AN INTERNATIONAL POETRY JOURNAL IN ENGLISH & CHINESE

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Winter 2014-15Issue 7

Born in Novosibirsk, S. Central Russia, in 1939,Vyacheslav Kupriyanov studied technical sciences in the High Navy School of Leningrad, and earned a degree in mathematical linguistics and German at the Moscow Foreign Language Institute (now Linguistic Univ.). His first published works were translations of German poetry by Hölderlin, Novalis, Rilke, Brecht, Grass, Enzensberger, and others. He also translated English language poetry by Whitman and Sandburg. His own poetry collections include First Person; Life Goes On; Homework; Echo; Poems; The Best Time; and Ode to Time. Notably, his initial book of poetry was the first free-verse collection in postwar Russia. He has published numerous short stories, and a novel, The Shoe of Empedocles. His work has been rendered in at least eight languages, including a poetry collection in English translated by Francis Jones, In Anyone’s Tongue, from which these Pangolin House selections have been drawn. In Mandarin, some of his poetry has previously been rendered by Wang Jianzhao. Among Vyacheslav Kupriyanov’s honors are the Südwestfunk-Bestenliste Prize, the Library of European Literature Award, and the Branko-Radicevic Prize. A member of the Moscow Writers’ Union and the Serbian Writers’ Union, he is currently a freelance writer in Moscow.

俄羅斯詩人維雅切斯拉夫·庫普里揚諾夫1939年出生於新西伯利亞,曾就讀於列寧格勒高等海軍學校,1967年畢業於莫斯科外語學院(現為莫斯科語言大學)語言學及德語專業。早年作為詩歌翻譯為讀者熟知,譯有荷爾德林、諾瓦利斯、里爾克、布萊希特、格拉斯、恩岑斯貝格等德語詩人的作品,也譯介過英語詩人惠特曼和桑德堡。迄今出版個人詩集十餘種,主要有《第一人稱》、《家庭作業》、《回聲》、《詩篇》、《最好的時光》、《時間頌》等,1982年的詩集《生活在繼續》為俄羅斯二戰後出版的第一部自由體詩集。此外,他還著有多篇短篇小說和一部長篇小說《恩培多克勒的鞋》。他的作品被譯成德語、保加利亞語、波蘭語、荷蘭語、泰米爾語等多種語言在國外發表出版。本期《穿山甲》所選詩歌譯自Francis R. Jones翻譯的英文詩集《任意一種語言》。中文曾有汪劍釗先生的譯介。庫氏獲得過多項國際文學獎,包括Südwestfunk- Bestenliste獎、歐洲文學圖書館獎、布蘭科·拉蒂切維奇獎等。現為莫斯科作家協會和塞爾維亞作家協會會員,居於莫斯科,專事寫作。

FACE

Into my face
I have taken the faces
of everyone I love

who can say
I’m ugly

trans. © Francis R. Jones

 

我的臉上
刻著所有
我愛的人的臉

誰能說
我醜?

翻譯 © 史春波

THIRST

Childhood
well of timelessness

Youth
well of futurity

Maturity
well of childhood

Age
gulp of water

trans. © Francis R. Jones

 

童年
永恒之井

青春
未來之井

成年
兒時之井

晚年
一飲而盡

翻譯 © 史春波

SINGING LESSON

Man
invented the cage
before
inventing wings

In cages
the winged sing
of the freedom
of flight

Before the cages
the wingless sing
of the justice
of cages

trans. © Francis R. Jones

 

聲樂課


發明籠子
而後
發明翅膀

有翅膀的
在籠子裏
歌唱自由
和飛翔

沒翅膀的
對著籠子
歌唱它的
正確性

翻譯 © 史春波

TWILIGHT OF VANITY

Every night
the dead man
lifts the slab
to feel with his fingers

whether the name on the stone
has worn away

trans. © Francis R. Jones

 

