I read poetry all the time and write about it frequently and take poems apart to see how they work because I'm a word person. I understand the world best, most fully, in words rather than, say, pictures or numbers, and when I have a new experience or a new feeling, I'm a little frustrated until I can try to put it into words. I think I've always been that way. I devoured science fiction as a child. I still do. And I found poems by Andrew Marvell and Matthew Arnold and Emily Dickinson and William Butler Yeats because they were quoted in science fiction, and I loved their sounds and I went on to read about ottava rima and medial caesuras and enjambment and all that other technical stuff that you care about if you already care about poems, because poems already made me happier and sadder and more alive. And I became a poetry critic because I wanted to know how and why.
我時常閱讀詩, 也常撰寫詩評 有時我會抽絲剝繭, 以觀察詩詞如何產生涵義 因為我對文字特別敏銳, 比起圖片或數字, 我反而最能透過文字,深刻的理解這個世界 且當我有了新的體驗或感受, 我常會先感到有點沮喪, 直到我能嘗試將它們化為文字為止。 我想我一直都是這樣 小時侯,我總是貪婪的 閱讀科幻小說,現在依舊如此 而我會在裡面發現一些詩, 像是安德魯・馬維爾、 馬修・阿諾、艾蜜莉・狄金森、 以及葉慈的詩作, 因為這些科幻小說引用了他們的詩 我超愛這些詩的音韻, 於是我開始研究何謂八行詩體、 韻腳停頓、詩句的跨行銜接 以及其他種種技法, 也就是那些如果你已經很愛好詩, 就會去在乎的東西, 因為詩已經讓我更快樂 也更悲傷,同時更有生命力 後來我成為一個詩評家, 因為我想知道詩如何產生 及詩詞背後的起因。
Now, poetry isn't one thing that serves one purpose any more than music or computer programming serve one purpose. The greek word poem, it just means "a made thing," and poetry is a set of techniques, ways of making patterns that put emotions into words. The more techniques you know, the more things you can make, and the more patterns you can recognize in things you might already like or love.
詩並不是為了單一目的而存在的產物, 它不像音樂和電腦程式, 只為單一目的而存在。 "詩"的希臘文,僅代表"一個成品", 而詩是一套技法、 一種架構組織的方法, 它能夠將情緒轉為文字。 你懂愈多技巧, 就能創造出愈多東西, 且對於某些你已喜歡或深愛的事物, 詩能讓你理會出其中更多奧妙。
That said, poetry does seem to be especially good at certain things. For example, we are all going to die. Poetry can help us live with that. Poems are made of words, nothing but words. The particulars in poems are like the particularities, the personalities, that distinguish people from one another. Poems are easy to share, easy to pass on, and when you read a poem, you can imagine someone's speaking to you or for you, maybe even someone far away or someone made up or someone deceased. That's why we can go to poems when we want to remember something or someone, to celebrate or to look beyond death or to say goodbye, and that's one reason poems can seem important, even to people who aren't me, who don't so much live in a world of words. The poet Frank O'Hara said, "If you don't need poetry, bully for you," but he also said when he didn't want to be alive anymore, the thought that he wouldn't write any more poems had stopped him. Poetry helps me want to be alive, and I want to show you why by showing you how, how a couple of poems react to the fact that we're alive in one place at one time in one culture, and in another we won't be alive at all.
這樣說來, 詩似乎在某些方面顯得特別有用。 例如說,我們終將不免一死。 但詩,能幫助我們與這念頭和平共生。 詩是由文字組成,就只是字而已。 但詩的不同特質, 就像是人們之間互異的個性, 區別著彼此的不同。 詩文容易被分享、被傳承, 而當你讀一篇詩, 你能夠想像有人正在 傳達訊息給你、為你發聲 甚至是為一個與你相隔遙遠的人、 或為一個虛構的人、已故的人發聲。 這就是為什麼 每當我們想銘記某人某事、 想慶祝、想超脫生死、 或是道別時,都會藉由詩來抒發情感。 這也是為什麼從古至今,詩文總是佔有一席之地 就算一般人跟我不太一樣 他們沒有沉迷於文字的世界裡, 詩也一樣受歡迎。 詩人法蘭克・奧哈拉說, "如果你不需要詩,那算你行!" 但他也曾說,當他失去了活下去的動力時, 他如果想到"這樣就無法再創作任何詩了", 這念頭就會阻止他去尋短。 詩,是讓我生存的動力, 我要藉由展示來告訴你們為什麼, 為何有些詩可以反映出: 我們只存活於一個地方、 一個時空、一個文化, 而超越了那個時空, 我們根本稱不上活著。
So here's one of the first poems I memorized. It could address a child or an adult.
