your recommended dietary allowance

今天我給各位帶來

of poetry.

每個人詩的

And the way I'm going to do that

每日建議攝取量

is present to you

我要做的是

five animations

將五首我的創作

of five of my poems.

用動畫的方式

And let me just tell you a little bit of how that came about.

呈現給各位

Because the mixing of those two media

先讓我告訴大家這個想法是怎麼來的

is a sort of unnatural or unnecessary act.

因為要將這兩個媒體素材結合起來

But when I was United States Poet Laureate --

其實是有點不自然又多此一舉

and I love saying that.

但是在我還是美國桂冠詩人的時候...

(Laughter)

我真喜歡這樣說

It's a great way to start sentences.

(笑聲)

When I was him back then,

用這句話來開頭很棒

I was approached by J. Walter Thompson, the ad company,

當我還是"他"的時候

and they were hired

廣告公司智威湯遜來找我

sort of by the Sundance Channel.

他們應該是

And the idea was to have me record some of my poems

受了聖丹斯頻道之託

and then they would find animators

他們的構想是要我錄製一些我的創作

to animate them.

然後他們會找來動畫師

And I was initially resistant,

替我的創作作出動畫

because I always think

一開始我不答應

poetry can stand alone by itself.

因為我一直認為

Attempts to put my poems to music

詩能夠獨自地存在

have had disastrous results,

以前我有試過

in all cases.

要把詩變成音樂

And the poem, if it's written with the ear,

結果都很不堪

already has been set to its own verbal music

而且如果詩是用耳朵來寫的話

as it was composed.

在創作的時後

And surely, if you're reading a poem

它就已經被賦予了口語的音樂性

that mentions a cow,

再者

you don't need on the facing page

如果你在讀一篇提到牛的詩

a drawing of a cow.

我想你也不必去

I mean, let's let the reader do a little work.

看到一頭牛的圖案

But I relented because it seemed like an interesting possibility,

我想說的是，讓讀者發揮點想像力吧

and also I'm like a total cartoon junkie

但後來我還是答應了

since childhood.

因為這似乎還蠻有趣的

I think more influential

而且我從小就超愛看卡通

than Emily Dickinson or Coleridge or Wordsworth

對我來說

on my imagination

華納兄弟，快樂美樂蒂和兔寶寶的卡通

were Warner Brothers, Merrie Melodies

對我的想像力的啟發

and Loony Tunes cartoons.

更勝於艾蜜莉狄更生或是柯勒律治

Bugs Bunny is my muse.

還是華茲華斯的詩

And this way poetry could find its way onto television of all places.

我超愛兔寶寶

And I'm pretty much all for poetry in public places --

而且這樣一來，詩就能出現在任何有電視的地方

poetry on buses, poetry on subways,

而我完全支持將詩推及大眾--

on billboards, on cereal boxes.

不論是在公車上、在地鐵上

When I was Poet Laureate, there I go again --

在廣告看板還是在麥片盒上

I can't help it, it's true --

在我還是桂冠詩人的時候，又來了--

(Laughter)

真的，我也不想--

I created a poetry channel on Delta Airlines

(笑聲)

that lasted for a couple of years.

我為達美航空公司做了一個詩的頻道

So you could tune into poetry as you were flying.

總共播出了兩年

And my sense is,

人們在搭飛機的時候就也可以欣賞詩了

it's a good thing to get poetry off the shelves

我的想法是

and more into public life.

讓詩從書本裡走出來更貼近大家

Start a meeting with a poem. That would be an idea you might take with you.

是個很好的概念

When you get a poem on a billboard or on the radio

你們可以這樣想，就像踏出閱讀詩的第一步

or on a cereal box or whatever,

當你在廣告看板上，廣播裡

it happens to you so suddenly

還是麥片盒上等等的看到詩的時候

that you don't have time

一切發生得很快

to deploy your anti-poetry deflector shields

以至於你來不及去

that were installed in high school.

