Rossetti (11 April 1909 – 20 September 1994) 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 culmina ...

, 1977) *''Jurgen'', by

James Branch Cabell James 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, Edmund Wilson, and Sinclair Lewis. His work ...

(2001)

Translations

*''Aniaro'', by

Harry Martinson Harry Martinson (6May 190411February 1978) was a Swedish writer, poet and former sailor. 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 "for wr ...

(from

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

with Bertil Nilsson, 1979) *'' Julia on Pandataria''

Song collections

*''Floroj sen kompar''' (with Margaret Hill, 1973), British folksongs translated into Esperanto *''Kantanta mia bird''' (with Margaret Hill, 1973), British folksongs translated into Esperanto *''Dum la noktoj'' (with Margaret and David Hill, 1976), original songs

Textbooks

*''Esperanto: A New Approach;'' (1965) *''Paŝoj al plena posedo'' (1968) *''A first course in Esperanto'' (1972) *''Traduku! '' (1993)

Bibliographies

:''Bibliografio de tradukoj el la angla lingvo'' (with E. Grimley Evans, 1996)

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)

Miscellaneous literature

:''Pajleroj kaj stoploj: elektitaj prozaĵoj'' (1997)

References

External links

The Infant Race
– an English translation of ''La infana raso'']
The Bairnlie Race
– a Scots language, Scots translation of ''La infana raso''
An Cinneadh Leanabail
– a

Scots Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

translation of ''La infana raso''
Septembra matenoRimleteroj
(between William Auld and

)
Auld's poetry in English translation
at ''Poems Found in Translation''

by Girvan McKay. Includes 3 translations of Auld's work ''La infana raso'' into English, Scots & Gaelic
''Concise Encyclopedia of the Original Literature of Esperanto: 1887–2007''
Geoffrey Sutton, 2008. Mondial. ,

accessed 4 December 2016. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Auld, William 1924 births 2006 deaths Writers of Esperanto literature Akademio de Esperanto members Scottish essayists Scottish non-fiction writers Scottish schoolteachers Scottish translators Scottish song collectors Scottish science fiction writers Translators to Esperanto Scottish magazine editors People from Erith Scottish Esperantists 20th-century Scottish poets Scottish male poets 20th-century Scottish novelists Scottish male novelists 20th-century British translators 20th-century essayists 20th-century British male writers 20th-century British musicologists Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Air Force officers