Memorial Ceremony for Marjorie Boulton

The Esperanto Association held a memorial ceremony for Marjorie Boulton at Somerville College, Oxford, on what would have been her 100^th birthday.

We opened up with some biographical background about Marjorie, a magnificent ambassador for the Esperanto Community, and one of its greatest writers. She was prolific in her output, and was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature for her works in Esperanto in 2008.

She was born on 7 November 1924 in Teddington, now in London, to Harry and Evelyn (née: Cartlidge). Their only child, she was a precocious reader already at 3. Her father was the headmaster at the school in Barton-upon-Humber, which is where Marjorie grew up.

She was called to an interview at Somerville in 1941. Having received top marks in every subject, plus a grant, she received "a moment of ecstacy" when the envelope inviting her arrived. She gained first-class degree in 1944, an MA in 1947, and a BLitt in 1948. She put the importance of Somerville into her own words, writing for Somerville Magazine.

• Somerville's Jackie Watson (Alumni relations) read out an abridged version of Marjorie's Life before Somerville, alternating with Humphrey Tonkin, reading a translation by Brian Moon.

Tim Owen, who organised the event, explained that the relationship with Somerville didn't stop there. Marjorie returned in 1971, completing a PhD with a dissertation on Charles Reade in 1976. She spent the rest of her life in Oxford, in her small house on Stockwell Street. She was a frequent visitor to the College, and was called by some "Somerville's Pet".

In between the two Somerville periods was educational work. She trained and worked in education, ending with becoming principal, in 1962, of Charlotte Mason College (now part of the University of Cumbria) in Ambleside, a college for training female teachers. She produced a six-volume set of introductory texts about English literature, starting with The Anatomy of Poetry in 1953, when she was a lecturer at the College of Domestic Science in Hexham, Northumberland. These books are still on university reading lists today.

We then left the external world behind and jumped to Marjorie the Esperantist.

The key year was 1949 in which two things of note happened. One was that she published her first poetry in English, Preliminaries. She didn't think she'd done too good of a job with it: other people had got there first with English. She also discovered Esperanto, which was a natural fit for somebody with Marjorie's humanitarian sensibilities.

At some point she borrowed a copy of Streĉita Kordo (Taut Rope) by the Hungarian Esperantist (and real champion of Esperanto literature) Kálmán Kalocsay. That was it for her: she knew that this was a language in which she could express anything. And it initiated an explosion of poetry!

Her first poem Marborda ŝtono, was published in Esperanto en Skotlando in 1952. The editor, William Auld, was so impressed that he immediately wrote back to her to ask to read her non-existent previous poems!

That was followed by Nuntempa Eposo  in 1953, although it wasn't published until 2022: its inspiration was her friend, Vlasta Uršič, who had survived a terrible experience. Vlasta begged Marjorie not to publish it, and so she didn't, noting somewhere, that it caused her some pain not to give up "my best early work".

In 1954 she wrote (though did not publish) La sekreta psiko, a sequence of erotic sonnets. A pirate edition was released in the 80s, and the identity of the author was presumed to be Marjorie, although she never admitted it. We know now that it was indeed her work: after she'd died, Edmund Grimley Evans dealt with her affairs. It's mentioned in her diary: "I'm not ashamed of it."

That takes us to 1955: Kontralte. We heard some poems from it:

• Aliĝilo: Andrew Marshall, with Jackie Watson reading an English translation by William Auld.

• Riĉo: Maurizio Giacometto, with Martyn McClelland for the English version, translated by DB Gregor.

1957 brought Cent Ĝojkantoj from which we heard:

• Aglo: Sally  Phillips and Peter Bolwell, translated by DB Gregor.

Two poems from 1959's Eroj were declaimed:

• Dum Prelego: Andrew Marshall and Jackie Watson; the translation was by D B Gregor.

• Stranga Forto: Terry and Anica Page, translated by DB Gregor.

Marjorie worked constantly in this febrile first decade, by some counts a poem every third day or so. She was a very successful new arrival at the World Esperanto Association's Belartaj Konkursoj (Literary Competitions): she received a Second Place and a Merit in 1952; three prizes in 1953 and two in 1954, and a further three – including two First Places – in 1955. Overall, she bagged 18 prizes in that first decade. There's no denying her ability as a writer, then. How about as a translator?

