美国国家公共电台 NPR Alice Walker Is For Oakland, Human Imperfection And The Children

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Alice Walker has a new collection of poems, nearly 70, about issues of the world and in her own backyard. The Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning author of "The Color Purple," "The Temple Of My Familiar" and many other beloved works joins us now from the studios of KUOW in Seattle. Her book of poems is "Taking The Arrow Out Of The Heart."

Ms. Walker, thanks so much for being with us.

ALICE WALKER: I'm very happy to be here with you. I've heard wonderful things about you, by the way.

SIMON: Well, we've heard wonderful things about you, of course. I'd like to begin with - if you could read us a section of your poem about your beloved Oakland called "Loving Oakland."

WALKER: OK.

(Reading) If gentrifiers do not despoil¹ it, which means getting rid of poor and black and people of color people, Oakland can be what it has been for a long time, an urban paradise². It is a place where the young blond³ woman crossing the street in front of your car would look like a threat to the neighborhood, except she's frowning over some deep issue in her inner life and wearing outrageous⁴ vivid blue shoes. It is a place where, as you sit on the grass by the lake, a tall black man of a certain age strolls⁵ by blowing his saxophone. You smile and bow. He bows back with his horn. His day is mellow⁶. He's in the sun. He has given mellowness⁷ and sun free of charge to you.

SIMON: If I might ask you about that first line, if gentrifiers do not despoil it, are you concerned that Oakland might be improved, as they say, at the cost of a lot of people?

WALKER: Yes. In fact, it's happening as we speak. So many huge buildings, apartment buildings, forcing the people out. And so many, now, people living in tents - you know, so many homeless people. There are a lot of brokenhearted souls, you know, in Oakland who've lived there all their lives. I just moved there myself a couple of years ago. But I've known people who've lived there for a long time.

SIMON: Do you wonder what the poem will sound like, say, five years from now?

WALKER: No. (Laughter) I don't. I don't even know if I'll be here five years from now. I'm such a country person. I mean, I actually really live on a farm. But you know, Oakland has a soul as a city. It has a real spirit. And when you lose it, you know, it's major. It's a big deal.

SIMON: Each poem in this collection is translated into Spanish by Manuel Garcia Verdecia on the opposite page. Why was it important to you to have these poems available in Spanish at the same time?

WALKER: I live part of the year in Mexico. I've been living there like that for the last almost 30 years, I think. I'm busy writing in English, so it's been real hard for me to get my Spanish up to speed. And I sometimes am frustrated⁸ because I can't really explain to my friends what it is that I do. I just want to be closer to them. And I don't want to always be the one who is - you know, I have something to share, but I can't share it because I can't really speak the language.

SIMON: Yeah.

I want to get you to read - if I get an opinion - my favorite poem in this collection.

WALKER: OK.

SIMON: "Necks Of Clay."

WALKER: (Reading) Someone said to me - oh, stop that. He has feet of clay. Well, this person's clay went to the neck. Can we listen to imperfect humans? I've always preferred them myself. Does this make us mad? Can we hear our own small voices muffled⁹ by the mud of being, pleading¹⁰ for release?

SIMON: I love that poem.

WALKER: Thank you.

SIMON: So let me ask you the question. Can we listen to imperfect humans?

WALKER: I can. That's the only kind there is.

SIMON: (Laughter) That's true.

WALKER: I mean, really. And I think accepting that is taking us a long way forward, you know? OK. You're not perfect, and I'm not either. And you're really not perfect. But what are you trying to tell me? And then maybe we can - you know, we can go somewhere.

SIMON: I love it when you say, I've always preferred them myself.

WALKER: I do. I do. I do. I tell you, it's just so - it's so human to be imperfect.

SIMON: Yeah. Well, it's all we're left with, isn't it? That's...

WALKER: Oh, totally.

SIMON: Yeah.

WALKER: Yeah. But it can also be worked with. And you know - I mean, I just think it's great for us to acknowledge¹¹ that people are not finished. We're not finished.

SIMON: Alice Walker - her new book of poems, "Taking The Arrow Out Of The Heart."

Thanks so much for being with us.

WALKER: Thank you so much.

1 despoil   

v.夺取，抢夺

参考例句：

• The victorious army despoil the city of all its treasure.得胜的军队把城里的财宝劫掠一空。
• He used his ruthless and destructive armies despoil everybody who lived within reach of his realm.他动用其破坏性的军队残暴地掠夺国内的人民。

2 paradise   

n.伊甸乐园，天堂

参考例句：

• My house had a small backyard,the paradise of children.我那幢房子有一个小后院，那是孩子们玩耍的乐园。
• On a hot day a dip in the sea is sheer paradise.热天洗个海水澡是十分令人惬意的事。

3 blond   

adj.金发的；n.白肤碧眼金发的人

参考例句：

• Her long blond hair spilled down over her shoulders.她那淡黄色的长发披垂在双肩。
• This blond man delivers newspaper every morning.这个白肤金发碧眼的男人每天早晨送报纸。

4 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

5 strolls   

溜达，散步，闲逛( stroll的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He strolls in and out as he pleases. 他随意地出来进去闲逛。
• The reporter finds this book when Xidan book market strolls. 这本书是记者在西单书市闲逛时找到的。

6 mellow   

adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟

参考例句：

• These apples are mellow at this time of year.每年这时节，苹果就熟透了。
• The colours become mellow as the sun went down.当太阳落山时，色彩变得柔和了。

7 mellowness   

成熟； 芳醇； 肥沃； 怡然

参考例句：

• I love these colours because they symbolize mellowness, abundance, strength and happiness. 我喜欢这秋色，因为它表示着成熟、昌盛和繁荣，也意味着愉快、欢乐和富强。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文
• The mellowness of the cuckoo report the come of spring. 杜鹃甜美的叫声报告了春天的来临。

8 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 muffled   

adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己）

参考例句：

• muffled voices from the next room 从隔壁房间里传来的沉闷声音
• There was a muffled explosion somewhere on their right. 在他们的右面什么地方有一声沉闷的爆炸声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 pleading   

n.恳求

参考例句：

• She went down on her knees, pleading for mercy. 她双膝跪下，乞求谅解。
• His pleading melted her. 他的乞求软化了她。

11 acknowledge   

vt.承认...的权威，告知，收到，报偿

参考例句：

• With so much evidence against him he had to acknowledge his error.在这么多的证据面前，他不得不承认错误。
• It is ungracious of me not to acknowledge your help.你大力帮助而我尚未表示谢意，十分失礼。