Yahoo! is not affiliated with the authors of this page or responsible for its content.





William Auld
The Infant Race

(La Infana Raso)

A new translation

Nova angligita versio






eva
Esperantlingva Verkista Asocio


2007





William Auld
The Infant Race

(La Infana Raso)

A POEM IN 25 CHAPTERS

Translated by Girvan McKay from the original Esperanto

Editor: István Ertl








2007







Dankesprimo

Mi volas esprimi mian sinceran dankon al István Ertl, kiu tiom sperte kaj peneme
redaktis i tiun tradukon.
__________________

Thanks
I should like to express my sincere thanks to István Ertl who so expertly and
painstakingly edited this translation.
See Appendix for details.


Al la esperantistaro

Kvankam kelkaj anoj de la Brita Esperanto-Asocio, al kiuj estis montrita la unua
malneto de i tiu traduko, damnis in per febla lado*, mi ofertas in kiel mian
modestan omaon al la karmemora William Auld.

*citao de Alexander Pope (1688-1744).


5


Contents




Page
Translators Introduction
6
Esperanta antaparolo
8
THE INFANT RACE
9
Authors Notes
60
Notes to the Individual Chapters
62
Bibliography
Appendix
81
82

6

Translators Introduction


In his foreword to the anthology Scottish Verse 1851-1951, Douglas Young
describes the Scots as a polyglot and world-dispersed nation. Certainly Scotlands
poets have shown that they are capable of versifying in more than one language. Of
the leading poets of our time we could mention as outstanding at least three, all of
whom wrote in a different language from the other two: Somhairle Maclean (Gaelic),
Hugh MacDiarmid (Lallans) and Edwin Muir (English). To these we must add a
further one: William Auld, one of the most distinguished poets if not the most in
Esperanto. It is worth noting that both Maclean and Auld were nominated for the
Nobel Prize for Literature. That it was not, in fact, awarded to them may partly be due
to the fact that both (like MacDiarmid) wrote in what many would regard as an
obscure tongue.

Although (unlike speakers of Gaelic and Scots) Esperantists can be found in
almost every country in the world, they are generally thin on the ground, and not all
are readers or appreciators of poetry. After all, among most peoples - though not all -
poetry is very much a minority interest. Nevertheless, all nations have their bards and
though each poets work may be unique, there is a commonality of themes which can
be found in all great poetry and storytelling...

William Aulds long poem La infana raso could be said to have much in
common with the work of the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (Canto General) and the
North American Ezra Pound (Cantos). Auld is regarded by those who are able to read
and understand his work as the leading Esperanto poet of the post-war era.

In spite of the deep respect with which Auld is regarded, La infana raso has
not escaped criticism even among the poets admirers. Auld replies to these criticisms
in his extensive Notes to the third edition of the poem


La infana raso explores the role of the human race in time and in the
cosmos (the Editors). Auld sees man as still a child. He has as yet to attain his full
stature. That he will eventually do so is the poets optimistic belief, though he is well
aware that the process will be long and painful.

In spite of not infrequent humorous passages, this work is not the easiest to
read and understand, but readers with the patience to follow Aulds sometimes
convoluted thoughts will find the effort well worth while. What may at first sight
appear to be disjointed musings will be shown on careful consideration to be part of a
consistent and well-argued whole with recurrent themes of universal importance and
concern.

Regarding the present translation, it will be found that the passages in free
verse and in prose (i.e. some of the quotations) adhere most closely to the original
text. Sometimes strict fidelity to the poets language has had to be sacrificed to the
requirements of rhyme, although care has been taken not to stray too far from Aulds
essential intention.
Chapter IV presents a particular problem. After a second reading, the
translator realised that the strange language was intentional. It was not a case of
printers pie or a typesetter with a bad hangover but a series of deliberate
spoonerisms (a case of what is known in French as contrepetterie; in Spanish as
trastrueque; and in German as Schüttelreim). Apparently, to emphasize the tragic
absurdity of war, Auld chose this device to express the antiwar theme of the chapter.
We should not forget that Auld himself served in the Royal Air Force during the
7