下面這是我最早背起的詩之一, 講述的對象可以是小孩或大人:
"From far, from eve and morning
"從遠方,從日暮,從晨曉,
From yon twelve-winded sky,
從那有著十二個方位的天空,
The stuff of life to knit me
織造出我的那些生命本質
Blew hither; here am I.
隨風輕吹至此,我於是存在。
Now — for a breath I tarry
此刻--我停留鼻息,
Nor yet disperse apart —
仍未散逸之前--
Take my hand quick and tell me,
快握住我的手並告訴我,
What have you in your heart.
是什麼盤據在你心中。
Speak now, and I will answer;
說吧,我會回答你,
How shall I help you, say;
我該如何幫助你,儘管說吧,
Ere to the wind's twelve quarters
否則我就快回到 風起前的的四面八方,
I take my endless way."
踏上無限的旅途。"
[A. E. Housman]
(作者為A. E.豪斯曼)
Now, this poem has appealed to science fiction writers. It's furnished at least three science fiction titles, I think because it says poems can brings us news from the future or the past or across the world, because their patterns can seem to tell you what's in somebody's heart. It says poems can bring people together temporarily, which I think is true, and it sticks in my head not just because it rhymes but for how it rhymes, cleanly and simply on the two and four, "say" and "way," with anticipatory hints on the one and three, "answer" and "quarters," as if the poem itself were coming together. It plays up the fact that we die by exaggerating the speed of our lives. A few years on Earth become one speech, one breath. It's a poem about loneliness -- the "I" in the poem feels no connection will last — and it might look like a plea for help 'til you get to the word "help," where this "I" facing you, taking your hand, is more like a teacher or a genie, or at least that's what he wants to believe. It would not be the first time a poet had written the poem that he wanted to hear.
這首詩迷住了 許多科幻小說家。 這首詩被用於至少 三部科幻小說的標題裡, 我想是因為這首詩點出: 詩總是能帶給我們一些信息, 無論是從未來或是過去, 甚至是從世界各方, 因為它的文體似乎能告訴你, 某人心中想些什麼。 詩能短暫的將人們凝聚在一起, 我想確實如此。 而這首詩會留在我腦海,不只是因為它押韻, 而是它押韻的方式, 簡單扼要的在第二行、第四行 押"say" 和 "way" 並在一、三行預留線索, 也就是"answer" 和 "quarters" 這首詩好像是自己渾然天成的。 它強調人終將面臨死亡, 藉由誇大的方式來呈現人生苦短。 像是在地球上生存的幾年時間, 變成說一句話、吸一口氣般短暫。 這是首關於孤寂的詩-- 詩中的"我",認為沒有任何連結是永久的, 且像是在尋求協助, 直到你讀到"幫助"這詞,一切才具體化 而這個"我"面對著你,握住你的手, 就像是一位老師或精靈, 或至少,是作者盼望相信的事。 這已經不是第一次,一位詩人, 寫出一首自己想聽到的詩。
Now, this next poem really changed what I liked and what I read and what I felt I could read as an adult. It might not make any sense to you if you haven't seen it before.
下一首詩,則完全改變了 我喜歡的東西、閱讀的品味、 以及身為成人,我以為自己理解的事。 如果你以前沒讀過這首詩, 有可能無法體會:
"The Garden"
【花園】
"Oleander: coral
"夾竹桃:珊瑚紅,
from lipstick ads in the 50's.
來自50年代的口紅廣告。
Fruit of the tree of such knowledge
知識樹上的果實,教導了我們何等知識。
To smack (thin air)
Smack ,動詞,
meaning kiss or hit.