啟動你在高中的時候學到的

So let us start with the first one.

詩歌金鐘罩

It's a little poem called "Budapest,"

那我們就開始第一首吧

and in it I reveal,

這首小品叫作"布達佩斯"

or pretend to reveal,

我在裡頭揭露出

the secrets of the creative process.

或是假裝揭露出

(Video) Narration: "Budapest."

創作歷程的秘密

My pen moves along the page

(影片)旁白: "布達佩斯"

like the snout of a strange animal

我的筆在紙上寫著

shaped like a human arm

就像一隻奇獸的嘴巴

and dressed in the sleeve

看起來像隻人類的手臂

of a loose green sweater.

穿著一件

I watch it sniffing the paper ceaselessly,

鬆垮的綠色毛衣

intent as any forager

我看著它不斷地在紙上嗅著

that has nothing on its mind

就像任何一隻動物

but the grubs and insects

心裡頭甚麼也沒有

that will allow it to live another day.

只想著能讓他活下去的

It wants only to be here tomorrow,

蠐螬和昆蟲

dressed perhaps

牠只是想活到明天

in the sleeve of a plaid shirt,

或許可以穿著

nose pressed against the page,

格子花呢衫

writing a few more dutiful lines

鼻子貼著紙面

while I gaze out the window

乖乖的又寫了幾句

and imagine Budapest

而我正凝視窗外

or some other city

想像著布達佩斯

where I have never been.

或是其他的

BC: So that makes it seem a little easier.

我從來沒去過的城市

(Applause)

這樣就比較好瞭解了

Writing is not actually as easy as that for me.

(掌聲)

But I like to pretend that it comes with ease.

其實寫作對我來說沒有這麼簡單

One of my students came up after class, an introductory class,

但我想要假裝這是個信手拈來的工作

and she said, "You know, poetry is harder than writing,"

有一個學生在入門課，下課後來找我

which I found both erroneous and profound.

她說 "我認為作詩比寫作還難"

(Laughter)

我覺得她說的不對但卻發人深省

So I like to at least pretend it just flows out.

(笑聲)

A friend of mine has a slogan; he's another poet.

所以我傾向至少假裝作詩很簡單

He says that, "If at first you don't succeed,

我的一位詩人朋友，他有一句口號

hide all evidence you ever tried."

他說: "如果一開始寫得不好，

(Laughter)

記得把失敗的證據都藏好"

The next poem is also rather short.

(笑聲)

Poetry just says a few things in different ways.

下一首詩也頗短的

And I think you could boil this poem down to saying,

詩就只是用不同的方法詮釋一些東西

"Some days you eat the bear, other days the bear eats you."

我覺得你們可以把這首詩簡化成

And it uses the imagery

"有時你吃熊，有時熊吃你"

of dollhouse furniture.

這會運用到各位玩

(Video) Narration: "Some Days."

娃娃屋的想像力

Some days

(影片)旁白: 有時候

I put the people in their places at the table,

有時候

bend their legs at the knees,

我把人們沿著桌子擺好

if they come with that feature,

膝蓋的地方彎著

and fix them into the tiny wooden chairs.

如果買來就是這樣的話

All afternoon they face one another,

然後把他們放在小小的木椅上

the man in the brown suit,

一整個下午他們面面相覷

the woman in the blue dress --

穿咖啡色西裝的男人

perfectly motionless, perfectly behaved.

穿藍色洋裝的女人--

But other days I am the one

完美的靜止，完美的表現

who is lifted up by the ribs

但其他時候

then lowered into the dining room of a dollhouse

我則是那個被提著胳臂

to sit with the others at the long table.

放到娃娃屋裡

Very funny.

