Sciencfikcio en Esperanto (12): International Science Fiction (3)

Mi enretigis la jenan novelon / I have digitized this story from International Science-Fiction, No. 2, June 1968:

“In 2112,” by J. U. Geisy & J. B. Smith, translated from Esperanto by Forrest J. Ackerman

Here is what Ackerman says at the end about its origin:

This antiquity, written in the year Tarzan was born in the pre-Gernsback prehistoric era of "different" stories and "offtrail" stories and "scientific romances," is from the early literature of Esperantujo (Homeland of Esperantists).

I would like to track down the Esperanto version of the story, if possible. / Mi volas trovi la esperantan originalon de ĉi tiu traduko.

Sciencfikcio en Esperanto (11): International Science Fiction (2)

There were only two issues of International Science Fiction published, in 1967 and 1968.  I will soon report on issue #1, but here are some key pages from issue #2:

International Science-Fiction, No. 2, June 1968: Cover, Contents, Editorial, Vietnam War Controversy

The countries & languages translated into English represented in this volume are: Netherlands, Austria, France, Poland, India, Chile, Italy, USSR, Esperanto.

The table of contents lacks a story printed in this issue, from Dutch: "Der Heisse Kosmonaut" by Gust Gils (pp. 41-42).

The Esperanto contribution is "In 2112" by J. U. Giesy & Junius B. Smith, translated by celebrated science fiction figure and Esperantist Forrest J Ackerman (pp. 93-97). There are two illustrations and a postscript by Ackermann, with a passage in Esperanto and an explanation of the origin of the story, which dates back to the early years of Esperanto, corresponding to the pre-Gernsback era of science fiction.

In his lead editorial, "The Balance of Ideas," Lester del Ray tackles the language barrier, particularly the unevenness in international communication, considering that English-speakers don't learn foreign languages, while the educated class elsewhere has learned English. English-speaking science fiction aficionados should be wary of provincialism. Pioneers of science fiction include not only Englishman H. G. Wells, Frenchman Jules Verne, but also Karel Čapek, who gave the world the "robot."

On my web page you can also find a graphic image of two rosters of science fiction authors lining up in opposing positions on the Vietnam War, which reached a critical point in 1968. The war hawks include John W. Campbell, Robert A. Heinlein, R. A. Lafferty, Larry Niven, Jack Vance, and other famous and not-so-famous authors. Opposing American participation in the Vietnam War are Ackerman, Isaac Asimov, Peter S. Beagle, Ray Bradbury, Samuel R. Delany, Lester del Ray, Philip K. Dick, Thomas Disch, Harlan Ellison, Harry Harrison, Ursula K. LeGuin, Mack Reynolds, Gene Roddenberry, Joanna Russ, Robert Silverberg, and many others.

I should also note, in addition to the fiction, an article (not on my web page) by John R. Isaac, "Coming Age of Soviet Science Fiction" (pp. 35-41). The subject is Ivan Yefremov's Andromeda, which marks the emergence of Soviet science fiction as a serious genre. Isaac details this scenario of a future communist utopia, which is not crudely propagandistic, and could prove as appealing to us in the capitalist world as elsewhere.

Sciencfikcio & Esperanto / Esperanto in science fiction (5)

Reported via Locus Online, 21 January 2003:

Los Angeles Times, January 6, 2003
Another article about Mr. Sci-fi, Forrest J Ackerman.

During a chat with a visitor Ackerman suddenly leans forward. In a mishmash of what sounds like French, Spanish and Italian that is somehow comprehensible to any liberal arts graduate, he tells a visitor her eyes are beautiful, her height striking. He is speaking Esperanto. "In the 20s and 30s, some science fiction stories of the future mentioned that everyone would one day speak Esperanto," he says. "For me it was like time travel. It was like going 100 years into the future. And if I could bring back a bottle of something, I would be thrilled. At least I could bring back the language everyone would be speaking."

Something about Ackerman's snippet of Esperanto seems to capture the soul of science fiction, and of Ackerman himself. It speaks to a utopian vision cherished by people who fantasize about a world where Martians and Klingons and humans can all speak the same language and get along. It is the view of an optimist, the view of a man whose slogan is "Save humanity with science and sanity."