虛榮的黃昏

每天夜裏
那個死人都會
掀開石板
用手指去摸摸

他墓碑上的名字
是否還在

翻譯 © 史春波

BLIND

Breughel’s blind
       tumble after each other into the pit
Brezhnev’s blind
       stop themselves toppling
       by standing still
       and clutching at each other
Stalin’s blind
       dig each other the pit
Lenin’s blind
       stand in line
       to see him

trans. © Francis R. Jones

 

瞎子

布勒哲爾的瞎子
        相繼跌到坑裏
勃列日涅夫的瞎子
        紋絲不動站著
        牢牢抓住彼此
        以免摔倒
斯大林的瞎子
        互相挖坑
列寧的瞎子
        排成一隊
        為了見他

翻譯 © 史春波

The paper lie
is yellowing with time

Gunbarrels
coshes
prison bars
have branded on it
their black shadows

And so from the darkest
jungles of history
forming in broad daylight
appears a paper tiger—
a maneater

trans. © Francis R. Jones

 

紙上謊言
隨時間泛黃

槍筒
警棍
冰冷的鐵條
已把各自的陰影
烙在上面

黑森森的歷史叢林
在光天化日下
接連聳起,突然
躍出一只紙老虎——
它吃人

翻譯 © 史春波

HEAVEN ON EARTH

The ancient temples are aging
their services have served their time
the hour has come
to save their hymnal empire
within us

The images are fading
from the age-old icons
may their light be preserved
on our present-day faces

Time erodes
the Saviour’s features from the frescoes—
it is time
our own features
became more lifelike and clear

trans. © Francis R. Jones

 

大地上的天堂

古老的寺廟在凋敝
儀式均已完成
時辰到了
請將那讚美詩的王國
留在我們體內

久遠的聖像上
顏色在消褪
願它們的光保存
在我們如今的臉上

時間風蝕
壁畫上救世主的形象
是時候
讓我們自己的容貌
更加生動,明亮

翻譯 © 史春波

INVITATION

You are hereby invited
to the unveiling of a monument
to the Unknown
Coward.

The monument’s design is unpretentious: a bare
plinth. The Coward himself
can hide with confidence
amongst the guests
without fear
of being discovered.

You will hear many unknown things:
as it is unknown
what the Coward had to fear,
only the unknown
will be spoken of.

The speeches will stress that,
thanks to the cowardice of one who was unknown,
the known
could live free from fear.

You are hereby invited to the unveiling
of a monument
to the Unknown
Coward.

Attend
or else!

trans. © Francis R. Jones

 

請柬

特邀您參加
一座紀念碑的揭幕式
是為紀念
無名懦夫。

碑的設計毫不造作:一個光禿的
基座。懦夫本人
可安全藏身
在賓客之間
無需懼怕
被發現。

您將聽到眾多無名事跡:
正如懦夫所懼怕之物
無名,
只能談論
無名。

發言將著重
感謝一位無名者的懦弱,
有名之士
從此不用擔驚受怕。

特邀您參加
一座紀念碑的揭幕式
是為紀念
無名懦夫。

出席!
否則——

翻譯 © 史春波

CREATIVITY

Creating a lyric
in the age of the epic

creating a tragedy
in the age of the ode

creating a man
in the age of mankind

creating good
in the age of do-gooders

creating one’s own
in the age of ownership

creating the strange
in the age of the calculated

creating
in the age of the created

amid permitted miracles
forever creating—

this prohibited
miracle

trans. © Francis R. Jones

 

創造力

創造一首抒情詩
在史詩的時代

創造一部悲劇
在頌歌的時代

創造一個人
在人性的時代

創造善
在盲目行善的時代

創造為己所有
在所有制的時代

創造陌生
在確切的時代

創造
在被創造的時代

在被許可的奇蹟中
恒久創造——

這違禁的
奇蹟

翻譯 © 史春波

METAPHOR

The days fly past

The nights
are attics
where they store
their wings

trans. © Francis R. Jones

 

