美国国家公共电台 NPR Collaborator Says Sendak Would Be 'Jumping For Joy' Over New Publication

 

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

With a little help from blind luck, the late Maurice Sendak, who died in 2012, will have a new book out next year. Sendak wrote and illustrated² "Where The Wild Things Are," "In The Night Kitchen." He illustrated the "Little Bear" series and many other children's books. And the one that will be published next year is called "Presto³ And Zesto In Limbo⁴ Land." Sendak did the illustrations and wrote the manuscript with his collaborator⁵, Arthur Yorinks, more than 20 years ago. It's a testament⁶ to their decades of friendship.

And Arthur Yorinks joins us now. Welcome to the program.

ARTHUR YORINKS: Thank you very much, glad to be here.

SIEGEL: First the story of writing this book - I gather you wrote it over 20 years ago, and Sendak put it in a drawer and never tried to publish it. Why?

YORINKS: Well, the pictures were actually done in 1990, and they were done to illustrate¹ some disparate nonsense rhymes that were accompanied by a musical suite⁷ composed by the Czech composer Janacek. And the concert was in - by the London Symphony Orchestra. And so these pictures were projected as the concert went on. And then they were put in a drawer. And then several years later, we decided⁸ one day to put all the pictures on his drawing table. And we began to kind of - like two old jazz musicians, kind to riff on various stories. And lo and behold⁹, it started as a bit of a lark¹⁰, but it ended up being a complete narrative¹¹.

SIEGEL: Why didn't it get published then?

YORINKS: You know, it was the kind of thing where he was so wrapped up in other projects that, you know, it was finished creatively in terms of our work. It would then need to go to an editor and, you know, start the whole process.

SIEGEL: I think you've gotten to the numb¹² of this. You were deterred¹³ from publication because of what editors would do to your project.

YORINKS: (Laughter) No, not quite. But it's a long process even from sort of finished pictures and manuscript to having a book in the stores. And because there were other things on the plate both for Maurice and me individually, we always thought we would get back to it. But we unfortunately didn't.

SIEGEL: How did it come to be published now?

YORINKS: It was found by Lynn Caponera, the head of the Maurice Sendak Foundation in a file folder¹⁴ and gloriously sent to our - Maurice and my mutual¹⁵ editor. And it was totally complete when it was found. So we didn't really have to do much.

SIEGEL: So who are Presto and Zesto?

YORINKS: Well, they're actually us, Maurice and myself (laughter). The main drift of the story was a kind of homage¹⁶ to a longstanding friendship. And so in a rather anecdotal way, Maurice had given me the nickname Presto. I didn't want to let him get away with giving me a nickname by myself. So I named him Zesto. And so we used those names for the characters in the book because the book is about friendship and about surviving in a very, very mixed-up world. And so we indulge ourselves in calling the characters ourselves.

SIEGEL: You know, there's a familiar discussion that often surrounds the publication of some posthumous¹⁷ work. It's happened recently with Edward Albee's material that he left over, left unpublished, which is...

YORINKS: Yep.

SIEGEL: ...If the writer didn't want to see it published during his lifetime, maybe it was because he didn't want it to see the light of day. I mean is it - do we have the right to go publishing things? In this case, of course you're also an artist here.

YORINKS: I'm alive (laughter)...

SIEGEL: You're alive, and it's your decision to make.

YORINKS: ...I think, last I checked.

(LAUGHTER)

SIEGEL: Did Sendak have any ambivalence¹⁸ about this project?

YORINKS: No, he didn't. And you know, the nice thing about it is sort of, as the old saying goes, I was there. And Maurice would have been totally, totally delighted to have us out. We fully¹⁹ intended to do something with this book and publish it at some point in time. And we both thought the book was hilarious²⁰ and fun and full of life. And if he was around, he would be jumping for joy that it's being published.

SIEGEL: Are there special plans for publication next fall?

YORINKS: You mean, like, a bar mitzvah or something?

(LAUGHTER)

SIEGEL: I think it's too old for that, actually.

YORINKS: It is too old for that, yeah. I don't know exactly what the plans are other than putting it out there. But it's a wonderful epilogue to our friendship to have this book come out. And it's certainly a terrific addition to Maurice's enormous and glorious canon of work.

SIEGEL: OK. Arthur Yorinks, co-author of "Presto And Zesto In Limbo Land," illustrated by the late Maurice Sendak. The children's book hits book shelves next fall. Thanks for talking with us about it today.

YORINKS: Thank you so much.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE DIP'S "WON'T BE COMING BACK")

1 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

2 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

3 presto   

adv.急速地；n.急板乐段；adj.急板的

参考例句：

• With something so important,you can't just wave a wand and presto!在这么重大的问题上，你想挥动一下指挥棒，转眼就变过来,办不到！
• I just turned the piece of wire in the lock and hey presto,the door opened.我把金属丝伸到锁孔里一拧，嘿，那门就开了。

4 limbo   

n.地狱的边缘；监狱

参考例句：

• His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地，进退两难。
• I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死，感觉自己茫然无措。

5 collaborator   

n.合作者，协作者

参考例句：

• I need a collaborator to help me. 我需要个人跟我合作，帮我的忙。
• His collaborator, Hooke, was of a different opinion. 他的合作者霍克持有不同的看法。

6 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

7 suite   

n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员

参考例句：

• She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
• That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

10 lark   

n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏

参考例句：

• He thinks it cruel to confine a lark in a cage.他认为把云雀关在笼子里太残忍了。
• She lived in the village with her grandparents as cheerful as a lark.她同祖父母一起住在乡间非常快活。

11 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

12 numb   

adj.麻木的，失去感觉的；v.使麻木

参考例句：

• His fingers were numb with cold.他的手冻得发麻。
• Numb with cold,we urged the weary horses forward.我们冻得发僵，催着疲惫的马继续往前走。

13 deterred   

v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I told him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't deterred. 我已告诉他我不感兴趣，可他却不罢休。
• Jeremy was not deterred by this criticism. 杰里米没有因这一批评而却步。 来自辞典例句

14 folder   

n.纸夹，文件夹

参考例句：

• Peter returned the plan and charts to their folder.彼得把这份计划和表格放回文件夹中。
• He draws the document from its folder.他把文件从硬纸夹里抽出来。

15 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

16 homage   

n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬

参考例句：

• We pay homage to the genius of Shakespeare.我们对莎士比亚的天才表示敬仰。
• The soldiers swore to pay their homage to the Queen.士兵们宣誓效忠于女王陛下。

17 posthumous   

adj.遗腹的；父亡后出生的；死后的，身后的

参考例句：

• He received a posthumous award for bravery.他表现勇敢，死后受到了嘉奖。
• The legendary actor received a posthumous achievement award.这位传奇男星在过世后获得终身成就奖的肯定。

18 ambivalence   

n.矛盾心理

参考例句：

• She viewed her daughter's education with ambivalence.她看待女儿的教育问题态度矛盾。
• She felt a certain ambivalence towards him.她对他的态度有些矛盾。

19 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

20 hilarious   

adj.充满笑声的，欢闹的；[反]depressed

参考例句：

• The party got quite hilarious after they brought more wine.在他们又拿来更多的酒之后，派对变得更加热闹起来。
• We stop laughing because the show was so hilarious.我们笑个不停，因为那个节目太搞笑了。