OneoftheabidingprinciplesandimportantreasonswhyIturntopoetry,bothasareaderandamaker,isthelayingbareofthemysteryoftheself.Thewritingofapoembeginsinignorance.Respondingtoaninnerimperative,thestimulusbeneathmostofmypoemsistheGreekDelphicaphorism“KnowThyself,”whichalsoemergedinanotherforminSocrates’sfinaldeclarationswhileontrialandfacingimminentdeath:Theunexaminedlifeisnotworthliving.

我之所以投入詩歌的懷抱,讀詩也好、作詩也罷,一個(gè)重要原因是詩歌能揭示自我的奧秘,這也是一條永恒不變的原則。寫詩始于懵懂。作為對(duì)內(nèi)心需要的回應(yīng),我的多數(shù)詩歌都是在古希臘德爾菲神廟箴言“認(rèn)識(shí)你自己”的驅(qū)動(dòng)下創(chuàng)作的。蘇格拉底受審和赴死之際的最后告白中有句話與此相當(dāng):人生不反思,活著無價(jià)值。Sinceayoungman,poetrybecamemymeansofknowingandgavemylifesubstance.Bymarkinglanguagesuchthatitsingsourself-hood,bymakingalinguisticrecordofourobservationsinmemorablespeech,poetryofferstheopportunitytonotonlyexaminebuttopenetratetheabstractandnebulousnatureofexistenceandtolaythefoundationforanauthenticselfwhoservesasawitnesstotheirtimes.

自年少時(shí)起,詩歌就成了我認(rèn)識(shí)世界的工具,使我的生命有了意義。如此使用語言,能歌頌自我。用令人難忘的話語記錄所見所聞,詩歌為我們提供檢視人生的機(jī)會(huì),不僅如此,還讓我們得以洞察抽象而模糊的生命本質(zhì),為可成為時(shí)代見證的真實(shí)自我打下基礎(chǔ)。Inasense,poetrywrites,orrather,singsus.Ideliberatelyusetheword“sing”becauseIamoneofthosewho,maybeperversely,believesintheindissolublerelationshipbetweensoundandsense,thatourmostprofoundutterances,attheirpurest,carrythetruthandembodimentofsong.

從一定意義上說,詩歌在書寫人生,或更確切地說,在歌唱我們的人生。我之所以特意用“歌唱”這個(gè)詞,是因?yàn)槲沂悄欠N相信聲音與意義不可分割的人,或許這有些較真吧。我相信最深刻的語言,用最純粹的方式,可以承載歌曲要表達(dá)的真實(shí)世界與象征意義。Harkeningbacktotherootsoflyricpoetry,poetsarecommunalsingers.Theritualisticactofcallingforthwordsintoaseriesofsynthesizedmemoriesandorderedimpressionsintoartfullanguage(whethermeteredornot)elevateshumanexpressiontoadivineactofwitnessingandbeingintheworld.回望抒情詩的來源,我們會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn),詩人都是大眾歌手。他們的慣常做法是,將詞語融入一系列合成的記憶,將有序的印象變成精巧的語言(不管押韻與否)。由此人類的語言得以升華,成為世間神圣的見證與存在。Inthe20thcentury,WaltWhitmansays“Iamlarge;Icontainmultitudes”andLangstonHughesstates“I,too,amAmerica.”Thesepronouncementsreflectasmuchtheirindividualspiritasitdoesthetenorofthetimestheylived.Ifweunderstand,today,thisworkofpoetryasbothshapingandgivingexpressiontouniqueconsciousness,whileatthesametime,countersigningtheageoutofwhichitisborn,thenweunderstandhowpoetrymapsbothinnerlivesandthepublicrealmsofengagement.Itisnoaccidentthatinteriorityandterritoryshareinsoundandmeaning,twonearcommonLatinroots:inter(“within”)andterra(“l(fā)and”).

