Esperanto is the favourite tool of many writers and poets. Geoffrey Sutton, who wrote the Concise Encyclopedia of the Original Literature of Esperanto, noted
“It may be maintained that Esperanto has for some time been worth learning for knowledge of its original literature alone.”
Overview of literature
To have an overview, we recommend Sutton’s encyclopedia or the shorter Skizo de la Esperanta Literaturo by Eduard V. Tvarozek. There is also a very short article in Wikipedia.
Poetry
Esperanto is particularly suited to writing rich poetry. Discover William Auld for example, nominated for the Nobel prize three times. Other impressive authors include Kálmán Kalocsay, Julio Baghy or Eŭgeno Miĥalski.
For learners
Try the story La teorio Nakamura, which also serves as a language course. Also Gerda malaperis can be read as a novel and as a course. Afterwards, we recommend the novel Fajron sentas mi interne.
Interesting experiences
Tibor Sekelj is a traveler who writes about his amazing experiences. Vasilij Eroŝenko was a blind Russian who established schools for the blind in Japan and China – also a fascinating story. Edmond Privat wrote many good books, including about his friend and travel companion Mahatma Gandhi.
Impressions from around the world
If you want to have a first impression of the literature of another part of the world, try the Ĉina antologio, Skota antologio, Slovaka antologio and so on. If a work has been translated to Esperanto, the translation is usually better than the one to English, because the translator didn’t do it for the money.
You can buy Esperanto books in UEA’s online store or during Esperanto events.