History & Culture
'History and culture' aims to provide you with interesting and easily accessible materials which relate to the history of the Esperanto movement and to the culture surrounding it. If you have suggestions for additions, then please let us know.
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Esperanto Literature
Concise Encyclopaedia of the Original Literature of Esperanto - If you have
any lingering doubts about the scope, variety and value of Esperanto
literature, then consult this excellent reference work by Geoffrey
Sutton. Compiled with dedication over several years, it is a detailed
and factual work covering the development of Esperanto Literature, its
authors and their works.
Concise Encyclopaedia of the Original
Literature of Esperanto 1887-2007 by Geoffrey Sutton.
New York: Mondial, 2008. x + 728 pp. Format: 6" x 9" (152 x 229 mm). ISBN 978-1-59569-090-6.
Read about the content here.
No home Esperanto library should be without a copy and the work is a must for all local town libraries, University and College libraries.
Star in a Night Sky - an anthology of Esperanto literature - An outstanding collection of original Esperanto literature with high-quality English translations.
Star in a Night Sky, A bilingual anthology of Esperanto Literature; Lesser Used Languages of Europe Series Volume Five. Edited by Paul Gubbins. Francis Boutle Publishers, Paperback, 520 pages, ISBN 9781903427729
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^ Go to top of pageEsperanto Theatre
La Duonokulvitro - a DVD, suitable for computer or television,
including a 14-minute film of the 'Duonokulvitro', with optional
subtitles, the text, consolidation exercises and an essay by Paul
Gubbins. 'La Duonokulvitro' is an amusing monologue; the first known
piece written for the theatre in Esperanto, originally published in
1905. Written by Aŭgusto Baissac, it is performed here by Colin Simmonds
in the grounds of Wedgwood Memorial College.
The film won a prize at the Belartaj Konkursoj de UEA in 2005.
^ Go to top of pageTiel Sonis...
The Tiel Sonis... series, produced by UEA, are CDs of authentic recordings drawn from the archives of the Biblioteko Hector Hodler. Put together and edited by Ziko Marcus Sikosek, the CDs give a valuable insight into Esperanto 'life' as it was. The extracts are reproduced here with the permission of UEA and the Biblioteko Hector Hodler.
Four CDs are now available:
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CD 1 - Tiel sonis... Rejkjaviko 1977 Recordings from the 62a UK,
with the voices of H. Tonkin, R. Harry, B. Ragnarsson, A. M'Bow.
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CD 2 - Tiel sonis... Esperanto-literaturo sports 16 readings from
Esperanto Literature, a mixture of the serious and the humourous, poetry
and prose. Julio Baghy, Nikolaj Rytjkov, William Auld, Duncan Charters,
Kalman Kalocsay - to name but a few.
- Click here to listen to an extract from William Auld's poem, Incitnudiĝo.
- Click here to listen to an extract from William Shakespeare's Parolado
de Brutus.
- Click here to listen to an extract from William Auld's poem, Incitnudiĝo.
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CD 3 - Tiel sonis... Prezidantoj de UEA has recordings of eight
presidental speeches ranging from Edmond Privat in 1927 through to John
Wells in 1995.
- Click here to listen to an extract from John Wells' speech in 1995 in
which he refers to Lapenna...
- ...and
click here to listen to an extract from Lapenna's speech in 1964.
- Click here to listen to an extract from John Wells' speech in 1995 in
which he refers to Lapenna...
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CD 4 - Tiel sonis... Universalaj Kongresoj contains
recordings made between the years 1955 and 1996 at Universal Esperanto
Congresses which took place throughout seven countries.
- Click here to listen to an extract from
an address given by L. Zaleski-Zamenhof to the 1958 Universal
Congress.
- Click here to listen to Mark Fettes talking on the theme of Ideology & Esperanto at the 1996 Universal Congress.
- Click here to listen to an extract from
an address given by L. Zaleski-Zamenhof to the 1958 Universal
Congress.
History & Culture - books
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Esperanto sen Mitoj - Ziko Marcus Sikosek
2003 (second edition) A well-researched and objective history of the language.
[See price and order online.]
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Esperanto: Language, Literature and Community - Pierre Janton
Esperanto: Lingvo, Literaturo, Movado - Pierre Janton
Available in both English (1993) and in Esperanto (1988), The book is a very good introduction to Esperanto including a history of the language, a comprehensive linguistic description of Esperanto and the role of Esperanto in the modern world.
[See price and order online - English version.]
[See price and order online - Esperanto version.]
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Peter Jameson's Secret Language - Slyan Zaft
A lively story in English about a group of children who discover Esperanto. They learn about its history and culture and its uses, especially as a secret language.
[See price and order online.]
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Zamenhof: Creator of Esperanto - Marjorie Boulton
1980 (reprint) This is a very readable biography of the creator of Esperanto and an introduction to the early history of the language.
[See price and order online.]
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La Danĝera Lingvo; studo pri la persekutoj kontraŭ Esperanto -
Ulrich Lins
Totalitarian regimes across the world have perceived Esperanto as a threat, and have tried to suppress it. This detailed study explores the history of the language and its speakers in the face of censorship, oppression, persecution and even execution.
[See price and order online.]
La Brita Esperantisto
This is the regular Esperanto-language journal of the Esperanto-Association of Britain, and contains general-interest articles and stories in rigorously-checked Esperanto. You can read articles from its online archive of back issues.
^ Go to top of pageHector Hodler Library Excursion
The UEA Library in Rotterdam, the Hector Hodler Library, contains a wealth of material; not only books, periodicals, magazines etc but also photos, postcards and a range of other pictoral materials. These pages present a few of these 'lesser known' but very interesting archives from 1908 onwards.