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William Auld: a true stalwart

© David Poulson

I wonder if there are any countries in the world in which the most important creative writers do as much hard slog for the ethnic language as many of the leading Esperanto writers do for the Esperanto movement. Zamenhof himself, whose original poetry and prose and verse translations reveal to be a writer of great talent, seems to have set the style. As has been described in earlier topic articles, he constantly overworked, writing article after article and letter after letter each night after a long day's work in his clinic, and this unrelenting labour was certainly a major factor in causing his early death at the age of 57.

And he was followed by a long line of gifted writers who seem to have achieved an enormous amount in addition to their literary output. In some cases they achieved distinction in their chosen profession, as did Kaloman Kaloscay. In others, they seem to have almost sacrificed their literary talent by pouring their energies into organizational or editorial work, into teaching, or other movement-related activities. As did Julio Baghy, who, although sometimes described as "la fajrkora poeto" - the poet with the fiery heart - was also described as "the poet who clipped his wings." Kabe, a master of Esperanto prose style, produced a dictionary. Gaston Waringhien, a poet of distinction, produced another. The list is a long one.

In the case of William Auld, fortunately, his robust Scottish constitution in conjunction with his tremendous talent, produced a high achiever who managed not only to produce original work in copious quantity and high quality, but also to work like a beaver at editing journals, translating books, editing major anthologies, and participating to the full in the Esperanto movement. Although I can't be absolutely sure, I am fairly certain that Auld was the editor of one journal or another since the early 1950s. Over 40 years of demanding work!

Auld was also responsible for many useful bibliographical contributions and produced his own "Baza legolisto de la originala Esperanto-literaturo" (Basic reading list of original Esperanto literature) which can be found at:
http://esperanto.agoranet.be/fel/but/baz...

Out of all of that editorial work, perhaps the most important contribution was the dramatic change he made to the Esperanto movement's official journal between 1955 and 1962. (A change begun, it must be said, by Auld's friend and compatriot, Reto Rossetti.) When the Second World War ended, the Esperanto movement was in seriously bad shape and during a difficult period of reconstruction, La Revuo Esperanto Internacia (as it was then called) was little more than a newsletter. Not that this was such a bad thing: there was a lot of news to report as national Esperanto associations began to get back on their feet. Still, the journal did not seem a very impressive showcase for a movement which dated back sixty years.

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