On the day when the greatest contributor to Esperanto from these shores would have turned 100, the Esperanto Association of Britain held a ceremony in memory of William “Bill” Auld in the National Library of Scotland, to which he donated his vast collection of works in and about Esperanto in 2001. His widow, Meta Auld, now 98, was unable to participate owing to frailty but did receive on the same day flowers and a card in the name of British Esperantists.
In all only six Esperantists were present, plus a representative of the National Library of Scotland and Tim Owen, who led the ceremony. The early arrivals received a guided tour courtesy of Graeme Hawley, who is curator of several specialist collections, including Bill Auld's.
Tim Owen welcomed the guests, explaining that the ceremony would start with a message sent by Humphrey Tonkin, who first met Bill Auld in the early 1950s. Afterwards, the director of EAB began to present the life and works of Auld:
Following the introduction came the poems. From Spiro de l' pasio – the collection of Auld in Kvaropo (1952) – the participants heard Ebrio, in Auld's own delivery. Donald Scott's translation into English, Crapulence, was read out by Graeme Hawley:
1956 was the year in which Auld twice became a father. His and Meta's daughter, Judith, was born, as was his 25-verse epic, La infana raso. Martin McClelland declaimed the first verse, interspersed with Tim Owen reading out some of Roy McDonald's translation:
From Unufingraj melodioj (1960) came Elegio en malnova tombejo, declaimed by Geoffrey Wood:
D.B. Gregor's translation, Elegy in an old Graveyard, was read out by Tim Owen. The final poetic contribution came from Humoroj (1969). Once more the voice of Bill Auld himself was heard, who Incitnudiĝo in the 1970s. Roy McDonald's translation, Striptease, was read out by Ed Robertson:
Following the poems were listings of all the various magazines which Auld had edited, his essays, textbooks and translations, and his works for Esperanto's centenary in 1987. It wasn't possible to avoid the conclusion that he was a particularly outstanding contributor to Esperanto's literary culture. This was acknowledged in a message from Nicola Ruggiero, representing the Akademio Literatura de Esperanto, which was read out by Tim Owen.
Bill Auld did not restrict his contributions to just the literary sphere; within the Esperanto Movement he held several prominent positions. He was a member of the Akademio de Esperanto from 1964 to 1983; during the last four years he was its president. His successor, Probal Dasgupta, sent a message on behalf of the institution, in which he expressed his regret, that the Akademio at that time did not reappoint Auld as president in 1983. Hugh Reid read out the message in Esperanto, and Tim Owen the translation, which had been polished by Brian Moon.
From 1977 to 1980, Bill Auld was vice-president of the World Esperanto Association. The current president, Duncan Charters, contributed a warm video in Esperanto and English. Here is a clip of the Esperanto version from the presentation, in which Charters presents the kindness of Auld, when one eminent member of the Esperanto world gave of his time to help another in daily life:
The ceremony ended with a summary that Bill Auld had three times been nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature for his Esperanto works, and was, in 1998, the inaugural Esperantist of the Year. Hugh Reid, president of the Esperanto Association of Scotland, closed the ceremony, speaking about a man he had known well for several years:
The ceremony lasted a little over two hours. The participants enjoyed some sparkling wine and snacks afterwards, before heading on their way.
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On the following day there was a presentation of some of the pearls from the Auld Collection. Tim Owen presented them in English, so that the employees of the National Library of Scotland who were present could understand. There followed a presentation by Doctor Beatrice Alex about how she and Professor William Lamb were developing AI to transcribe handwriting in Gaelic to text, and were working hard on a programme to subtitle audio material in Gaelic to text, with the aim to match the human standard of 95% accuracy.
The Esperanto Association of Britain expresses its thanks to the National Library of Scotland for its goodwill in hosting the ceremony.
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Links:
Humphrey Tonkin
Humphrey Tonkin
Nicola Ruggiero
Probal Dasgupta
Probal Dasgupta
Duncan Charters (text)
Duncan Charters (text)
Duncan Charters (video)
Duncan Charters (video)
