理查德·布蘭科：為奧巴馬總統(tǒng)就職獻詩

By Renée Montagne

詩人理查德·布蘭科（Richard Blanco），受邀在美國總統(tǒng)奧巴馬第二任期的就職典禮上朗誦他的詩歌《One Today》。1968年出生的理查德是歷屆美國總統(tǒng)就職典禮中獲邀參加的最年輕的詩人嘉賓，同時也是首位獲邀朗誦的拉美裔詩人。理查德深受奧巴馬喜愛，奧巴馬直夸他對詩歌和藝術(shù)領(lǐng)域的貢獻，以及他對后世作家創(chuàng)作的影響。

When President John F. Kennedy was inaugurated in 1961， Robert Frost was asked to recite a poem. Robert Frost， 1）improvising there at the JFK inauguration. Frost was the first. Since then， only three other poets have taken part in inaugurations： Maya Angelou， Miller Williams， and Elizabeth Alexander. This years poet—Richard Blanco， a child of Cuban exiles. Hes the first 2）Hispanic poet to be so honored， and he joined us to talk about it. Welcome to the program. You werent born in America. Tell us about that journey.

Richard： Well， as my sort of 3）tongue-in-cheek bio says， I was made in Cuba， assembled in Spain and imported to the United States， which means my mother left—she was seven months pregnant with me when she left Cuba. And at that time， in 1968， since there were no diplomatic relations， everybody had to go through what they called “a third country.” So we ended up in Spain.

Forty-five days later， I was born， and a few weeks after that， we got in a plane and immigrated once more to New York City. So by the time I was about two or three months old， I had 4）figuratively and literally been in three countries， and could probably have claimed citizenship in any one of the three at that moment. And then eventually， when I was about three or four， we settled down in Miami.

And its kind of， you know， as I look back on my life， as we all do， you kind of think： is this some kind ironic or some kind of 5）foreshadowing， of course， of what my work as a poet would be obsessed with？ This whole idea of place and identity and whats home and whats not home， and...and which is in some ways such an American question that were—weve been asking since， you know， since 6）Whitman， trying to put that finger on America.

Reporter： Four years ago， the inauguration of the first black President was a moment that was filled with history. As someone who writes a lot about cultural identity in America， do you think that…that milestone has brought about any changes in our society four years later？

Richard： The immediate answer is， I think， yes. Specific changes—maybe again， in the way I look at the world as an artist—I dont know if its something in the air that I definitely feel is different. I do remember that historic moment， and I remember thinking to myself， it was one of the proudest moments I ever had as far as being proud of America in the sense of， like， I remember thinking to myself， “You did it， America.”

My life in America sort of feel a lot more open to possibility， and a lot more sort of dreaming a lot more of who I can be and what I can do. And 7）proof is in the pudding， you know， the sense of being here， an inaugural poet for this momentous occasion and the first Latino. I think that kind of mindset is contagious， I think its something that many people feel in the air.

1961年，約翰·F·肯尼迪總統(tǒng)宣誓就職的時候，羅伯特·弗羅斯特被邀請在其就職典禮上吟誦一首詩歌。羅伯特·弗羅斯特在肯尼迪的就職典禮上即興吟誦詩歌。弗羅斯特是第一位受邀在就職典禮上吟詩的詩人。從那以后，只有三位其他的詩人獲此殊榮：瑪雅·安吉盧、米勒·威廉斯和伊麗莎白·亞歷山大。今年的詩人—— 理查德·布蘭科，是古巴流亡者的后代。他是第一位獲此殊榮的拉美裔詩人，他將與我們一同探討此經(jīng)歷。歡迎您來到我們的節(jié)目。您不是在美國出生的，分享一下您的生活歷程吧。

理查德：嗯，就如我那半開玩笑的簡歷上所寫的那樣，我“制造”于古巴，在西班牙“組裝”，然后被“進口”到了美國，這意味著我母親離開了古巴，離開時她懷了我七個月。時值1968年，古巴和美國沒有邦交，所有人都必須經(jīng)過他們所謂的“第三國家”，所以我們到了西班牙。

45天后，我出生了。幾個星期后，我們登上了一架飛機，又一次移民，到了紐約。所以，當我才兩三個月大時，我實際上已經(jīng)去過三個國家了，所以，當時我大概可以在這三個國家中的隨便一個都能自稱是其公民。然后，在我大概三四歲時，我們最終在邁阿密定居了下來。