隱喻

白日飛逝

夜的閣樓
藏起
它們的
羽翼

翻譯 © 史春波

HUMAN INJUSTICE

Two hands
to feed
many mouths

and many hands
to gag
a single mouth

A single rib
to make
a woman

and twenty-four ribs
to cage
a heart

Thirty-two teeth
waiting to bite off
a tongue

struggling to find
a universal tongue
for a humankind

armed
to the teeth

trans. © Francis R. Jones

 

人類的不公

兩隻手
喂養
多張嘴

多隻手
塞住
一張嘴

一根肋骨
生出
一個女人

二十四根肋骨
囚住
一顆心

三十二顆牙齒
等待咬斷
一根舌頭

它試圖
為武裝到牙齒的
人類

發明
同一根舌頭

翻譯 © 史春波

APPEAL

yellow
black
white

this blood of all of us
is just red

stop
the tests

trans. © Francis R. Jones

 

控訴

黃的
黑的
白的

我們身上這血
都是
紅的

請停止
檢驗

翻譯 © 史春波

IN A STRANGE TOWN

If they were to name a street after me
I wouldn’t object
may it have my habit
of wandering late into blind alleys
just one thing would upset me
that in this street
would live
blind men

If they were to name a man after me
I wouldn’t object
may he have my hope
of seeing a friend in every passer-by
just one thing would upset me
that his man
would have a dog

If they were to name a dog after me
I wouldn’t object
may it have my eyes
where men and blind alleys meet
just one thing would upset me
that this dog
would have a master

trans. © Francis R. Jones

 

在一座陌生的小鎮

如果他們要用我的名字命名一條街道
我不會反對
願它保留我的習慣——
在深夜裏迷路,誤入沒有出口的巷子
只有一件事會令我不安
便是這條街上
住著
沒有出路的人

如果他們要用我的名字命名一個人
我不會反對
願他保留我的期盼——
在每一位路人身上發現朋友的影子
只有一件事會令我不安
便是這個人
有一隻狗陪伴

如果他們要用我們的名字命名一條狗
我不會反對
願牠保留我的雙眼——
在那裏,人遭遇巷子的盡頭
只有一件事會令我不安
便是這條狗
已經有了主人

翻譯 © 史春波

GOLDEN-HEARTED MAN

His acquaintances
wished him well.
The unacquainted
wished to make
his acquaintance.

Day and night
businesslike men with shovels
tramp past him
and stare at him
accusingly.

The businesslike men with shovels
have a twofold
task:
to bury him
in public
and exhume him
in secret.

In his heart
they suspect
gold
dust.

trans. © Francis R. Jones

 

金心人

認識他的人
祝福他。
不認識他的人
希望與他
結識。

日以繼夜
精明的人拎著鐵鍬
從他身邊走過
步伐粗重
眼神充滿責難。

精明的人手持鐵鍬
肩負雙重
使命:
將他公開
埋葬
然後秘密
挖掘。

人們猜測
他的心
裝有
金粉。

翻譯 © 史春波

LULL

The silence has
two broken strings:
the last sunbeam,
                         dropped in the setting,
and the wind,
                    no longer
winged.

trans. © Francis R. Jones

 

暫息

寂靜有
兩根斷弦:
落日松開
                最後一縷陽光,
風,
        收起
翅膀。

翻譯 © 史春波

RELATIVITY

Whatever I live through
I will still be left
with what
I will not live through

Whatever I lose
I will always be left
with what
will never be found

In endless questing
in endless disquiet
what spaces still
will I not overcome
in the time
I do not have

trans. © Francis R. Jones

 

相對性

不管我經歷過什麼
餘下的
將依舊是
我無從經歷的

不管我失去了什麼
餘下的
將永遠是
再也找不回來的

無止境的尋求
無止境的焦灼
此中
還有什麼空間
我不能克服?
這時間
非我所有

翻譯 © 史春波