1905 was the most important year in the history of Esperanto following its birth in 1887: it was the year in which the first World Congress of Esperantists was held, in Boulogne-sur-Mer, northern France. Plenty of important decisions were taken there, and the gravity of the event wasn't lost on Ludoviko Zamenhof: "We should all be well aware of the total importance of this day, because today, within the hospitable walls of the Boulogne-sur-Mer are found not Frenchmen with Englishmen, not Russians with Poles, but people with people."

In front of the nearly 700 people present he declaimed his Preĝo sub la verda standardo (Prayer beneath the Green Banner), a clear allusion to the flag of Esperanto, which was confirmed at that same event, based on the one used by the local group. Marjorie stated her own opinion of it: "Preĝo sub la verda standardo expresses, simply and sincerely, and truly with a type of simple urge to climax and emotion-stirring repetition, an ideal of religious tolerance and fraternalisation of the whole of mankind."

• Preĝo sub la verda standardo: Sally Phillips and Peter Bolwell

Marjorie didn't feel she'd done a very good job with that. The people present disagreed!

Presumably inspired by the centenary of his birth in 1959, the publishers Routledge and Kegan Paul signed Marjorie to a deal to write a biography of Ludoviko Zamenhof. Marjorie was justifiably proud of the result – it is still the best biography of Zamenhof in English – even moreso considering the difficulty of its birth: Marjorie was given just nine months for research, writing and editing.

Zamenhof, Creator of Esperanto was published in 1960 (and in Esperanto translation in 1962), with the following dedication: "To Evelyn Maud Boulton, true follower of Zamenhof and my wonderful mother, with my thanks for everything."

We heard a fra gment of it, with Tim reading the English original, and Malcolm Jones the translation.

Despite excelling at poetry, Marjorie didn't limit herself to just that one artform. Humphrey Tonkin later informed us that the explosion in the 1950s was what was already in her head needing to come out. From there, she tried different genres, not necessarily to the same high standard: she did so because Esperanto was lacking in its literature, and she wanted it to have other forms.

She was a talented playwright (Virino ĉe la landlimo (1959); Nia sango (1970); Ni aktoras (1971); a biographer; a novelist (Okuloj (1967), a collection of 13 short stories; an essayist (Ne nur leteroj de plum-amikoj (1984), and a teacher (Faktoj kaj Fantazioj (1984). Tim Owen read out his favourite example of Marjorie's writing, from a book all about her cats, Dudek piedetoj : the excerpts were full of puns, so this excerpt was English-only:

A much more in-depth run-down of Marjorie's literary prowess was provided by Nicola Ruggiero, a board member of the Esperanto Academy of Literature, who sent a message by video.

The Director of the Esperanto Academy's Section for Reviewing Learning Materials, Lee Miller, sent a message saying that he often hears beginners ask "What can I learn from next?", and that Marjorie's Faktoj kaj Fantazioj is an answer he unhesitatingly gives. In his absence, Edmund Grimley Evans and Tim Owen read out his message in both languages.

In 1967 Marjorie was elected to the Esperanto Academy, where she remained for the following half-century until her death. We heard from its president, Probal Dasgupta, on whom Marjorie had a lasting effect. Edmund Grimley Evans read out his messsage; Tim Owen voiced a translation provided by Brian Moon.

Finally, Humphrey Tonkin, Honorary President of the World Esperanto Association, spoke very warmly about a woman he first got to know all of seventy years ago.

Book Donation

In 2022, the Esperanto Association of Britain published Marjorie's complete works of poetry, Unu animo homa, compiled and edited by Edmund Grimley Evans, for which he was elected Esperantist of the Year by a committee comprising Esperantists from around the world.

He donated a copy – naturally in two volumes because of Marjorie's prodigious output – to Sarah Butler, Somerville's Librarian. Tim Owen added to that a copy of Rimleteroj, the correspondence in rhyme between Marjorie and William Auld from their youth, plus a luxury special edition created just for people participating in EAB's conference and this event.

The ceremony, precisely two hours after it started, was rounded off beautifully by Jackie Watson speaking about a fellow Somervillian and how astonishing she had found Marjorie's poetry. A quick drink, canapés, and some chit-chat followed.