20世紀(jì),詩人沃爾特·惠特曼寫到“我是大我,我就是蕓蕓眾生”,詩人蘭斯頓·休斯則宣稱“我,也是美國”。他們的宣言既是個(gè)人意志的體現(xiàn),也是時(shí)代精神的反映。詩歌既能塑造和表現(xiàn)獨(dú)特的意識(shí),同時(shí)又能見證它所誕生的那個(gè)時(shí)代,于是,我們就能理解詩歌在描繪內(nèi)在的人生和外在的世界所起的作用。interiority(內(nèi)在人生)與territory(外在世界)共享聲音和意義絕非偶然,這兩個(gè)詞有著相近的兩個(gè)常用拉丁詞根:inter(內(nèi)部)和terra(內(nèi)陸)。Inwritingapoem,languageemergesfromthemostundividedsenseofourselves;itisaconcentratedmomentofhumancognition,improvisationalandincantatory.Muchofthemusicinmylifehastaughtmetolistendeeply,notmerelytonotesbuttotheunderlyingswellofhumanemotionthatinformsbothchordsandwords.

寫詩的時(shí)候,語言從最專一的自我意識(shí)中涌現(xiàn),這一刻,人的認(rèn)知高度集中,出口成章,如醉如癡。生活中聽過的許多音樂教會(huì)了我深入傾聽,不僅傾聽音符,還要傾聽音符背后人類的情感澎湃,這種情感在和弦與歌詞中都會(huì)有所體現(xiàn)。Iinheritedanabidingloveofjazzandbluesfrommygrandfather.WhatIlongforinmyownworkistheexuberanceoflifeIfirstheardasachild,atimeinourliveswhensoundsaremostimpressionable.Asaresult,Iaimtowritepoemsinwhichlanguagedramaticallychangesintofeeling.Ilongtostylizelanguagesuchthatitbecomesanewencounterforthereaderandhonorstheidiomsofourage.Tothatend,eachpoemIwriteattemptstocapturetheconcernsandsensibilitiesofourtimeswhileexpressingmyuniquerelationshiptolanguage.

受祖父的影響,我鐘愛爵士樂和布魯斯。我渴望把生命中充滿激情的語言寫入我的詩歌,那是我早在童年時(shí)就聽到的聲音,而那時(shí)的聲音最讓人動(dòng)情。因此,我的目標(biāo)是寫出能從言辭中迸發(fā)情感的詩歌。我渴望寫出風(fēng)格獨(dú)特的語言,給讀者新的閱讀體驗(yàn),為我們這個(gè)時(shí)代的語言增光。為了這個(gè)目標(biāo),我的每一首詩都試圖捕捉這個(gè)時(shí)代的種種關(guān)切和情感,同時(shí)表達(dá)我對(duì)于語言的特別情愫。Becauselanguageismymaterial,Ialsostrivetomaintainalimberattitude(andear!)sothatIamdoingmorethantranscribingwhatImerelyseeorfeel,butalsotolistenandhearthesubalterntransactionsandideasbetweenwordsandwhattheysignifysothatnotonlydoeslanguagecapturesanexperienceormomentintimebutsomehowtranscendsthecontextandconditionsbywhichitismade.

因?yàn)檎Z言是我的創(chuàng)作材料,所以我還要努力保持靈活的態(tài)度(和耳朵!),如此,我寫詩就不僅僅是摹寫所見所感,還要傾聽話語間的邏輯關(guān)系及其意義,于是,語言不僅能捕捉人生體驗(yàn)或某個(gè)瞬間,而且在一定程度上能超越產(chǎn)生語言的環(huán)境和條件。Thisrepresentsformetheideaoflyricfreedom,whenthepoemisnotboundbythespace/timeaxisbutbridgessharedexperiencesandbecomesemblematicofthehumanjourney.ItiswhenIbelievemostWaltWhitman’sopeningtoSongofMyself:“Icel