美国国家公共电台 NPR In 'Wonder Valley,' There's More Than One Los Angeles

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I am hosting this morning from Washington, D.C. But I got to say I'm dreaming a little bit about Los Angeles. I've really loved exploring that city since I started hosting from NPR West. And recently, I talked to the author of a really vivid new book that is set in LA. Ivy¹ Pochoda begins her novel almost like she's trying to break up the ho-hum of an everyday morning.

IVY POCHODA: (Reading) Seven a.m., and traffic is already jammed through downtown - ground to a standstill as cars attempt to cross five lanes, moving in increments² so small their progress is nearly invisible. But he is flowing freely, reverse commuting³ through the stalled vehicles.

GREENE: Now, the he she mentioned there is a man jogging without a care through LA's maze⁴ of freeways. And, oh, yeah, he's totally naked. Now, this does kind of interrupt the commuters' usual routines.

POCHODA: (Reading) They left home early, hoping to avoid the bumper⁶ to bumper - the inevitable⁷ slowdown of their mornings. They've mastered their mathematical calculations - the distance times rate times time of their trip to work - yet they are stuck. In the city of drivers, he is a rebuke⁸.

GREENE: Why a rebuke? Why is this naked guy running against traffic in the morning in LA a rebuke?

POCHODA: Well, he stands for everything that the drivers are up against. They're stuck in their cars. They're dressed in their work clothes. They are ground to a standstill. They have no choice but to proceed forward. And he's just completely antithetical to everything that I imagine a morning commuter⁵ is up against in the morning.

GREENE: He's free.

POCHODA: He's free.

GREENE: He's totally free.

POCHODA: He's free. He's bucking⁹ the rules. And he's moving. And that's really why I think he's a rebuke more than anything.

GREENE: Ivy Pochoda has called her new book "Wonder Valley." And she follows several different characters who all connect back to that mystery man out on the freeway. Much of the action takes place in downtown LA. And that's where one of the characters, a boy named Ren, is desperately¹⁰ trying to find his mom, Laila. She's in a part of the city known as Skid¹¹ Row.

POCHODA: She's living in a homeless encampment that is pretty gritty. She lives in a tent. And she's surrounded by people who have been homeless for a great deal of time. It's both a pretty grim environment but also one that has a sense of community that, I think, is not apparent to the naked eye when you're walking around down there.

GREENE: You so nailed that. I mean, this is a part of downtown LA that feels like a different world that almost is hard for us passing by to access, in a way. And you bring it to life, I mean, with such humanity.

POCHODA: I used to live on the far side of Skid Row in the arts district and...

GREENE: So you knew this spot well?

POCHODA: Right. So Skid Row is between downtown, which is gentrifying very quickly, and the arts district. And it's sort of this, you know, border that you have to cross if you're going between the two neighborhoods. So I would ride my bike. And I was commuting through Skid Row on a regular basis.

GREENE: Did you feel that tension of, you know - I don't know. Like, there's - I feel like a lot of people feel a discomfort¹² and a question of, you know, here's someone who is homeless living in a tent. Am I supposed to come up and say hi and say how your day is, or is this a world that you shouldn't really disturb?

POCHODA: I don't - I'm not exactly sure I felt a tension. I felt sort of aware that I was intruding¹³, but I eventually started teaching creative writing in Skid Row, which is how I got a lot more involved in the community. And I became aware that, you know, there - it's not just this - a random¹⁴ assortment¹⁵ of tents and, you know, people living on the street haphazardly¹⁶. There is a structure there. So I guess the idea of coming up and saying hello and interacting is - it's a little strange 'cause that's like going to someone's house and saying, you know, how are you doing (laughter)? You know what I mean?

GREENE: Banging on the door of a stranger - yeah, you wouldn't necessarily do that.

POCHODA: Yeah. People have, you know, beds in their tents and, you know, cooking equipment. So it is definitely someone's private property. So...

GREENE: So you were teaching writing to people who were living in Skid Row and homeless.

POCHODA: I still do.

GREENE: What have you learned from them?

POCHODA: Well, what I learned is really that, you know, there are so many different types of homelessness. And I think that, you know, people assume one thing - that there's sort of this level of desperation and helplessness - whereas, you know, lots of people that I've come into contact with who are in the workshop are - you know, you wouldn't necessarily assume that they're homeless. They're college students, or they have jobs - or formerly¹⁷ employed. And I think that we put a pretty conventional face on homelessness when we think about it. But I've learned that, you know, you can't take anything for granted. There's a woman in my workshop who described the plot of "Ulysses" to me. And at first I thought she must be kidding. And then I realized she read it, and she loved it. And she told me that sometimes she dreams that she's been to Ireland but can't remember why. And it's because she's read "Ulysses."