這有點，你知道，像所有人一樣，當我回首自己的人生時，就會想：這是不是有點諷刺，或者像是預(yù)兆，當然指的是，我作為一個癡迷于詩歌的人的預(yù)兆？地方和身份的觀念，哪里是家以及哪里不是家，這似乎在某種程度上像是一個典型的美國問題——你知道，自從惠特曼以來，我們一直都在問自己這個問題，試圖準確地找出美國這個問題的答案。

記者：四年前，美國第一位黑人總統(tǒng)的就職典禮是歷史上一個里程碑式的時刻。你寫了大量關(guān)于文化認同的作品，您覺得四年后，這座里程碑是否給我們的社會帶來了變化呢？

理查德：直接的回答，我認為是肯定的。至于具體的變化—— 或許，以我作為一個藝術(shù)家看待世界的方式—— 我不確定是否是我確實感覺到具體的變化。我確實記得那個歷史性的時刻，我記得，我心想，那是我以美國自豪的記憶中最值得驕傲的時刻之一。感覺就像，我記得我心里想，“你做到了，美國?！?/p>

我在美國的生活有了很多可能性，對自己能做什么，不能做什么懷揣很多夢想，可以做自己以及做自己能夠做到的事情。實踐就是最好的檢驗，你也知道，在總統(tǒng)就職典禮這一重大時刻，作為第一位拉美裔詩人出席，就是給你這種感覺。這種心情是具有感染力的，我認為這是許多人能感受到的。

Reporter： Thank you very much for joining us， and congratulations.

Richard ： Well， thank you， Renée. Its been a pleasure.

記者：非常感謝您和我們的分享，同時祝賀您。

理查德：謝謝，蕾妮。這是我的榮幸。

翻譯：Cass

我曾問過一個喜歡詩歌的朋友：“對于一個詩人，你最想了解他的什么東西？”她說：“當然是他的詩啦，因為要真正了解一個詩人其實要深入探討他的詩，從詩中尋找他真正的本性?！蹦窍氡卮蠹铱赐暝娙死聿榈隆げ继m科的人生經(jīng)歷采訪還不過癮吧，何不一起來聽聽他為奧巴馬總統(tǒng)第二任期就職典禮上吟誦的詩歌呢……（由于空間有限，所以在這里只能選取詩歌的部分跟大家分享了～～）

One Today 同一天空下

One ground. Our ground， rooting us to every stalk

of corn， every head of wheat sown by sweat and hands，

hands gleaning coal or planting windmills

in deserts and hilltops that keep us warm， hands

digging trenches， routing pipes and cables， hands

as worn as my fathers cutting sugarcane

so my brother and I could have books and shoes.

One sky， toward which we sometimes lift our eyes

tired from work： some days guessing at the weather

of our lives， some days giving thanks for a love

that loves you back， sometimes praising a mother

who knew how to give， or forgiving a father

who couldnt give what you wanted.

We head home： through the gloss of rain or weight

of snow， or the plum blush of dusk， but always， always—home，

always under one sky， our sky. And always one moon

like a silent drum tapping on every rooftop

and every window， of one country—all of us—

facing the stars

hope—a new 1）constellation

waiting for us to map it，

waiting for us to name it—together.

一片土地。我們的土地，我們扎根于此，

于每根玉米稈上，以及用汗水和雙手播種的每一個麥穗上，

雙手撿拾煤炭，或在沙漠中以及山頂上安裝

給我們提供溫暖的風車，

雙手挖掘壕溝，鋪設(shè)管道和電纜，

有如父親收割甘蔗磨破的雙手，

只是為了讓我和哥哥有書讀、有鞋穿。

同一片天空，我們偶爾因工作勞累舉頭眺望：

有些日子里，我們憑借天氣猜測著自己的命運，有些日子里，我們感謝所愛且愛你之人，

有些日子里，我們感恩著默默付出的母親，

或原諒不能如你所愿的父親。

我們踏上回家的旅途：穿過晶瑩的雨水或厚重的積雪，

或緋紅的黃昏，但是，總是，總是朝著家的方

向，

在同一片天空下，我們的天空下。同一輪明月，如寂靜之鼓輕敲每家每戶的屋頂

和窗戶，在同一個國度——我們所有人——面朝星辰

冀望著發(fā)現(xiàn)新星群，

等待著為其繪制天體圖

期待著我們共同為其命名。

翻譯：Cass