意思為親吻或擊打(空氣)。
It appears
這個字,
in the guise of outworn usages
在老套字義的偽裝下呼之欲出,
because we are bad?
是因為我們心懷不軌嗎?
Big masculine threat,
濃烈的陽剛氣息朝人逼近,
insinuating and slangy."
充滿暗示、吊兒郎當。"
[Rae Armantrout]
(作者為蕾・阿曼特饒特)
Now, I found this poem in an anthology of almost equally confusing poems in 1989. I just heard that there were these scandalous writers called Language poets who didn't make any sense, and I wanted to go and see for myself what they were like, and some of them didn't do much for me, but this writer, Rae Armantrout, did an awful lot, and I kept reading her until I felt I knew what was going on, as I do with this poem.
我從名詩選集中發現這首詩, 在1989年,整本詩集都是 這種非常困惑的詩文。 我正好聽到有些惡名昭彰的作家, 他們被稱為"語言詩人", 專寫一些沒有意義的東西, 於是我想看看他們到底是寫些什麼。 而我對那些詩卻沒有太多共鳴 但其中有位作家,蕾・阿曼特饒特, 她的詩讓我收穫良多, 我一直閱讀她的作品, 直到逐漸明白她的深意, 就如同我反覆的閱讀這首詩,
It's about the Garden of Eden and the Fall and the Biblical story of the Fall, in which sex as we know it and death and guilt come into the world at the same time. It's also about how appearances deceive, how our culture can sweep us along into doing and saying things we didn't intend or don't like, and Armantrout's style is trying to help us stop or slow down. "Smack" can mean "kiss" as in air kisses, as in lip-smacking, but that can lead to "smack" as in "hit" as in domestic abuse, because sexual attraction can seem threatening. The red that means fertility can also mean poison. Oleander is poisonous. And outworn usages like "smack" for "kiss" or "hit" can help us see how our unacknowledged assumptions can make us believe we are bad, either because sex is sinful or because we tolerate so much sexism. We let guys tell women what to do. The poem reacts to old lipstick ads, and its edginess about statement, its reversals and halts, have everything to do with resisting the language of ads that want to tell us so easily what to want, what to do, what to think. That resistance is a lot of the point of the poem, which shows me, Armantrout shows me what it's like to hear grave threats and mortal dishonesty in the language of everyday life, and once she's done that, I think she can show other people, women and men, what it's like to feel that way and say to other people, women and men who feel so alienated or so threatened that they're not alone.
它是關於伊甸園和人的墮落, 以及聖經中提到墮落的故事: 也就是在性、 死亡、罪惡, 這些同時降臨在這世界的時候。 這首詩同時也述說著 外表如何蒙蔽事物, 如何以我們的文化 迫使我們做出或說出 那原本不打算做的事, 或不喜歡的事物,而這就是 阿曼特饒特的作風, 試圖幫我們沉澱下來。 Smack,可以代表親吻,像是飛吻那種, 也代表咂嘴唇, 但Smack也可表示擊打的意思, 就像家暴會出現的那種, 因為性誘惑有時看來充滿威脅。 珊瑚紅代表生育力, 也可代表劇毒, 因為夾竹桃是有毒的。 詩裡提到的老套字義, 像是smack解釋為「親吻」 或「擊打」,可以幫助我們看透, 這些毫無根據的臆測, 如何讓我們相信自己是錯的, 無論是因為充滿罪惡的性慾, 或是因為我們承受了太多性別歧視, 總是讓男人唆使女人。 詩文中反應出這老舊的口紅廣告、 急促的陳述方式、 轉折、停頓,在在都充滿了 對廣告語言的反叛 -- 廣告太直白的訴說我們的欲望, 告訴我們該做什麼、該怎麼想。 這種反叛與詩的本意相對應, 這首詩,或說阿曼特饒特讓我明白, 被言語威脅是怎樣的感覺, 而看穿那些日常生活中的不實的語言, 又是怎麼樣的感覺。而一旦她做到這點, 我認為她就能傳達給大家,不論男人女人, 傳遞詩中的意涵, 然後告訴所有人,無論男人女人, 在他們感到孤單或受到威脅時, 他們並不寂寞。
Now, how do I know that I'm right about this somewhat confusing poem? Well in this case, I emailed the poet a draft of my talk and she said, "Yeah, yeah, that's about it." Yeah. (Laughter) (Applause) But usually, you can't know. You never know. You can't be sure, and that's okay. All we can do we is listen to poems and look at poems and guess and see if they can bring us what we need, and if you're wrong about some part of a poem, nothing bad will happen. Now, this next poem is older than Armantrout's, but a little younger than A. E. Housman's.