和其他人一起坐在長桌邊

But how would you like it

這很有趣

if you never knew from one day to the next

但你會不會想要

if you were going to spend it

也許有一天

striding around like a vivid god,

你可以花上一整天

your shoulders in the clouds,

像神一樣闊步

or sitting down there

肩膀就在雲端

amidst the wallpaper

或是只是坐著

staring straight ahead

夾在壁紙之間

with your little plastic face?

用一張小小的塑膠臉

(Applause)

直愣愣的看著前方

BC: There's a horror movie in there somewhere.

(掌聲)

The next poem is called forgetfulness,

這部裡面有段挺像恐怖片的

and it's really just a kind of poetic essay

下一首叫做遺忘

on the subject of mental slippage.

有點像是詩寫成的文章

And the poem begins

講的是心理失衡

with a certain species of forgetfulness

詩的開頭是

that someone called

一種

literary amnesia,

人們稱為

in other words, forgetting the things that you have read.

文學健忘症的健忘症

(Video) Narration: "Forgetfulness."

也就是說，把剛才才讀到的東西給忘了

The name of the author is the first to go,

(影片)旁白: 遺忘

followed obediently

一開始是作者的名字

by the title, the plot,

接著總是

the heartbreaking conclusion,

書名，情節

the entire novel,

再來是令人心碎的結局

which suddenly becomes one you have never read,

然後整本小說

never even heard of.

突然變成一本素未謀面的書

It is as if, one by one,

甚至連聽都沒聽過

the memories you used to harbor

這就好像

decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain

記憶的船從熟悉的港口

to a little fishing village

統統跑去腦子上的南半球退休去了

where there are no phones.

跑到一個沒有電話的

Long ago,

小漁村去

you kissed the names of the nine muses good-bye

很久以前

and you watched the quadratic equation

你向九位繆斯女神們的名字說了聲再見

pack its bag.

然後看著二次方程式

And even now,

打包行李走人

as you memorize the order of the planets,

即便現在

something else is slipping away,

當你試著回想九大行星的順序時

a state flower perhaps,

就有甚麼其他的事物被遺忘了

the address of an uncle,

或許是某個州花

the capital of Paraguay.

一位叔叔的地址

Whatever it is

巴拉圭的首都

you are struggling to remember,

不論是甚麼

it is not poised on the tip of your tongue,

你總是很難想得起來

not even lurking

它沒有在你的舌尖上準備好

in some obscure corner

也沒有埋伏在

of your spleen.

你脾臟裡的

It has floated away

某個角落

down a dark mythological river

它已經漂走了

whose name begins with an L

漂向一條神話裡的黑暗河流

as far as you can recall,

但就你的記得的

well on your own way to oblivion

也只有那條河名字開頭是L而已

where you will join those

在你走向遺忘的道路上

who have forgotten even how to swim

你會遇到那些

and how to ride a bicycle.

連游泳都忘記怎麼游

No wonder you rise in the middle of the night

或是腳踏車都不會騎了的人

to look up the date of a famous battle

難怪你會在半夜爬起來

in a book on war.

在書裡面去翻找

No wonder the Moon in the window

一個有名的戰役的日期

seems to have drifted out of a love poem

也難怪窗外的月亮

that you used to know by heart.

怎麼好像

(Applause)

是從一篇你曾經用心體會的詩中漂了出來

BC: The next poem is called "The Country"

(掌聲)

and it's based on,

下一首詩叫做"鄉下"

when I was in college

我的靈感是來自

I met a classmate who remains to be a friend of mine.

我在大學的時候

He lived, and still does, in rural Vermont.

的一個同學，現在是我的朋友

I lived in New York City.

他一直都住在佛蒙特的鄉村裡

And we would visit each other.

而我住在紐約

And when I would go up to the country,

我們會互相登門拜訪

he would teach me things like deer hunting,

在我去鄉下的時候

which meant getting lost with a gun basically --

他會教我獵鹿

(Laughter)

其實就是拿著槍然後迷路了--

and trout fishing and stuff like that.

