A. Z. Foreman translates William Auld & other Esperanto poets

Tradukisto A. Z. Foreman kritikas la lingvon kaj propagandon de Esperanto sed tradukas originalajn Esperantajn poemojn anglalingven: ĝis nun poemojn de William Auld, Marjorie Boulton, Kalman Kaloscay, kaj Ludmila Jevsejeva. En ĉiu kazo oni povas aŭskulti lian deklamon de la originala poemo. Ĉar temas pri anglalingva legantaro, la cetero de ĉi tiu blogero estas anglalingva.

A. Z. Foreman is a polyglot, linguistics student, and poetry lover who translates from several languages including Esperanto into English, as you will see from his blog Poems Found in Translation. Some character by the name of "Ralph Ellectual" has commented on all his Esperanto blog entries, and I agree with his judgments. Foreman has some harsh but fair comments about the language itself, which he likes for reasons other than the usual propaganda. See his piece:

Meditation On Esperanto: Part 1- Internationalism

I won't quibble over his detailed remarks about the linguistic quirks of Esperanto, but I share a rejection of the type of Esperantist propaganda promulgated by Claude Piron.

But let's move on to Foreman's translations from Esperanto:

William Auld: In an Old Cemetery,  Julia on Pandateria 
Marjorie Boulton: Memnon 
Kalman Kalocsay: A Summer Night
Ludmila Jevsejeva: Autumn Melody

For each poem Foreman provides a sound file of him reading the Esperanto original, along with the text of the Esperanto original and his translation. These poems are meditative (on time, history, perspectives of the present vs. the past) or lyrical. The first three poets listed are famous in the Esperanto world. The last one is new to me, but Ludmila Jevsejeva (1913-1980) is not new on the scene at all; in fact, she was a victim of Stalin's purges. See also Ludmila Jevsejeva - esperantistino kaj poetino.

I shall be interested in what else Mr. Foreman has to say about Esperanto language and poetry, and of course I look forward to further translations.