There is a whole series of science fiction books in Esperanto, it's called "Sferoj". They're collections of short stories, some translated from other languages and some originally in Esperanto.

I recall that Esperanto translations were done of some science fiction books that are famous in Russia, which is a great way to get to know another culture, since I don't exactly see a lot of translated science fiction in English-speaking shops. But I wonder whether English speakers are very interested in translated literature, as a whole, since our 'native' literature output is so abundant.

darkweasel:patrik, do you know point 1 of the Deklaracio pri la Esenco de la Esperantismo?

Of course, I do. I do recognize that my ideas are entirely private suggestions, but nevertheless, they are suggestions of strategy, not of ideology. I do not mix strategy with ideology.

On the question regarding the stance of the movement, I think that it should be independent of whatever Esperantism is, decided individually or collectively.

Evildela:Esperanto has beautifully written, highly in depth reading material, the problem is... non-Esperantist will never know about it, and even experienced Esprantists will have a hardtime finding it.

What is some reading that you'd recommend? I haven't done alot of reading of Esperanto works, although I began reading La Infana Raso and I must say that it's a very impressive work so far. With many national languages people are "forced" to read their language's literature in school, which for better or worse contributes to their culture...Although I'd never suggest forcing any reading on anybody, perhaps there are a few writers/poets of Esperantujo who ought to be stressed more often and referenced more often, because that sort of thing creates a common foundation among people and sparks new ideas based on the old ones. But then I'm sure there's people who would say that's not egalitarian enough.

Evildela:Esperanto has beautifully written, highly in depth reading material, the problem is... non-Esperantist will never know about it, and even experienced Esprantists will have a hardtime finding it.

This post simply screams for an attached reading list.

erinja:There is a whole series of science fiction books in Esperanto, it's called "Sferoj". They're collections of short stories, some translated from other languages and some originally in Esperanto.

I sure would like to get some of these in ebook format. That's another problem with Esperanto literature; almost none of it is available in ebook format.

Well, I just wish that there is an Esperanto internet TV station, ready to make "TV" adaptations of Esperanto literary classics, with an all-Esperantist cast from all over the world.

erinja:I recall that Esperanto translations were done of some science fiction books that are famous in Russia, which is a great way to get to know another culture, since I don't exactly see a lot of translated science fiction in English-speaking shops.

What, no Jules Verne?

Seriously, there have been a few novels and anthologies translated into English from other languages. Somewhere in my collection I have a translation of Stanislaw Lem's Pamiętnik znaleziony w wannie (Memoirs Found In A Bathtub), for instance, and I'm pretty sure I've seen an anthology of Soviet science fiction.

If someone were to translate some of the best science fiction into Esperanto that might make it more accessible to readers around the world. I emphasize the "might," however. A lot of science fiction deals with very technical subjects, from time travel to cybernetics to pharmacology to rocket science, and I have to wonder whether someone approaching science fiction in Esperanto would get bogged down by technical jargon. It might depend on the reader's comfort level with Esperanto in general.

I also note that, in Lem's case at least, his Wikipedia article says translating him from Polish is difficult because he makes such heavy use of "passages with elaborate word formation, alien or robotic poetry, and puns."

patrik:Well, I just wish that there is an Esperanto internet TV station, ready to make "TV" adaptations of Esperanto literary classics, with an all-Esperantist cast from all over the world.

It wouldn't even have to be limited to Esperanto classics, much as I would like to see adaptations of some of the best of original Esperanto literature. I mean, what about dubbing something like Star Wars or Seven Samurai or La vita è bella into Esperanto, or at least presenting the movies as created in English or Japanese or Italian with Esperanto subtitles?

If I ever have $1,000,000,000 to devote to such a cause I might just do exactly that, and throw in a nightly newscast in Esperanto to go with it. There are worse ratholes to throw money into.

darkweasel:patrik, do you know point 1 of the Deklaracio pri la Esenco de la Esperantismo?

BTW that deklaracio mentions a "lingvo neŭtrale homa" which people assume is Esperanto. Everyone has a right to say anything they like to believe about the meaning of the declaration, but I for one think that friendship, mutual respect, and peaceful coexistance is the real goal here.

creedelambard:

erinja:I recall that Esperanto translations were done of some science fiction books that are famous in Russia, which is a great way to get to know another culture, since I don't exactly see a lot of translated science fiction in English-speaking shops.

What, no Jules Verne?

At least three of Jules Verne's books have been translated into Esperanto. I don't personally regard his books as a real science fiction though, more like a predecessor to science fiction.

There hasn't been a lot in the way of translations of English-language science fiction into Esperanto. I suspect that a lot of English stuff gets translated into various national languages, so there isn't as much need of Esperanto to read it.

creedelambard:Seriously, there have been a few novels and anthologies translated into English from other languages. Somewhere in my collection I have a translation of Stanislaw Lem's Pamiętnik znaleziony w wannie (Memoirs Found In A Bathtub), for instance, and I'm pretty sure I've seen an anthology of Soviet science fiction.

Certainly, lots of stuff definitely does get translated, including bestsellers etc (Girl with the dragon tattoo, anyone?). But it's a drop in the bucket compared to the flow of translations in the other direction (English to other languages). I remember shopping for Italian children's books when I was learning Italian, and trying to find something written originally in Italian, not translated from another language. A huge percentage of what was on the shelves was a translation from English or occasionally German. It seemed like particularly once you left the true children's books and went to young adult, there seemed to be a relatively small percentage of books written originally in Italian. Less than half, I would even be inclined to say.

creedelambard:A lot of science fiction deals with very technical subjects, from time travel to cybernetics to pharmacology to rocket science, and I have to wonder whether someone approaching science fiction in Esperanto would get bogged down by technical jargon.

I don't see that as a problem; in fact, it's less a problem with science fiction than with other genres, because you can simply make up a technical-sounding word by putting roots together rather than searching for something that already exists (and of course this is done all the time in English, the author has simply made something up - science fiction, after all.