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。作為對內心需要的回應,我的多數詩歌都是在古希臘德爾菲神廟箴言“認識你自己”的驅動下創作的。蘇格拉底受審和赴死之際的最后告白中有句話與此相當:人生不反思,活著無價值。Sinceayoungman,poetrybecamemymeansofknowingandgavemylifesubstance.Bymarkinglanguagesuchthatitsingsourself-hood,bymakingalinguisticrecordofourobservationsinmemorablespeech,poetryofferstheopportunitytonotonlyexaminebuttopenetratetheabstractandnebulousnatureofexistenceandtolaythefoundationforanauthenticselfwhoservesasawitnesstotheirtimes.

自年少時起,詩歌就成了我認識世界的工具,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會,不僅如此,還讓我們得以洞察抽象而模糊的生命本質,為可成為時代見證的真實自我打下基礎。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”這個詞,是因為我是那種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的真實世界與象征意義。Harkeningbacktotherootsoflyricpoetry,poetsarecommunalsingers.Theritualisticactofcallingforthwordsintoaseriesofsynthesizedmemoriesandorderedimpressionsintoartfullanguage(whethermeteredornot)elevateshumanexpressiontoadivineactofwitnessingandbeingintheworld.回望抒情詩的來源,我們會發現,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(“land”).

20世紀,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”。他們的宣言既是個人意志的體現,也是時代精神的反映。詩歌既能塑造和表現獨特的意識,同時又能見證它所誕生的那個時代,于是,我們就能理解詩歌在描繪內在的人生和外在的世界所起的作用。interiority(內在人生)與territory(外在世界)共享聲音和意義絕非偶然,這兩個詞有著相近的兩個常用拉丁詞根:inter(內部)和terra(內陸)。Inwritingapoem,languageemergesfromthemostundividedsenseofourselves;itisaconcentratedmomentofhumancognition,improvisationalandincantatory.Muchofthemusicinmylifehastaughtmetolistendeeply,notmerelytonotesbuttotheunderlyingswellofhumanemotionthatinformsbothchordsandwords.

寫詩的時候,語言從最專一的自我意識中涌現,這一刻,人的認知高度集中,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有所體現。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,那是我早在童年時就聽到的聲音,而那時的聲音最讓人動情。因此,我的目標是寫出能從言辭中迸發情感的詩歌。我渴望寫出風格獨特的語言,給讀者新的閱讀體驗,為我們這個時代的語言增光。為了這個目標,我的每一首詩都試圖捕捉這個時代的種種關切和情感,同時表達我對于語言的特別情愫。Becauselanguageismymaterial,Ialsostrivetomaintainalimberattitude(andear!)sothatIamdoingmorethantranscribingwhatImerelyseeorfeel,butalsotolistenandhearthesubalterntransactionsandideasbetweenwordsandwhattheysignifysothatnotonlydoeslanguagecapturesanexperienceormomentintimebutsomehowtranscendsthecontextandconditionsbywhichitismade.

因為語言是我的創作材料,所以我還要努力保持靈活的態度(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系及其意義,于是,語言不僅能捕捉人生體驗或某個瞬間,而且在一定程度上能超越產生語言的環境和條件。Thisrepresentsformetheideaoflyricfreedom,whenthepoemisnotboundbythespace/timeaxisbutbridgessharedexperiencesandbecomesemblematicofthehumanjourney.ItiswhenIbelievemostWaltWhitman’sopeningtoSongofMyself:“Icel