美国国家公共电台 NPR Menstruate? Celebrate! New Novel Urges Girls To Embrace 'The Moon Within'

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

"The Moon Within" is a coming-of-age story centering around 11-year-old Celi Rivera. Written in verse, the story follows Celi as she learns how to navigate¹ puberty and everything that comes with it. Aida Salazar wrote "The Moon Within." And she joins us now to talk about it.

Welcome to WEEKEND EDITION.

AIDA SALAZAR: Thank you so much, Lulu, for having me.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: This book is about a moon ceremony. So explain what that is and where it comes from.

SALAZAR: Well, moon ceremonies are traditional gatherings² that happen for women across the Americans. They date back to precolonial times. And they're ceremonies where women gather around the full moon or the new moon. And in this case, a moon ceremony for a young girl coming of age happens right after her first period, her first menstruation.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And like many girls her age, the main character Celi is intensely self-conscious. She's growing up in Oakland. And she's really resistant³ to having the moon ceremony. Tell us why.

SALAZAR: That's right. Celi is a secret-keeper. And she doesn't think that it's really anybody's business what happens to her body, which is in large contrast to her mother. Her mother wants her to broadcast it to her community because they come from a really strong community in Oakland that celebrates these rites⁴ of passages for girls.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: What is your heritage? - if I may ask.

SALAZAR: I'm Mexican. But I wrote the story for my daughter, who is half Puerto Rican, half Mexican.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And did you have something like a moon ceremony growing up or did you wish you had one? When - what was the inspiration here?

SALAZAR: Well, the inspiration began when my own daughter started to ask about her period, about her changing body as she grew into adolescence⁵. And I wanted to reframe the conversation. I wanted to tell a different story to her. You know, my - I never had a moon ceremony. I wanted to have a moon ceremony. But like many women - Mexican women, many Latinx women who enter their periods with a certain amount of shame and silence. And I didn't want that to happen for my daughter. I wanted her to be grounded in our spirituality, our connection to the moon. And so we actually did give my daughter a moon ceremony.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I was about to ask.

SALAZAR: It was really beautiful.

(LAUGHTER)

SALAZAR: My daughter's a dancer. And so she - we invited her dance teachers. And we invited my family. And we gathered beneath the full moon. And we did many of the rituals that are described in the book. And we offered, and we created space. And we sat in circle together.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: This book is written in verse. And one of the most moving things that I saw is that you referenced a poem that I had never heard of until I read it in your book. I want you to read the last stanza⁶ of it.

SALAZAR: We stand at the heart of the forest beside the stone pool, waiting for Venus, the smoking star, to glimmer⁷ above the trees. Remove your clothes. Let down your hair. Bask⁸ in the moonlight, naked as the day of your birth - virgins⁹, maidens¹⁰, women.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: That poem is called "A Flower Song For Maidens Coming Of Age." It was written in 1440 before European contact in Mexico. And it's from a collection of Mayan poems - extraordinary. Tell me about why this poem resonated for you. It describes a moon ceremony.

SALAZAR: It was such an important revelation to have come across this poem. I cried. I cried for two days - the whole week because, as you know, colonization¹¹ basically eradicated¹² all of our written documentation in the Americas. All of our traditions have been passed down through word of mouth. But to have written documentation that women have been honoring the moon and celebrating their bodies and their transitions, their milestones¹³ in this way, I really felt like my ancestors were watching over.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And you wrote in the afterword to this book that you really wanted young women to find their own way to connect with their roots. Why?

SALAZAR: Well, I think it's important for any person, really, but young girls in particular who come from marginalized communities to find their - not only their roots but the meaning and the legacy¹⁴ of wisdom and power that comes from those traditions. And Celi, because she's bicultural and multiracial, she has all of these beautiful intersections¹⁵ happening that I really tried to play up in the novel because I wanted children that are just like Celi, who are multiracial and bicultural, to see themselves and their hybridity¹⁶ in all of its beauty and all of its power.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Aida Salazar's new book is "The Moon Within." Thank you very much.

SALAZAR: Thank you so much, Lulu, for having me.

1 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

2 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

3 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

4 rites   

仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to administer the last rites to sb 给某人举行临终圣事
• He is interested in mystic rites and ceremonies. 他对神秘的仪式感兴趣。

5 adolescence   

n.青春期，青少年

参考例句：

• Adolescence is the process of going from childhood to maturity.青春期是从少年到成年的过渡期。
• The film is about the trials and tribulations of adolescence.这部电影讲述了青春期的麻烦和苦恼。

6 stanza   

n.（诗）节，段

参考例句：

• We omitted to sing the second stanza.我们漏唱了第二节。
• One young reporter wrote a review with a stanza that contained some offensive content.一个年轻的记者就歌词中包含有攻击性内容的一节写了评论。

7 glimmer   

v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光

参考例句：

• I looked at her and felt a glimmer of hope.我注视她，感到了一线希望。
• A glimmer of amusement showed in her eyes.她的眼中露出一丝笑意。

8 bask   

vt.取暖，晒太阳，沐浴于

参考例句：

• Turtles like to bask in the sun.海龟喜欢曝于阳光中。
• In winter afternoons,he likes to bask in the sun in his courtyard.冬日的午后，他喜欢坐在院子晒太阳。

9 virgins   

处女，童男( virgin的名词复数 )； 童贞玛利亚（耶稣之母）

参考例句：

• They were both virgins when they met and married. 他们从相识到结婚前都未曾经历男女之事。
• Men want virgins as concubines. 人家买姨太太的要整货。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

10 maidens   

处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球

参考例句：

• stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
• Transplantation is not always successful in the matter of flowers or maidens. 花儿移栽往往并不成功，少女们换了环境也是如此。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

11 colonization   

殖民地的开拓，殖民，殖民地化； 移殖

参考例句：

• Colonization took place during the Habsburg dynasty. 开拓殖民地在哈布斯堡王朝就进行过。
• These countries took part in the colonization of Africa. 这些国家参与非洲殖民地的开发。

12 eradicated   

画着根的

参考例句：

• Polio has been virtually eradicated in Brazil. 在巴西脊髓灰质炎实际上已经根除。
• The disease has been eradicated from the world. 这种疾病已在全世界得到根除。

13 milestones   

n.重要事件( milestone的名词复数 )；重要阶段；转折点；里程碑

参考例句：

• Several important milestones in foreign policy have been passed by this Congress and they can be chalked up as major accomplishments. 这次代表大会通过了对外政策中几起划时代的事件，并且它们可作为主要成就记录下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dale: I really envy your milestones over the last few years, Don. 我真的很羡慕你在过去几年中所建立的丰功伟绩。 来自互联网

14 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

15 intersections   

n.横断( intersection的名词复数 )；交叉；交叉点；交集

参考例句：

• Traffic lights have been placed at all major intersections. 所有重要的交叉路口都安装了交通信号灯。
• Intersections are of the greatest importance in highway design. 在道路设计中，交叉口占有最重要的地位。 来自辞典例句

16 hybridity   

n.杂种性，杂种状态

参考例句：

• A culture should frankly face the hybridity in exchange with others. 在文化交流中我们应该坦然地面对这种杂合。 来自互联网
• Hence, the issue of hybridity is felicitous rationale for the elaboration of Kureishi's works. 因此以混杂性为理论基础来讨论古雷希的作品是非常贴切的。 来自互联网