文章来源： 中华读书报　日期： 2009年1月21日

美国文学与诺贝尔文学奖

何朝辉

一

　　今年的诺贝尔文学奖已经揭晓，获奖的是一位法国作家。因而，近几年得奖呼声较高的美国作家如约翰·厄普代克、菲利普·罗斯和乔伊斯·卡罗尔·欧茨等人在连续多年希望落空之后还需等待时机，等待诺贝尔文学奖评选委员会的评审们能够青睐他们。如果他们不像诺曼·梅勒那样“不幸”去世的话，他们当中或许会出现一位诺贝尔文学奖获得者。但这仅仅是可能。

　　这种可能性在诺贝尔文学奖评选委员会常任秘书霍拉斯·恩格达尔（Horace　Engdahl）看来似乎更小了。他在十月初接受美联社记者采访中说到，“当然，在所有重大的文化里都有强大的文学，但是你不能忽视这样一个事实，欧洲仍然是文学世界的中心……而美国不是”。他还说到，“美国（文学）太孤立了，太与世隔绝了。他们翻译的作品不够，他们也没有真正地参与到大的对话中来”。在恩格达尔看来，“这种疏忽或无知”才是致命的。此言一出，恩格达尔便立刻遭到了美国文学界猛烈的抨击。有人认为恩格达尔读过的美国文学作品太少才做出这样的评价。也有人认为评审们的眼光不够精准，才在连续十五年都没有把文学奖投给美国作家。还有论者认为评审们有些“偏私”，在这十五年里九次把文学奖投给了欧洲作家。喜爱或者研究美国文学的读者都会对此有所不满或感到失落。可是，不管怎样，我们不可忘了这样一个事实：诺贝尔文学奖是一个世界性的奖项，从1901年颁发诺贝尔文学奖以来（1914年、1918 年、1935年、1940-1943年因故未评奖外），在这107年中已有十位美国作家获得了诺贝尔文学奖，这在世界文学之林当中所占的比重已经相当大了，而且，美国文学是世界上最年轻的文学之一，美国民族文学的建构与发展才进行了两百多年而已。可以说，美国文学虽然年轻，但它发展很快，已经屹立于世界文学之林。

二

　　根据瑞典化学家阿尔弗雷德·伯恩哈德·诺贝尔生前立下的遗嘱，瑞典政府将文学奖授予“在文学方面创作出具有理想倾向的最佳作品的人”。诺贝尔文学奖的出现“代表了人类对于文学的世界性标准的寻求与思考，同时也预示着在文学的世界性交流中，人类所创造出的非凡成就”。众多美国作家都在为“ 创作出具有理想倾向的最佳作品”和能够代表人类的非凡成就而努力。

　　1930年11月，“由于其描述的刚健有力、栩栩如生和以机智幽默创造新型性格的才能”，辛克莱·路易斯成为第一位获得诺贝尔文学奖的美国作家。从此，独立的美国文学开始得到欧洲的承认，把美国文学当作英国文学附庸的时代一去不返，美国文学进入了崭新的时代。正如瑞典皇家科学院常务秘书卡尔费尔德在“授奖词”中所说，“辛克莱·路易斯是一个美国人。他写的是一种新的语言——美国语言——作为代表一亿两千万美国人的一种语言。他要求我们注意到：这个国家至今还不完善或者熔化殆尽；它依然处在青春期这个狂烈的年代。伟大的美国新文学是和民族自我批评一起开始的。它是一种健康的标志”。这一 “授奖词”不但肯定了作为作家的美国人辛克莱·路易斯，它也肯定了新的美国语言和具有自己民族特色的新的美国文学。因此可以说，路易斯是美国文学走向世界的开拓者，他为美国文学开创了国际地位。从此之后到1993年，有九位美国作家获得了诺贝尔文学奖，他们分别是尤金·奥尼尔（1936）、赛珍珠（1938）、威廉·福克纳（1949）、厄纳斯特·海明威（1954）、约翰·斯坦贝克（1962）、索尔·贝娄（1976）、艾萨克·辛格（1978）、约瑟夫·布罗茨基（1987）和托妮·莫里森（1993）。

