William Auld
William Auld (6 November 1924 – 11 September 2006) was a British poet, author, translator and magazine editor who wrote chiefly in Esperanto.
William Auld

Stephencdickson · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Name
- William Auld
- Born
- 6 November 1924
- Birthplace
- Erith, England
- Died
- 11 September 2006
- Place of death
- Dollar, Scotland
- Occupation
- Poet, writer, translator, esperantist, essayist, musician, editor
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Known for
- La infana raso
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William Auld (6 November 1924 – 11 September 2006) was a British poet, author, translator and magazine editor who wrote chiefly in Esperanto.
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Authority files
wikidata · Q12795 · wikipedia · William Auld
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — William Auld • Born — 6 November 1924 • Birthplace — Erith, England • Died — 11 September 2006 • Place of death — Dollar, Scotland • Occupation — Poet, writer, translator, esperantist, essayist, musician, editor • Language — Esperanto, English
Life
Life
• Illustration — Auld's grave in Dollair churchyard Auld was born at Erith in Kent, and then moved to Glasgow with his parents, attending Allan Glen's School. After wartime service as a spitfire pilot in the Royal Air Force, he studied English literature at Glasgow University, and then qualified as a teacher. In 1952 he married his childhood sweetheart Margaret (Meta) Barr Stewart, also an Esperantist, and had two children. In 1960, he was appointed to a secondary school in Alloa and he remained there for the rest of his life. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1999, 2004, and 2006, making him the first person nominated for works in Esperanto. His masterpiece, La infana raso (The Infant Race), is a long poem that, in Auld's words, explores "the role of the human race in time and in the cosmos," and is partly based on The Cantos by Ezra Pound. Auld began to learn Esperanto in 1937 but only became active in the propagation of the language in 1947, and from then on wrote many works in Esperanto. He edited various magazines and reviews, including Esperanto en Skotlando (1949–1955), Esperanto (1955–1958, 1961–1962), Monda Kulturo (1962–1963), Norda Prismo (1968–1972), La Brita Esperantisto (1973–1999) and Fonto (1980–1987). He was Vice President of the Universal Esperanto Association (1977–1980), President of the Academy of Esperanto (1979–1983), and President of the Esperanto PEN Centre (1999–2005). He donated his personal collection of nearly 5,000 books in and about Esperanto to the National Library of Scotland, where it is now housed, in 2001. He died in Dolair/Dollar, Clackmannanshire, and is buried in Dollar churchyard. The grave lies on the approach path to the church from the main road.
Collected poetry
Collected poetry
• Spiro de l' pasio (in Kvaropo, 1952) • La infana raso (1956) • Unufingraj melodioj (1960) • Humoroj (1969) • Rimleteroj (with Marjorie Boulton, 1976) • El unu verda vivo (1978) • En barko senpilota (Edistudio, 1987) • Unu el ni (1992)
Anthologies
Anthologies
• Angla antologio 1000–1800 (poetry editor, 1957) • Esperanta antologio (1958/1984) • 25 jaroj (poetry editor, 1977) • Skota antologio (associate editor, 1978) • Sub signo de socia muzo (1987) • Nova Esperanta Krestomatio (1991) • Plena poemaro: Miĥalski (ed. 1994) • Tempo fuĝas (1996)
Translations from English
Translations from English
• La balenodento, by Jack London (1952) • Epifanio, by Shakespeare (1977) • La urbo de terura nokto, by James Thomson (1977) • Don Johano, Kanto 1, by Lord Byron (1979) • La robaioj de Omar Kajam, by Edward Fitzgerald (1980) • La sonetoj, de Shakespeare (Edistudio, 1981) • Fenikso tro ofta, by Christopher Fry (1984) • Montara vilaĝo, by Chun-chan Je (1984) • La graveco de la Fideliĝo, by Oscar Wilde (1987) • La komedio de eraroj, by Shakespeare (with Asen M. Simeonov, 1987) • Omaĝoj. Poemtradukoj (1987) • Gazaloj, by Hafiz (1988) • Spartako, by Leslie Mitchell (1993) • La stratoj de Aŝkelono, by Harry Harrison (1994) • Teri-strato, by Douglas Dunn (1995) • La kunularo de l' ringo, by J. R. R. Tolkien (1995) • La du turegoj, by J. R. R. Tolkien (1995) • La reveno de la reĝo, by J. R. R. Tolkien (1997) • La hobito, by J. R. R. Tolkien (poems and songs; with Christopher Gledhill, 2000) • La Hobito, aŭ Tien kaj Reen, by J. R. R. Tolkien (poems and songs; with Christopher Gledhill, Evertype 2015) • Kantoj, poemoj kaj satiroj, by Robert Burns (with Reto Rossetti, 1977) • Jurgen, by James Branch Cabell (2001)
Translations
Translations
• Aniaro, by Harry Martinson (from Swedish with Bertil Nilsson, 1979) • Julia on Pandataria
Textbooks
Textbooks
• Esperanto: A New Approach; (1965) • Paŝoj al plena posedo (1968) • A first course in Esperanto (1972) • Traduku! (1993)
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1924
William Auld was born in 1924.
2006
William Auld died at Dollar.
Song collections
Song collections
• Floroj sen kompar ' (with Margaret Hill, 1973), British folksongs translated into Esperanto • Kantanta mia bird ' (with Margaret Hill, 1973), British folksongs translated into Esperanto • Dum la noktoj (with Margaret and David Hill, 1976), original songs
Essay collections
Essay collections
• Facetoj de Esperanto (1976) • Pri lingvo kaj aliaj artoj (1978) • Enkonduko en la originalan literaturon de Esperanto (1979) • Vereco, distro, stilo (1981) • Kulturo kaj internacia lingvo (1986) • La fenomeno Esperanto (1988) • La skota lingvo, hodiaŭ kaj hieraŭ (1988)
Documents and archives
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q12795: William Auld
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “William Auld”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Miscellaneous literature
• Pajleroj kaj stoploj: elektitaj prozaĵoj (1997)
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
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References
Citations
References
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Institutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q12795: William AuldWikimedia Foundation
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
William Auld received Honorary Member of the World Esperanto Association, Fine Arts Competitions of UEA, FAME award and Esperantist of the Year.
Recognition and collections
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
39,427 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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