PBS高端访谈:人们所拥有的多样化观点

JUDY WOODRUFF: In our national conversations on politics, race or even entertainment, we often group people together. But when we use shorthand, like African-American voters, we often overlook the diverse viewpoints of any given demographic. Erica Dawson is a poet and professor. And, in her Humble¹ Opinion, it's time to recognize the individual, not just the group.

朱迪·伍德拉夫：在我们国家有关政治、种族乃至娱乐的讨论中，我们总喜欢“人以群分”。但在使用速记的时候，比如非裔美国籍选民，我们通常会忽略掉任何给定人口所拥有的多样化观点。埃里卡·道森是一名诗人，也是一名教授。她分享的《我之拙见》是呼吁大家认识到以人而分，而非以群而分的重要性。

ERICA DAWSON, Author, When Rap Spoke² Straight to God: Last fall, I was incredibly fortunate to travel all over the country to promote my new book, When Rap Spoke Straight to God. I know I love few things more than meeting new people, but I was surprised when, almost after every reading, I was met with the same question again and again. It struck me. So I did what poets do. I wrote a poem to try to understand. So I did this reading the other day, right? After, in the Q&A, somebody raised their hand and asked, what is it like for you to be tasked with the job of speaking for the black experience? As if there's only one. Like, somewhere, there's a single stack of words or a single story spun³ on a single tongue. The other night, somebody asked, is black poetry back? Like, we penned one verse, and it got lost at sea or slipped inside a big old crack in the big old earth, and then re-returned when everything was chaos⁴. Like, here we are. Like, oh, hey, it's us, and we're feeling concerned and all political. We never went away. We don't only deserve the stage in tumultuous times. We aren't just rage. We're not a fad⁵, a torch, a blaze of loud and proud to save your ways of the world, a guide to help you gauge⁶ what's right or wrong. Look at the page. I love Lucille Clifton's self-praising sway and ode to my hips⁷. I love Phillis Wheatley's Hymn⁸ to Evening. Langston Hughes does more than sing America. He hears the dim, sweet song of the rain. Let it pour and flow like currents. Teach that in classrooms, too. Learn every verse. Lift every voice off of the flat white books. Get up. Rehearse. Recite. Remember every phrase. Black poets aren't a passing phase. Ask me about the part where I say the ocean always finds it way.

作者：去年秋天，我有幸能游历祖国的大江南北来宣传我的新作《如果说唱与上帝能直接对话》。我深知自己特别喜欢见不同的人，但我很惊讶的是，在每一次阅读过后，我都会被同样一个问题所萦绕住，百思不得其解。所以，我做了诗人们会做的事——我写了一首诗来理清思路。然后再过几天再去阅读。这符合诗人的做法吧？然后，在问答环节的时候，有人举起了手，问我：您背负着为黑人经历发生的使命，您有怎样的感受呢？好像只有我一样，好像在某个地方，只有一个人反复重复着几个单词或者一个故事一样。还有一天晚上，有人问我：黑人诗歌又重返诗坛了吗？就好像我们写了一首诗之后，这首诗消失在大海，或者不慎进入了古老地球巨大的古老裂缝中，然后在海枯石烂的时候又重现。我想说，我们就在这里呀，哦嘿，是我们啊，我们很关心时事和政坛啊。我们从未离开过，我们也值得荣登舞台的机会，不管是不是乱世。我们不只是野蛮的，我们不是流行一时的一阵风，我们是火炬，是劲风，我们感到很骄傲能为矫正他人的世界观，很骄傲能担任向导，帮助人们判断对错。看这一页写的：我热爱露西尔·克利夫顿自我赞扬的轻狂模样以及他对我忧郁的赞美。我热爱菲莉斯·惠特莉《夜的赞美诗》。朗斯顿·休斯的贡献也不只是歌颂美国而已。他还听到了雨水愉悦却鲜有人注意的歌声，就让这大雨倾盆而下，再如洪流般流淌。这些诗值得学生们学习，每一篇都是如此。暂时抛开白人书本上的那些话，起身重新排练、背诵，记住每个短语。黑人诗人不是过去。如果要问我问题，就问我为什么我会写大海总能找到自己的方向吧。

JUDY WOODRUFF: Poet Erica Dawson.

朱迪·伍德拉夫：感谢诗人埃里卡·道森为我们带来的分享。

1 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

4 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

5 fad   

n.时尚；一时流行的狂热；一时的爱好

参考例句：

• His interest in photography is only a passing fad.他对摄影的兴趣只是一时的爱好罢了。
• A hot business opportunity is based on a long-term trend not a short-lived fad.一个热门的商机指的是长期的趋势而非一时的流行。

6 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

7 hips   

abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的

参考例句：

• She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
• They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 hymn   

n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌

参考例句：

• They sang a hymn of praise to God.他们唱着圣歌，赞美上帝。
• The choir has sung only two verses of the last hymn.合唱团只唱了最后一首赞美诗的两个段落。