Second World War and was therefore well aware of the horrors of war. (On re-
reading this chapter, the translator found it somewhat reminiscent of the poetry of
E.E. Cummings, who does not use spoonerisms but rather an odd syntax quite alien to
normal English usage.
In his notes to Chapter IV, Auld explains the reason why he adopted this
unusual device:
This chapter concerns the venality of politics and the immorality of
War This procedure takes advantage of the fact that ordinary and expected words
are immediately recognised under drastically unexpected forms. For example,
polatakistoj** is a form that has never been seen before but does not conceal the
overall impression of politicians (an everyday word)... Of course it is not necessary
or useful for me to give any clarification of the individual words.

Examples of such blatant deceit and intentional imprecision of political and
military language abound in army speech: to take out, collateral damage,
friendly fire, rendition, etc.
In the process of composition Auld has drawn on a wide variety of sources to
illustrate and develop his main theme.

While most of the language in the translation is more or less Standard English,
some of it is deliberately archaic (e.g. in the Nartakh folk tale in Chapter XX). Since
the poem covers a vast time scale (from the emergence of life from the sea to the
present) it seems appropriate to vary the kind of English used from colloquial to
literary , and from modern to outmoded.


William Auld was born in 1924 and died in 2006. Apart from a period
of war service in the Royal Air Force, most of his working life was spent as a
teacher (eventually deputy headmaster) in a comprehensive school. His long
poem La infana raso was first published in 1956. An prolific writer in and
about the Esperanto language, other works of which he was author, editor or
translator include Kvaropo (1952), Angla antologio (1957), Esperanto: A New
Approach (1965), Pao al plena posedo (1968), Esperanta antologio
Poemoj 1887-1981 (1984), La fenomeno Esperanto (1988) La Mastro de la
Ringoj (Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings, 1995) and Pajleroj kaj stoploj (1997.



** rendered politricians in this translation. (TN)
_____________________________________


8

Esperanta antaparolo


Kial angligi i tiun verkon? Lasu nin respondi...

En la unuaj jaroj post la lano de la zamenhofa lingvo, ajnis plej ure, ke gravaj
specimenoj de la monda literaturo estu tradukitaj en Esperanton. Do balda aperis
Hamlet de ekspiro, tradukita de Zamenhof mem; La faraono de Prus (tradukita de
Bein); La nea blovado de Pukin (tradukita de Grabowski), kaj sekvis multaj aliaj. Tre
frue anka, komencis la skribado kaj eldonado de originalaj verkoj en Esperanto. La
unua novelo en la nova lingvo, Kastelo de Prelongo de Henri Vallienne, aperis en la jaro
1907, kaj poste sekvis pliaj beletraoj: poemoj, noveloj, i.a. (kvankam ne multaj romanoj).

Daris sufie longa tempo, tamen, is oni rekonis, ke la ekzisto kaj valoro de
originala esperanta literaturo povus esti prezentata al pli vasta publiko, per tradukado en
aliajn lingvojn de ties plej gravaj verkoj.

Instigitaj de tiu penso, diversaj homoj el diversaj landojn entreprenis la
malfacilan taskon traduki efverkojn de esperantaj atoroj inkluzive de La infana raso
verkita de la skoto William Auld en naciajn lingvojn. Jam estis eldonitaj tradukoj de i
tiu longa poemo en la nederlandan kaj la portugalan, kaj ankora kreskas la nombro da
versioj, kiuj aperas. La informoj troveblaj pere de la tutmonda teksao, oni povis
konstati, ke almena fragmentoj de la verko estis angligitaj de malsamaj personoj, sed
troviis neniu informo pri iu ajn eldonita angla versio de la tuta teksto.

Iuj anoj de la Brita Esperanto-Asocio (BEA) havis okazon legi la unuan
malneton de i tiu traduko. Kelkaj asertis, ke nur post legado de la angligita teksto,