好,那我怎麼知道我的解讀是對的呢? 這首詩如此令人困惑。 好吧,是因為我把我的講稿 email 給阿曼特勞特, 她回說: "對,對,大概是這樣沒錯。" (笑聲) (掌聲) 但通常來說,你根本不曉得, 你也無法確定,但沒關係, 我們所該做的就是聆聽這首詩, 仔細品嚐並大膽猜測, 看看是否帶來些我們所需要的東西, 而就算你對一些環節有錯誤的理解, 也沒有關係的。 好,接下來這首詩比 阿曼特饒特的詩更早問世, 但比A. E.豪斯曼的作品還後期一些,
"The Brave Man"
"英勇的男人"
"The sun, that brave man,
太陽,是那英勇的男人,
Comes through boughs that lie in wait,
照透那危機四伏的樹枝,
That brave man.
那英勇的男人啊。
Green and gloomy eyes
一雙雙翠綠而憂鬱的眼睛,
In dark forms of the grass
在幽暗的草叢裡,
Run away.
逃散無蹤。
The good stars,
眾多的繁星、
Pale helms and spiky spurs,
蒼白的鋼盔、尖銳的馬刺,
Run away.
逃散無蹤。
Fears of my bed,
面臨入睡的恐懼、
Fears of life and fears of death,
面臨生死的恐懼,
Run away.
逃散無蹤。
That brave man comes up
英勇的男人出現了,
From below and walks without meditation,
毫不猶豫的走上來,
That brave man."
那英勇的男人。
[Wallace Stevens]
(作者為華萊士·史蒂文斯)
Now, the sun in this poem, in Wallace Stevens' poem, seems so grave because the person in the poem is so afraid. The sun comes up in the morning through branches, dispels the dew, the eyes, on the grass, and defeats stars envisioned as armies. "Brave" has its old sense of showy as well as its modern sense, courage. This sun is not afraid to show his face. But the person in the poem is afraid. He might have been up all night. That is the reveal Stevens saves for that fourth stanza, where run away has become a refrain. This person might want to run away too, but fortified by the sun's example, he might just rise. Stevens saves that sonically odd word "meditation" for the end. Unlike the sun, human beings think. We meditate on past and future, life and death, above and below. And it can make us afraid.
現在,這首詩提到的太陽, 在華萊士·史蒂文斯的詩中,似乎顯得憂沉, 因為詩中提到的人物感到害怕 早晨的陽光穿透了樹枝, 蒸發了青草上的露珠, 也就是一雙雙的眼睛們, 擊潰了一片像大軍壓境的星辰, "英勇"一詞,帶有古語中強出風頭的意思, 同時也有現代的意思:勇氣。 這裡的太陽對拋頭露面感到無所畏懼, 反倒是詩的敘述者感到害怕, 他可能整晚都沒睡。 史蒂文斯在這邊為第四詩節留下伏筆, 第四詩節的"逃散無蹤"變成一種忍耐, 即便這男人也想逃跑, 但為了效仿太陽的英勇, 他必須挺身而出。 作者史蒂文斯以音韻破格的"冥想"一詞, 來做為結尾。 因為人類不像太陽,人類會有所冥想, 我們常冥想過去與未來、生與死, 上天堂或是下地獄, 這些讓我們感到畏懼,
Poems, the patterns in poems, show us not just what somebody thought or what someone did or what happened but what it was like to be a person like that, to be so anxious, so lonely, so inquisitive, so goofy, so preposterous, so brave. That's why poems can seem at once so durable, so personal, and so ephemeral, like something inside and outside you at once. The Scottish poet Denise Riley compares poetry to a needle, a sliver of outside I cradle inside, and the American poet Terrance Hayes wrote six poems called "Wind in a Box." One of them asks, "Tell me, what am I going to do when I'm dead?" And the answer is that he'll stay with us or won't stay with us inside us as wind, as air, as words.
