2005年NPR美国国家公共电台五月-Literary Pilgrims Flock to Faulkner's Hom

Over the weekend, the University of Mississippi rededicated the home of Nobel Prize novelist William Faulkner following a 1.3-million-dollar restoration. Faulkner bought the antebellum house in 1930 and named it Rowan Oak after the qualities of the 2 trees, Rowan for serenity¹ and Oak for strength. It was built in 1848 and the house was in disrepair when William Faulkner bought it. He spent the rest of his life working on it and trying to pay for it by writing what many believed to be the greatest novels of American literature. Melanie Peeples reports from Oxford², Mississippi.

The difference in going to see Haminway's house and Faulkner's home is that you take a trip to Key West, you make a pilgrimage to Oxford. There at the end of a long pea gravel³ drive, the columns of the white clapboard house peek⁴ out through a stand of cedars⁵. For Faulkner fans and formal English majors, you cross a threshold at Rowan Oak where the world falls away.

Inside, curator Willim Griface can spot the reverent⁶.
"Some are completely silent, yeah, when they go through. Some, in their write in the comment book, 'I can't believe I'm here. ' or 'This is fantastic!'"
They politely peek into the parlor⁷ and library, but it's the next room they've come to see.
"This is his office, this room was add-oned in 50s, probably around 1952. And while he was in this room, he was working on the first novel he wrote after he won the Nobel Prize. And this is the novel called though: "A Fable⁸"."

The book is set during holy week in World War One with a plot so complicated, Faulkner wrote the outline on the wall so he could refer to it while writing. It's kind of the Sistine Chapel⁹ of Rowan Oak.
"If you get a look at his handwriting, you can see he had very nice handwriting, very nice print."

By the window was Faulkner's writing desk and the old portable Underwood typewriter where he created more interesting people than God did, as he once put it. A remark out of character from his usual modest self, there is a half-scrolled ribbon in the typewriter and you can't help but wonder what words are hidden under there, and if anyone else has seen them. It's a moment stopped in time.
"There is just something about the character of the house in the way it smells, that, you know, he's just transported me back to a different era."
Buddy¹⁰ Handric is an arts teacher from A.

They say once you've seen someone's home, you see them differently. And Handric knows what this house meant to Faulkner, how would it seem to restore the prominence¹¹ of his family's name.
"If you can't find him here, I don't know where you'd be able to find him. He is still here."

Geeny Anderson agrees.
"Definitely, there is a, no one say that there is a religious here too, because that's too somber¹². But there is a remembrance here."

A judge in Alabama, Anderson reveres¹³ Faulkner for being the first southerner to write about the real South.
"The good and the bad, and you know, he was something one of the first writers who were really candid¹⁴ about a lot of issues in the South."

A former English major, Anderson's days of dreaming about being a great writer are behind her. Still, she says she wouldn't mind absorbing a little of Faulkner anyway. She feels him most where a lot of people do.
"The grounds, the grounds and the trees."
From the front porch, you can see lines of cedars and magnolia here and there. Nothing but Faulkner, everywhere you look on the 34 acres. It's easy to go back in time. He practically preached it. The past is never dead, it's not even past. If you think hard enough, you can just make him out round in the corner.

"Leaving no room in his workshop for anything but the old verities¹⁵ and truths of the heart. The old universal truths ,lacking which any story is ephemeral and doomed¹⁶: love and honor and pity and pride and compassion¹⁷ and sacrifice."　

It's from his acceptance speech after winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1949. He almost didn't go to Sweden, telling a journalist at first that he was just a farmer and couldn't leave his cows. He loved Rowan Oak. You remember hearing he was an intensely private man who once dug potholes¹⁸ in his driveway to keep gawkers at bay. And you resolve to pull yourself away, to stop intruding¹⁹. You resolve to, but your feets stand firm, then you realize it's quaint-essential Faulkner, the human heart against itself.

For NPR News, I'm Melanie Peeples in Oxford, Mississippi.

1 serenity   

n.宁静，沉着，晴朗

参考例句：

• Her face,though sad,still evoked a feeling of serenity.她的脸色虽然悲伤，但仍使人感觉安详。
• She escaped to the comparative serenity of the kitchen.她逃到相对安静的厨房里。

2 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

3 gravel   

n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石

参考例句：

• We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
• More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。

4 peek   

vi.偷看，窥视；n.偷偷的一看，一瞥

参考例句：

• Larry takes a peek out of the window.赖瑞往窗外偷看了一下。
• Cover your eyes and don't peek.捂上眼睛，别偷看。

5 cedars   

雪松，西洋杉( cedar的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The old cedars were badly damaged in the storm. 风暴严重损害了古老的雪松。
• Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. 1黎巴嫩哪，开开你的门，任火烧灭你的香柏树。

6 reverent   

adj.恭敬的，虔诚的

参考例句：

• He gave reverent attention to the teacher.他恭敬地听老师讲课。
• She said the word artist with a gentle,understanding,reverent smile.她说作家一词时面带高雅，理解和虔诚的微笑。

7 parlor   

n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅

参考例句：

• She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
• Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？

8 fable   

n.寓言；童话；神话

参考例句：

• The fable is given on the next page. 这篇寓言登在下一页上。
• He had some motive in telling this fable. 他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

9 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

10 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

11 prominence   

n.突出；显著；杰出；重要

参考例句：

• He came to prominence during the World Cup in Italy.他在意大利的世界杯赛中声名鹊起。
• This young fashion designer is rising to prominence.这位年轻的时装设计师的声望越来越高。

12 somber   

adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• He had a somber expression on his face.他面容忧郁。
• His coat was a somber brown.他的衣服是暗棕色的。

13 reveres   

v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Confucian philosophy reveres the teacher above all. 儒家哲学最讲究尊重师长。 来自互联网
• Group's idea: Have in mind gratefully, the heart checks and reveres, sincerity serve, fulfil one's duty. 团队理念：胸怀感激、心存敬畏、诚信服务、尽职尽责。 来自互联网

14 candid   

adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的

参考例句：

• I cannot but hope the candid reader will give some allowance for it.我只有希望公正的读者多少包涵一些。
• He is quite candid with his friends.他对朋友相当坦诚。

15 verities   

n.真实( verity的名词复数 )；事实；真理；真实的陈述

参考例句：

• the eternal verities of life 生命永恒的真理

16 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

17 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

18 potholes   

n.壶穴( pothole的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Potholes are also home to tiny desert animals. 洞穴也是弱小动物的家。 来自互联网
• If you're going to enjoy the good times, you've certainly got to deal with some potholes. 如果要享受甜美的胜利果实，当然要应付这些战绩不佳的指责压力。 来自互联网

19 intruding   

v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的现在分词)；把…强加于

参考例句：

• Does he find his new celebrity intruding on his private life? 他是否感觉到他最近的成名侵扰了他的私生活？
• After a few hours of fierce fighting,we saw the intruding bandits off. 经过几小时的激烈战斗，我们赶走了入侵的匪徒。 来自《简明英汉词典》