Hopefully some of William Auld's poetry will be translated into English or in some cases Scots, a language which was very dear to him.

Even although he wrote in Esperanto, he regarded himself as a Scottish poet. This viewpoint was perfectly logical as Esperanto belongs to the whole world, and therefore can be regarded as a languge for every country.

William Auld was a brilliant translator. As you would expect, he did not neglect the translation of Scottish poetry. He believed that in some ways translation was a more difficult task than original writing as the honest translator never avoids langauge problems; he must confront them. Auld did this brilliantly. Imagine the problems in translating a sonnet of Shakespeare; he translated them all!

In Scotland we often neglect living geniuses. Now that Bill can write no more we are challenged to study enough Esperanto to appreciate the achievements of this extraordinary man who lived quietly among us.

I knew Bill from 1992, not as an Esperantist (unusually) but initially as a magazine editor & poet (I edited Spectrum poetry/prose review) & was pointed in his direction by Tom Hubbard, then Librarian of the Scottish Poetry Library. What began as a tentative query from a slightly ambitious young poet turned into a friendship both rewarding & warm.

I visited Bill & Meta many times, also befriending his son Roy, & was welcomed almost as a family member. Each time I rang, or vice versa, his greeting would begin 'Dear boy...' & off we'd go into some conversation or other about matters poetic, national & international, sporting or personal. Face to face, such conversations would last long into the night, often accompanied by a liberal helping of uisge beatha (with water jug) & Bill's rolling baccy, 'imported' from a Glasgow newsagent & left to dry out on the radiator in the sitting room. We'd sit in the library room, next to a huge wall of books - almost a history of Esperanto & subsequently donated to the NLS. After a few minutes of getting my head round my surroundings, I'd soon be lost in a discussion of our favourite (& less so!) 'makars' or the merits & otherwise of FCs Kilmarnock & Dunfermline. We never ran out of things to talk about & there was always liveliness.

Bill & I corresponded on a regular basis, via the usual letters but also by means of epistles. I began the whole thing spontaneously, & soon there were pages & pages of verse, in English & Scots, flying between Dollar & Ayrshire. He said he'd written very rarely in English, & yet his poetry bore all the hallmarks of a truly gifted & involved poet - talent will out, no matter the language. There exist around 70 pages of our epistles, unpublished. I always said I'd get round to putting them in book form one day but never have. Bill, always the activist, subsequently made 2 little booklets of 18 pages of our

I was one of the last to see his huge E-library at his home in Dollar, where we've visited Bill Auld with our Scottish fellow-esperantist Tom Neil (autumn 2001). I've organized the translation of his 9 original Esperanto poems into Ukrainian (Petro Tymochko translated 5 poems, Petro Korobchuk - 3, me - 1).
Estu tero al Li malpeza, kiel plumo.
Viktor Payuk

I never had the pleasure of meeting S-o Auld. It is very clear from his résumé that not only was he an extremely talented poet and translator, and one of the most fêted people in all of Esperantujo, but he was also revered as being a gentleman of great modesty.

He certainly has been a blessing to the Esperanto movement, which has been enormously enriched by his presence and contributions over more than half a decade, and the many warm comments that I have read since his passing bear testament to what an amiable man he must've been.

All in all, he seems to have been one of life's achievers, and that is something about which his family and those to whom he was dear can be proud when they reflect on and celebrate his life.