(笑聲)

And then he'd come down to New York City

還有去釣鱒魚那類的活動

and I'd teach him what I knew,

到他來紐約的時候

which was largely smoking and drinking.

我就會教他我會的事情

(Laughter)

大部分就是抽菸和喝酒

And in that way we traded lore with each other.

(笑聲)

The poem that's coming up

而我們就這樣互相學習著

is based on him trying to tell me a little something

接下來的這首詩

about a domestic point of etiquette

是有關他要跟我說一些

in country living

一開始我很難理解的

that I had a very hard time, at first, processing.

在鄉村居家生活的

It's called "The Country."

小撇步

(Video) Narration: "The Country."

這首詩叫做"鄉下"

I wondered about you

(影片)旁白: "鄉下"

when you told me never to leave

當你跟我說

a box of wooden strike-anywhere matches

不要把易燃的火柴

just lying around the house,

隨便丟在家裡

because the mice might get into them

因為老鼠會跑進去

and start a fire.

然後生火的時候

But your face was absolutely straight

我真的很懷疑

when you twisted the lid down

但是當你把錫罐上的蓋子轉開的時候

on the round tin

你看起來很正經

where the matches, you said, are always stowed.

你跟我說

Who could sleep that night?

這就是我們放火柴的地方

Who could whisk away the thought

有誰能在那天晚上睡著?

of the one unlikely mouse

有誰能夠不去想

padding along a cold water pipe

那隻應該不會出現的老鼠

behind the floral wallpaper,

沿著冰冷的水管爬著

gripping a single wooden match

爬到印花壁紙的後面

between the needles of his teeth?

用他尖銳的牙齒

Who could not see him rounding a corner,

咬著一隻木頭火柴?

the blue tip scratching against rough-hewn beam,

誰能不去注意到沿著牆角跑著

the sudden flare

那藍色的火柴頭摩擦著粗糙的橫樑

and the creature, for one bright, shining moment,

突然一陣火焰

suddenly thrust ahead of his time --

那生物，就在這明亮閃耀的時刻

now a fire-starter,

突然超越了牠的時空--

now a torch-bearer

變成了一個縱火者

in a forgotten ritual,

一個火炬手

little brown druid

在一個被遺忘的儀式裡

illuminating some ancient night?

小小的棕色祭師

And who could fail to notice,

照亮了幾個亙古的夜晚?

lit up in the blazing insulation,

而誰又能不去注意到

the tiny looks of wonderment

被那閃耀的光線下

on the faces of his fellow mice --

其他老鼠小小的

one-time inhabitants

驚嚇的表情--

of what once was your house in the country?

那些曾經住在

(Applause)

你鄉下家裡的小老鼠們?

BC: Thank you.

(掌聲)

(Applause)

謝謝

Thank you. And the last poem is called "The Dead."

(掌聲)

I wrote this after a friend's funeral,

謝謝。最後一首詩叫做 "亡人"

but not so much about the friend as something the eulogist kept saying,

我在一位朋友過世後寫下這首詩

as all eulogists tend to do,

但是不是寫

which is how happy the deceased would be

念弔詞的人常說的那些

to look down and see all of us assembled.

死去的人們

And that to me was a bad start to the afterlife,

看到我們聚在一起有多開心

having to witness your own funeral and feel gratified.

我認為要目睹自己的喪禮還要感到欣慰

So the little poem is called "The Dead."

用這樣的方式開始我的來世很差

(Video) Narration: "The Dead."

所以我把這首詩命名為"亡人"

The dead are always looking down on us,

(影片)旁白: "亡人"

they say.

他們說

While we are putting on our shoes or making a sandwich,

亡人們總是往下看著我們

they are looking down

我們在穿鞋子或是做三明治的時候

through the glass-bottom boats of heaven

透過那艘玻璃底的船

as they row themselves slowly

他們往下看著

through eternity.

同時他們慢慢划著船