　　诺贝尔文学奖评选委员会的评审们并不像有的美国评论家说的那样缺乏“认可天才”的能力。以福克纳为例。在1950年获得诺贝尔文学奖之前，福克纳已经完成了他所有作品中能使他在美国文学乃至世界文学中名垂青史的绝大部分作品，然而，福克纳在美国文学界和出版界的名声并不好，甚至是“受尽诽谤”。在1946年之前，福克纳已经完成的17部作品在书店里竟然连一本也找不到。因为自己的小说没有销路，福克纳常常同出版社就合同问题发生纠纷。同时，为了维持家庭的生活支出，福克纳不得不同好莱坞的电影公司签订长期的合同。可是，好莱坞的编辑工作并不适合福克纳，正如他自己所说，“我已经受够了好莱坞，人不舒服，心灰意懒，只觉得浪费时间，想象中出现各种爆炸或崩溃的症状。”也因此，福克纳同好莱坞的电影公司也经常摩擦不断。福克纳就是在与出版社和电影公司的纠缠中进行创作的。当然，更让福克纳难以忍受的是美国读者和评论界不能理解和接受他的作品。所幸的是，这位从一开始就想获得名声的“孤独的天才”却在欧洲获得了广大读者的青睐。连安德烈·纪德和让·保尔·萨特都是他忠实的读者。萨特曾说，“在法国青年的心目中，福克纳是神”。1946年，福克纳作品的一位瑞典文译者就预言福克纳应该得到、并能够得到诺贝尔文学奖。同年，企图“纠正福克纳的价值和声誉之间的不平衡”的马尔科姆·考利编的《袖珍本福克纳选集》推动了对福克纳的成就的重新评价。但真正使福克纳受到美国读者和文学界的重视并使他享誉世界的是四年后的11月10日他被告知获得了 1949年的诺贝尔文学奖。这位曾不受自己家乡人喜爱的乡下人得到了瑞典皇家科学院的认可，是因为“他对美国当代小说作出的强有力的和艺术上无与伦比的贡献”。

　　福克纳的艺术成就主要体现在他创造性地将现代主义和现实主义结合起来，对小说创作进行了许多大胆而成功的试验，巧妙地运用“时序颠倒 ”、“神话结构”、“多角度叙述”和意识流手法等现代派技巧来描绘两百多年来美国南方社会的沧桑变迁，表现了美国乃至整个西方世界中现代人的生存状态。由于其独特的艺术成就和创造技巧，福克纳被认为是与法国的普鲁斯特和爱尔兰的乔伊斯并驾齐驱的现代派意识流小说艺术大师。福克纳显然受到过欧洲各国作家如普鲁斯特和乔伊斯等人的影响。像其他许多美国作家一样，福克纳在上世纪二三十年代曾三次去过欧洲大陆，大部分时间是在巴黎这个被称为是“现代主义艺术摇篮” 的所在地。当时，普鲁斯特和乔伊斯早已成了文学青年崇拜的偶像，海明威、菲茨杰拉德等美国青年一代都曾去巴黎寻访过他们的足迹。只是归国之后，这些青年一代的作家并没有都在小说的创作方面进行创新。取得重大突破是福克纳和海明威，他们分别在小说的创作技巧和小说的文体方面取得了各自独特的成就，从而都获得了诺贝尔文学奖（海明威获得该奖是“因为他精通于叙事艺术，突出地表现在其近著《老人与海》之中；同时也因为他对当代文体风格之影响”）。当现代派或现代主义创作技巧在上世纪二三十年代已经在欧洲得到认可的时候，美国读者显然对这一非传统的小说艺术还不够认同，这也就解释了为什么从一

下面是耶鲁大学教授，当代美国著名的诗人伊丽莎白·亚历山（Elizabeth Alexander）大在奥巴马就职典礼上字正腔圆、高声朗诵的诗歌：“献给今天的赞歌”。【扭腰时报原载】

Praise song for the day.

Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching each others’ eyes or not, about to speak or speaking. All about us is noise. All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din, each one of our ancestors on our tongues. Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire, repairing the things in need of repair.

Someone is trying to make music somewhere with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.

A woman and her son wait for the bus.

A farmer considers the changing sky; A teacher says, “Take out your pencils. Begin.”

We encounter each other in words, words spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed; words to consider, reconsider.

We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of someone and then others who said, “I need to see what’s on the other side; I know there’s something better down the road.”

We need to find a place where we are safe; We walk into that which we cannot yet see.

Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.

Praise song for struggle; praise song for the day. Praise song for every hand-lettered sign; The figuring it out at kitchen tables.

Some live by “Love thy neighbor as thy self.”

Others by first do no harm, or take no more than you need.

What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial, national. Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need to preempt grievance.

In today’s sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun.

On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp — praise song for walking forward in that light.

以下是由CNN发布的奥巴马就职演说原稿。完全照录于此，供对英文感兴趣者阅读学习——多好的英文啊，多好的励志演讲啊！绝对是一篇很好的范文。如果你不喜欢阅读英文，就到和菜头那里去读中文版。[最后一句，这篇准备稿中没有。是在演讲时使用的。]

(CNN) — Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States and the nation’s first African-American president Tuesday. This is a transcript of his prepared speech. In his speech Tuesday, President Obama said America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebearers, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: They will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the fainthearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor — who have carried us up the long, rugged path toward prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again, these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: Know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who see
ks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort — even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West: Know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For, the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

“Let it be told to the future world … that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive… that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it].”

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

[God bless you; God bless America!]