Concise Encyclopedia of the Original Literature of Esperanto by Geoffrey H. Sutton

by Geoffrey H. Sutton

Concise Encyclopedia of the Original Literature of Esperanto is a unique work of international reference, with over 300 individual articles on the most important authors. Its introductory articles to the literature and to each of its periods also tell the fascinating story of the development of the literature from its humble beginnings in 1887 to its worldwide use in every literary genre today. --- The planned, neutral international language Esperanto is used across the world as a second language by people who wish to practice mutual respect for other cultures, not merely advocate it. --- Original Esperanto literature - creative writing directly in Esperanto by, at least, bilingual speakers - is the work of authors from many countries, who have chosen to write in it because of its merits. It is, as yet, always a labour of love, that is to say a product of culture. It is also most fundamentally democratic - a product of people - as opposed to capital, power or national prestige. Esperanto culture is rooted in the fundamental values of humanity, equality and mutual respect, multilingualism, language rights, and cultural diversity and emancipation.

Genres: Language

Hardcover

First published June 8, 2008

Reviews

[Dave Maddock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Purchasing this book may be the single best investment I've ever made. Last year I stumbled upon the existence of Esperanto, was intrigued by its large body of original literature, and tried to find out more. Upon seeing the size of this tome (and its price tag), I had to question just how curious about Esperanto I was. Lucky for me I took the plunge. Even luckier for you, Mondial now also sells an ebook version through Google Books at a huge discount. I've bought that too because it's just that good.

Perhaps it's a little ironic that the best reference on Esperanto literature is written in English, but I'm glad this is the case because it makes the topic accessible to those who don't know Esperanto. For newcomers to the language, the typical 'sales pitch' focuses on ideological arguments like fostering international understanding, world peace, meeting new people, etc. a.k.a. the "internal idea." Now, this may have been useful 100 years ago when it was created, but no more. In my opinion, the most compelling reason to learn Esperanto is two-fold: First, to access its original literature which is largely untranslated into major languages. Second, to access literatures of smaller languages which are largely untranslated into major languages, but are very well represented in Esperanto. In these two areas, Esperanto is a veritable gold mine.

Now, here's how you read this thing. First, if you are very new to Esperanto, jump down to Claude Piron's section on the creative capabilities of the language. Second, read all the introductory material. Third, read the introductory section to each of the five literary periods. Lastly, read the sections on major authors and those writers who sounded interesting to you from what you've already learned. I would recommend starting with the ones Sutton mentions on page 18. Note that you can accomplish most of the above reading for free with the Google Preview feature. After the above (which probably amounts to 100 pages or so), you'll be well-equipped to delve into the wonders of Esperanto literature. But, you'll find yourself coming back to Sutton often to check up on a new writer you discovered, or to just open up to a random page, pick a name, and start reading.

Amuziĝu!

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What I wrote on Aug. 26, 2010:

Didn't read this entirely yet, but I read most of what's available in Google Books preview. The University of Hartford library has a reference copy which I intend to avail myself of when the opportunity arises.

If, like me, you are intrigued at the thought of a large body of original literature written in a planned language, then I'd suggest you check this out in Google Books preview. Page 18 gives a list of the major literary authors in the language. An extract of an essay by Piron (p. 577) on Esperanto's expressiveness is interesting as well.