Marjorie Boulton: 90-jaraĝa en 2014

Jen malnova novaĵo sed atentinda: raporto kun pluraj fotoj pri festo ĉe Oxford por literaturologo kaj esperantista verkistino Marjorie Boulton (naskiĝinta la 7-an de majo 1924):

Marjorie Boulton: 90-jaraĝa (La Brita Esperantisto, aŭtuno 2014)

William Auld: “Striptease” ("Incitnudiĝo")

William Auld (1924-2006) was one of Esperanto's most important poets and literary advocates, the leading figure of his generation. I have always found his social-critical poems to be the most memorable. This poem appeared in his 1969 collection of poems Humoroj (Moods), in which he declared himself to be writing more personally (and less politically) than before, but even personal poems inevitably reflect on the state of society. This one is clearly a social commentary:

"Incitnudiĝo" de/by William Auld, with “Striptease,” English translation / angla traduko de/by Roy McDonald

Here Auld provides a harsh take on the patrons of strip clubs in his social environment. I never forgot it after reading it over 45 years ago.

The word "Incitnudiĝo" is a compound word coined by Auld, consisting of the morphemes incite + naked + becoming + noun, characterizing what "stripping" is and characteristic of the creative use of Esperanto's expressive capability via the free creation of compounds.

An English translation was published in Star in a Night Sky: An Anthology of Esperanto Literature, edited by Paul Gubbins (London: Francis Boutle Publishers, 2012), a huge compendium of English translations of Esperanto originals. Here it is.

Leendert Cornelis Deij: "Al la Juda Foririnto" / "To the Jew Who Walked Away"

This post commemorates the Holocaust Days of Remembrance in 2017. Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoah) marks the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Let us remember also that all of Zamenhof's children were murdered by the Nazis, and Esperanto was targeted as a Jewish conspiracy.

For decades this original Esperanto Holocaust-related poem has been my favorite on the theme of the Shoah. (I discovered some excellent Hungarian Holocaust poetry--some of which also has Esperanto translations--last year, but that is another story.) An English translation received a commendation in a British literary competition. I have reported on the poem, the poet, and the translation on this blog several times previously. I finally obtained the English translation, which I have added to the Esperanto original:

"Al la Juda Foririnto" / "To the Jew Who Walked Away"
by Leendert Cornelis Deij with English translation by Elizabeth Stanley

Note also William Auld's English translation:

Al la juda foririnto / To the Jewish Departed / Al judío que marchó
English translation by William Auld, literal Spanish translation by Fátima Maritela Marinera

Note that I have previously misspelled Deij's middle name, which should read ‘Cornelis’. ‘Leendert Cornelis Deij’ also appears under the names ‘Leen Deij’ and ‘Lodewijk Cornelis Deij’. When I figure out how to correct the subject heading, I will alter it to ‘Leendert Cornelis Deij’.

See also these web pages/sites:

• Star in a Night Sky (book’s web site)
• Star in a Night Sky: An Anthology of Esperanto Literature (publisher’s web site)
• Leendert Deij - Vikipedio
• Leendert Deij (OLE)
• La muelejo de Leen Deij (Deij's stillborn blog / blogo mortnaskita)

Guardian Books podcast: Minority languages

Guardian Books podcast: Saving minor language literature and a Welsh festival, 29 June 2012 (29 min)

Here is the extended description of the podcast (emphasis mine). The entire program is well worth a listen. The Gubbins Esperanto segment can be found at 7:50 - 15:55 min.

In this week's podcast, we turn our eyes – and ears – to the literature of minority languages. Claire Armitstead speaks to Clive Boutle, of publisher Francis Boutle, about his Lesser Used Languages of Europe series, and discusses the pleasures and problems of bringing out anthologies of Galician, Breton, Norman, Manx and Cornish writing. She also talks to Paul Gubbins, co-editor of the Esperanto magazine Monato, about the benefits of a truly international language.

Finally, as the inaugural bilingual Dinefwr Literature Festival opens, Sarah Crown asks National Poet of Wales Gillian Clarke about the challenges of representing a country with a substantial literary tradition in two different languages.

Paul Gubbins on BBC Radio 4's 'Saturday Live'

Paul Gubbins on BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live, talking about Esperanto (7 August 2010)