Literature in the

Esperanto language 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 communi ...

began before the first official publication in Esperanto in 1887: the language's creator,

L. L. Zamenhof L. L. Zamenhof (15 December 185914 April 1917) was an ophthalmologist who lived for most of his life in Warsaw. He is best known as the creator of Esperanto, the most widely used constructed international auxiliary language. Zamenhof first dev ...

, 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 short original poem as an appendix to the first book on the language, ''

Unua Libro ''Dr. Esperanto's International Language'' (russian: wikt:международный#Russian, Международный wikt:язык#Russian, язык), commonly referred to as ' (''First Book''), is an 1887 book by Polish ophthalmologist L. L ...

''. Other early speakers wrote poetry, stories, and essays in the language; Henri Vallienne was the first to write novels in Esperanto. The first female Esperanto novelist was

Edith Alleyne Sinnotte Edith Alleyne Sinnotte (1871, Liverpool, UK – 15 November 1947, Balwyn, Victoria, Australia) was an Australian writer of British origin. She is best known as the first female Esperanto novelist. Life and work Edith Alleyne Sinnotte was bo ...

with her book ''Lilio'' published in 1918''.'' Except for a handful of poems, most of the literature from Esperanto's first two decades is now regarded as of historical interest only. Between the two World Wars, several new poets and novelists published their first works, including several recognized as the first to produce work of outstanding quality in the still-young language:

Julio Baghy Julio Baghy (13 January 1891, Szeged – 18 March 1967, Budapest; in Hungarian Baghy Gyula) was a Hungarian actor and one of the leading authors of the Esperanto movement. He is the author of several famous novels but it is particularly in t ...

, Eŭgeno Miĥalski,

Kálmán Kalocsay Kálmán Kalocsay (; 6 October 1891 in Abaújszántó – 27 February 1976) was a Hungarian Esperantist poet, translator and editor who considerably influenced Esperanto culture, both in its literature and in the language itself, through hi ...

, Heinrich Luyken, and

Jean Forge Jan Fethke (26 February 1903 – 16 December 1980) was a German- Polish film director and, under the pen name Jean Forge, a successful author. He also was a famous proponent of the language Esperanto. Life Born in Oppeln, Silesia, Jan Fethke ...

. Modern authors include

Claude Piron Claude Piron, also known by the pseudonym Johán Valano, was a Swiss psychologist, Esperantist, translator, and writer. He worked as a translator for the United Nations from 1956 to 1961 and then for the World Health Organization. He was a prol ...

and

William Auld William Auld (6 November 1924 – 11 September 2006) was a British poet, author, translator and magazine editor who wrote chiefly in Esperanto. Life Auld was born at Erith in Kent, and then moved to Glasgow with his parents, attending Allan ...

, who 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 , ...

. Esperanto has seen a solid production of material in

braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are Blindness, blind, Deafblindness, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on Paper embossing, embossed paper ...

since the work of the blind Russian

Esperantist An Esperantist ( eo, esperantisto) is a person who speaks, reads or writes Esperanto. According to the Declaration of Boulogne, a document agreed upon at the first World Esperanto Congress in 1905, an Esperantist is someone who speaks Esperanto ...

Vasili Eroshenko Vasili Yakovlevich Eroshenko (russian: Василий Яковлевич Ерошенко uk, Василь Якович Єрошенко) (12 January 1890 – 23 December 1952) was a blind writer, translator, esperantist, linguist, traveler, ...

, who wrote and taught in Japan and China in the 1910s and 1920s, and Harold Brown wrote several modern plays in Esperanto. The largest Esperanto book service at 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 ...

offers around 4,000 books in its catalog. About 130 novels have been published originally in Esperanto.Current trends in literary production in Esperanto
/ref> Two major literary magazines: ''Literatura Foiro'', and ''Beletra Almanako'', are published regularly; some other magazines, such as ''

Monato ''Monato'' is a monthly magazine produced in Esperanto which carries articles on politics, culture and economics. It is printed in Belgium and distributed to readers in 65 countries. The title simply means "month". It has 100 correspondents in ...

'', also publish fiction. The most comprehensive guide to the literature of the language is Geoffrey Sutton's ''Concise Encyclopedia of the Original Literature of Esperanto'', published under the auspices of the Esperanto-speaking Writers' Association by Mondial.

Notable writers

Some of the major figures of Esperanto

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

: *

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. Tolki ...

Kazimierz Bein Kazimierz Bein (1872 – June 15, 1959), often referred to by his pseudonym Kabe, was a Polish ophthalmologist, the founder and sometime director of the Warsaw Ophthalmic Institute (''Warszawski Instytut Oftalmiczny''). He was also, for a ...

(translations) * Jorge Camacho *

Antoni Grabowski Antoni Grabowski (11 June 1857 – 4 July 1921)Julius Glück, ''El la klasika periodo de Esperanto (Grabowski kaj Kabe)'', en Muusses Esperanto Biblioteko No. 5, Purmerend, 1937. p. 6. was a Polish chemical engineer, and an activist of the early ...

(mainly translations) *

Sten Johansson The STEN (or Sten gun) is a family of British submachine guns chambered in 9×19mm which were used extensively by Commonwealth of Nations, British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and the Korean War. They had a simple design and ...

Nikolai Vladimirovich Nekrasov Nikolai Vladimirovich Nekrasov (russian: Николай Владимирович Некрасов) (18 December 1900 – 4 October 1938) was a Soviet Esperanto writer, translator, and critic. Biography Nekrasov was born in Moscow. A journalist ...

Mauro Nervi Mauro Nervi (born 1959) is an Italian poet in the Esperanto language. Nervi was born in La Spezia, a port town in northern Italy. A student of medicine, he gained his M.D. as a general surgeon. Since 1984 he has worked in the department of surg ...

Frederic Pujulà i Vallès Frederic Pujulà i Vallès () (12 November 1877 – 14 February 1962) was a Spanish journalist, dramatist, and a passionate Esperantist and contributor to the field of Esperanto literature. Born in Palamós, Girona, he travelled through Europ ...

Baldur Ragnarsson Baldur Ragnarsson (25 August 1930 – 25 December 2018) was an Icelandic poet and author of Esperanto works. He was a teacher and a superintendent of schools in Iceland. Esperanto Baldur learned Esperanto at school in 1949 and was active in ...

Raymond Schwartz Raymond Schwartz (8 April 1894 – 14 May 1973) was a French banker and Esperanto author who wrote many poems and novels in Esperanto, as well as skits which he directed for Parisian Esperanto cabarets. Biography Schwartz was born into a Frenc ...

Trevor Steele Trevor Steele (born 1940) is an Australian Esperantist who has written numerous short stories and novels in Esperanto. Steele's work is strongly influenced by his travel experiences in Germany, Western Europe and elsewhere, and is further enriched ...

Vladimir Varankin Vladimir Valentinovich Varankin (12 November 1902 – 3 October 1938) was a Soviet writer of literature in Esperanto, an instructor of western European history, and director of the Moscow Ped. Instituto for foreign languages. He wrote the nove ...

References

* ''The Esperanto Book''
Chapter 9: "The Literary Scene"
by Don Harlow. 1995. * ''La Fenomeno Esperanto'' by William Auld. UEA, 1988.

by Geoffrey Sutton

External links

Esperanto books
at Faded Page (Canada)
Writings in Esperanto at Project Gutenberg

Beletra Almanako

Notes about Esperanto literature

UEA's book service
{{Authority control Esperanto

Notable writers

See also

References

External links