詩,以及詩的文體型式, 不只告訴我們某人想了什麼、 做過什麼,或發生過什麼事, 還能告訴我們,如果你是這樣的人, 你會有什麼感受, 當你如此焦慮、孤寂、好奇、 如此愚蠢、可笑,如此勇敢。 這就是為什麼詩文總是如此歷久彌新、 同時又如此私密、而且稍縱即逝, 私密得像是你內在的一部份, 卻又如外在世界般巨大。 蘇格蘭詩人丹尼斯賴利,曾經把詩 比喻成一根銀針,銀針的織物 可以讓我放心窩在裡面 而美國詩人特倫斯海斯, 寫了六首詩,題為"盒中的風" 其中一首問道: "告訴我, 當我死了之後要做什麼?" 而答案是他將會伴隨在我們身邊, 或是像風一樣,飄然離我們而去, 像是空氣、像是話語般短暫。
It is easier than ever to find poems that might stay inside you, that might stay with you, from long, long ago, or from right this minute, from far away or from right close to where you live, almost no matter where you live. Poems can help you say, help you show how you're feeling, but they can also introduce you to feelings, ways of being in the world, people, very much unlike you, maybe even people from long, long ago. Some poems even tell you that that is what they can do. That's what John Keats is doing in his most mysterious, perhaps, poem. It's mysterious because it's probably unfinished, he probably left it unfinished, and because it might be meant for a character in a play, but it might just be Keats' thinking about what his own writing, his handwriting, could do, and in it I hear, at least I hear, mortality, and I hear the power of older poetic techniques, and I have the feeling, you might have the feeling, of meeting even for an instant, almost becoming, someone else from long ago, someone quite memorable.
比起過去,現在很容易找到一首詩, 能夠留存心裡且一直伴隨著你, 有些詩是古老的前人寫下、有些是當下的創作、 有些來自遙遠的地方,有些則近在咫尺, 無論你身處何處,都可找尋到。 詩文總是能幫助你表達你內心的感受, 不僅如此,還能引領你, 感受另一個世界、 感受人,或許那人性格跟你相差甚遠, 也可能那人早已永留青史。 有些詩甚至會直接告訴你: 這就是詩的功用。 約翰・濟慈有一首詩就在寫這個, 大概是他最神秘的一首, 這首詩很神秘,可能是因為 濟慈可能並沒有寫完。 他說不定是故意不寫完的。 也有可能因為這段, 是為他劇中的角色寫的台詞。 不過這首詩也有可能只是濟慈的想法, 在想他的作品能做什麼, 他親筆寫下的文字到底有什麼用。 而在詩裡我體會到,起碼我體會到:死亡。 我體會到了古老詩歌的技法, 且我有種感覺,我覺得你可能也會覺得, 覺得好像有那麼一瞬間,你好像變成了 好久以前的另一個人, 他是一個難以忘懷的人:
"This living hand, now warm and capable
「這隻活生生的手,現在是溫暖的,充滿生氣,
Of earnest grasping, would, if it were cold
能夠熱誠的緊握事物。但若它是陰涼的,
And in the icy silence of the tomb,
且從冰冷寂靜的墳墓裡伸向你,
So haunt thy days and chill thy dreaming nights
讓你日日夜夜深受驚擾,
That thou would wish thine own heart dry of blood
你會希望自己心臟血液乾涸,
So in my veins red life might stream again,
好讓你的紅色生命 可以重新盈滿我的血管,
And thou be conscience-calm’d -- see here it is --
你才會安下良心並冷靜下來 -- 你看,就是我這隻手 --
I hold it towards you."
我現在將它伸向你。」
Thanks.
謝謝。
(Applause)
(掌聲)