Esperanto is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it is intended to be a universal second language for international communication, or "the international language". Zamenhof first described the language in Dr. Esperanto's International Language, which he published under the pseudonym Doktoro Esperanto. Early adopters of the language liked the name Esperanto and soon used it to describe his language. The word esperanto translates into English as "one who hopes".
L. L. Zamenhof developed Esperanto in the 1870s and '80s. Unua Libro, the first print discussion of the language, appeared in 1887. The number of Esperanto speakers have increased gradually since then, without much support from governments and international organizations. Its use has, in some instances, been outlawed or otherwise suppressed.
Esperanto culture refers to the shared cultural experience of the Esperantujo, or Esperanto-speaking community. Despite being a constructed language, Esperanto has a history dating back to the late 19th century, and shared socio-cultural norms have developed among its speakers. Some of these can be traced back to the initial ideas of the language's creator, Ludwig Zamenhof, including the theory that a global second language would foster international communication. Others have developed over time, as the language has allowed different national and linguistic cultures to blend together. Some Esperanto speakers have also researched the language's ideologies.
Kálmán Kalocsay was a Hungarian Esperantist poet, translator, and editor who significantly influenced Esperanto culture, both in its literature and in the language itself, through his original poetry and his translations of literary works from his native Hungarian and other languages of Europe. His name is sometimes Esperantized as Kolomano Kaloĉajo, and some of his work was published under various pseudonyms, including C.E.R. Bumy, Kopar, Alex Kay, K. Stelov, Malice Pik and Peter Peneter.
William Auld was a British poet, author, translator and magazine editor who wrote chiefly in Esperanto.
An Esperantido is a constructed language derived from Esperanto. Esperantido originally referred to the language which is now known as Ido. The word Esperantido contains the affix (-ido), which means a "child, young or offspring". Hence, Esperantido literally means an 'offspring or descendant of Esperanto'.
Julio Baghy was a Hungarian actor and one of the leading authors of the Esperanto movement. He is the author of several famous novels but it is particularly in the field of poetry that he proved his mastery of Esperanto.
Boris Grigorevich Kolker is a language teacher, translator and advocate of the international language Esperanto. He was until 1993 a Soviet and Russian citizen and since then has been a resident and citizen of the United States residing in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1985 he was awarded a Ph.D. in linguistics from the Institute of Linguistics of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in Moscow.
Vasili Yakovlevich Eroshenko was a blind writer, translator, esperantist, linguist, traveler, poet and teacher. He wrote in Esperanto and Japanese.
Baldur Ragnarsson was an Icelandic poet and author of Esperanto works. He was a teacher and a superintendent of schools in Iceland.
Anna Löwenstein is a British Esperantist. She worked for the World Esperanto Association 1977–1981. Under the name Anna Brennan she founded and was editor of the feminist magazine Sekso kaj Egaleco 1979–1988, and she edited the 'easy language' section of Kontakto 1983–1986. She has written some non-fiction, and two novels. Her historical novel The Stone City, was first published in English and Esperanto in 1999, and has since been translated into French (2010) and Hungarian (2014). Her second novel Morto de artisto (2008) was published in Esperanto. She is well known as a journalist, teacher and activist in the Esperanto movement, and has been a member of the Academy of Esperanto since 2001.
Karel Píč was a leading Czech Esperantist, a member of the Academy of Esperanto, a poet and writer of short stories, essays, and novels in Esperanto.
Literatura Mondo was a literary Esperanto periodical and publishing house in Budapest, Hungary between 1922 and 1949. It became the focal point of the so-called Budapest School of Esperanto literature. It was founded by Tivadar Soros, father of the Hungarian-born American investor, billionaire and philanthropist George Soros.
Jesús Abel Montagut i Masip (Catalan pronunciation:[ʒəˈzuzəˈβɛlmuntəˈɣutiməˈsip]; born 1953 in Llardecans, commonly known as Abel Montagut, is a Catalan translator and author of both Catalan and Esperanto. Concise Encyclopedia of the Original Literature of Esperanto informs us that Montagut studied Romance Philology and also learnt Esperanto. He taught Catalan language and literature as a secondary-school teacher alongside writing in Catalan and in Esperanto. His works have “appeared in the periodicals Esperanto, Literatura Foiro, Fonto, La Gazeto, Kataluna Esperantisto and others [and] he has twice been honored for his stories in Catalan literary competitions.” In 1993 he published Poemo de Utnoa, an epic inspired by various works including: Epic of Gilgamesh, Ramayana, The Bible, Iliad, The Odyssey, Aeneid, etc. According to the Concise Encyclopedia of the Original Literature of Esperanto “Montagut’s epic Poemo de Utnoa [Utnoa’s Poem], consisting of seven cantos in over 7,000 lines, was called by William Auld : “The first truly remarcable epic science-fiction poem in the world, and one of the very few modern epics.”
Petro Palyvoda — Ukrainian and Esperanto poet and translator, lives in Kyiv region, Ukraine. Some works have been translated and published in German, Croatian and Italian.
Edith Alleyne Sinnotte was an Australian writer of British origin. She is best known as the first female Esperanto novelist.
Eduardo Vivancos Garcia was an Esperantist mainly active in Anarchist circles. He wrote and spoke mainly in Spanish, Catalan and Esperanto.
Eli Urbanová was a Czech poet, novelist, and Esperantist. She is best known for her autobiographical novel Hetajro dancas.
Abram Antoni Kofman, also known as Abraham S. Kofman, was a Russian Esperanto–language poet. Born in Odesa, Kofman was an early supporter of Esperanto, and one of the first Russian Jews to be so, learning the language in 1889. Kofman was a high-profile member of the first school of Esperanto literature, and had his work featured in the first anthologies of Esperanto poetry. He was responsible for translations of several sections of the Hebrew Bible in both Esperanto and its daughter language, Ido. Kofman also influenced the development of the international religion Hillelism by the creator of Esperanto, L. L. Zamenhof in 1901. Eventually switching languages from Esperanto to Ido, and later Occidental, Kofman purportedly died during aerial bombing in Odesa.