GREENE: Wow, that's great.

POCHODA: Yeah.

GREENE: I think one of the things you draw out so skillfully is that there is more than one LA. I mean, this is a city and a huge area that is so, so diverse.

POCHODA: Yeah. I'm a newcomer to LA, I mean, relatively¹⁸. When I started this book, I'd only been here for four years. And, you know, I don't live in the traditional part of LA where you - what you read about or watch in the movies. And I think this book is a reflection of me trying to figure out my way through Los Angeles. I lived in Echo Park in a strange part of the neighborhood which had all these rundown cabins and people who were kind of camping on the hillsides and, you know, living in houses that are probably not legal. So my LA experience was a little bit different. And I think the book sort of reflects that.

GREENE: I mean, there's one quote in the book that really stuck with me. It comes from Laila, you know, who's living on Skid Row. Her son discovers her there. She tells her son, if you stick around here long enough, you'll learn quick that your story is the only thing that belongs to you proper. What do you think she's saying there?

POCHODA: Well, that's actually something I overheard in my workshop. And what I think she's saying is that no matter how little you have - and a lot of these people have nothing. They have, you know, whatever fits in a backpack or a shopping cart or a tent. No matter what you have, you'll always have your story. And that is your sense of identity. And that's what keeps you true to yourself. And as long as you can remember your story and stick by your story - and then in my workshop, write your story - you can retain a sense of dignity, a sense of purpose, a sense of being and belonging. And people will try to steal that story from you. There's always a narrative¹⁹ being written into Skid Row, but members of the community have to hold onto their stories, or else they're going to lose their sense of identity and the last possible thing that could belong to them properly.

(SOUNDBITE OF IL:LO'S "NEUKOLLN")

GREENE: Ivy, thank you.

POCHODA: Thanks so much, David.

GREENE: Ivy Pochoda's new novel is called "Wonder Valley."

1 ivy   

n.常青藤，常春藤

参考例句：

• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。
• The wall is covered all over with ivy.墙上爬满了常春藤。

2 increments   

n.增长( increment的名词复数 )；增量；增额；定期的加薪

参考例句：

• These increments were mixed and looked into the 5.56mm catridge case. 将各种药粒进行混和，装在5．56毫米的弹壳中。 来自辞典例句
• The Rankine scale has scale increments equal to the FahrenheIt'scale. 兰氏温标的温度间距与华氏温标的相同。 来自辞典例句

3 commuting   

交换（的）

参考例句：

• I used the commuting time to read and answer my mail. 我利用上下班在汽车中的时间来阅读和答复给我的函电。
• Noncommuting objects are as real to the mathematicians as commuting objects. 对于数学家来说，不可交换的对象与可交换的对象是一样真实的。

4 maze   

n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑

参考例句：

• He found his way through the complex maze of corridors.他穿过了迷宮一样的走廊。
• She was lost in the maze for several hours.一连几小时，她的头脑处于一片糊涂状态。

5 commuter   

n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。
• She accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train. 她在拥挤的通勤列车上不小心踩到了他的脚。

6 bumper   

n.(汽车上的)保险杠；adj.特大的，丰盛的

参考例句：

• The painting represents the scene of a bumper harvest.这幅画描绘了丰收的景象。
• This year we have a bumper harvest in grain.今年我们谷物丰收。

7 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

8 rebuke   

v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise

参考例句：

• He had to put up with a smart rebuke from the teacher.他不得不忍受老师的严厉指责。
• Even one minute's lateness would earn a stern rebuke.哪怕迟到一分钟也将受到严厉的斥责。

9 bucking   

v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的现在分词 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• a bucking bronco in the rodeo 牛仔竞技表演中一匹弓背跳跃的野马
• That means we'll be bucking grain bags, bustin's gut. 那就是说咱们要背这一袋袋的谷子，得把五脏都累坏。 来自辞典例句

10 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

11 skid   

v.打滑 n.滑向一侧；滑道 ，滑轨

参考例句：

• He braked suddenly,causing the front wheels to skid.他突然剎车，使得前轮打了滑。
• The police examined the skid marks to see how fast the car had been travelling.警察检查了车轮滑行痕迹，以判断汽车当时开得有多快。

12 discomfort   

n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便

参考例句：

• One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
• She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。

13 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》

14 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

15 assortment   

n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集

参考例句：

• This shop has a good assortment of goods to choose from.该店各色货物俱全，任君选择。
• She was wearing an odd assortment of clothes.她穿着奇装异服。

16 haphazardly   

adv.偶然地，随意地，杂乱地

参考例句：

• The books were placed haphazardly on the shelf. 书籍乱七八糟地堆放在书架上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It is foolish to haphazardly adventure. 随便冒险是愚蠢的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

17 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

18 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

19 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。