Customer Reviews

Concise Encyclopedia of the Original Literature of Esperanto

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Detractors of Esperanto (who usually know little or nothing of the language) are often heard asserting that it has no culture, no literature and no community. This remarkable encyclopedia gives the lie to such a view. It abundantly demonstrates the richness, variety, quality and internationality of a literature produced by an astonishing range of writers from Europe, African, Oceania and Asia. Here we are introduced to a huge body of work comparable to almost any other world literature, bearing in mind that it has evolved over a period of only 121 years since Dr. L.L. Zamenhof launched his planned language on the world.

This "encyclopedia" should be in all libraries in the United States. Especially in university libraries. Of course, this will not bring about the "fina venko", but it should give the public a much more complete and serious idea of what has actually been produced in the world of Esperanto culture. Convincing your library that it should have this book on its shelf is probably the best thing you can do for Esperanto in the present. So, my karaj samideanoj, this is the best way to spend your money for the cause. The book may have some flaws (for instance, I myself am not given a place as an important Esperanto poet) but its virtues and fine scholarship would make up for these. So once again, samideanoj, make sure this book is in your library. --Peter E. Browne, Associate Professor of Spanish, U. of Texas--Pan American, Texas

The multifaceted story of Esperanto Literature; the social, historical, and linguistic forces;as well as the multiple personalities who have contributed to and shaped the literary tradistion within the Esperanto commutity. Although the individual biographies are interesting reading; this is not a "reading" book; but rather as it titles itself - an Encyclopedia with a trove of information not only about the various authors and thier works, but also reviews and literary criticism of those works.
This volume provides comrehensive lists not only of each authors original works in Esperanto but also works they translated into Esperanto, thier works that have been translated from Esperanto into other tounges and anthologies that contain thier works.
This is a comprehensive work of reference, but it is worth the price if it contained only the biographies of the multitude of published Esperanto authors and poets.