One of the most banned books of all time - Mollie Godfrey

翻译人员: kate shi 校对人员: Yip Yan Yeung

In 1998, a Maryland school district removed one of American literature’s

1998 年，马里兰州的一个学区 将一部最广受好评的美国文学作品

most acclaimed works from its curriculum.

从课本中删除了。

Parents pushing for the ban said the book

那些推动这项禁令的家长认为

was both “sexually explicit” and “anti-white.”

这本书不仅含有对性的“露骨描写” 还有“反白”倾向。

Following an outcry from other parents and teachers,

在其他家长和老师的强烈抗议下，

the decision was eventually reversed.

这个决定最终被撤回了。

But this was neither the first nor the last attack

然而对于玛雅·安杰卢（Maya Angelou）的 《我知道笼中鸟为何歌唱》，

on Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.”

这并非第一次 也不会是最后一次。

Few books have been challenged more often than Angelou's memoir.

世间罕有比安杰卢的回忆录 受到过更多质疑的书籍。

And while book banning decisions typically aren’t made

尽管在州或国家层面上的

at the state or national level,

禁书决定相对少有，

most of the schools and libraries that have banned Angelou’s book

多数学校与图书馆 对于将此书列为禁书的

have given similar reasons.

原因相仿。

Most commonly, they argue that the memoir’s account of sexual assault

最常见的是，他们认为这本回忆录 对性侵犯和美国种族主义暴力的描述

and the violence of US racism are inappropriate for young readers.

不适合年轻读者。

But these concerns miss the point of Angelou’s story,

不过这些担忧没有理解 安杰卢这本书真正的意义，

which uses these very themes to explore the danger of censorship

它通过这些主题 探索年轻人生活中

and silence in the lives of young people.

审查制度和沉默的危险。

Published in 1969, “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings”

《我知道笼中鸟为何歌唱》 出版于 1969 年，

traces the author’s childhood growing up poor, Black and female in the southern US.

回顾了作者作为一名美国南部 贫穷的黑人女性的童年。

Central to the narrative is Angelou’s experience of being sexually assaulted

故事的重点是安杰卢 在她七岁半的时候

when she was seven and a half years old.

被性侵犯的经历。

Surrounded by adults who consider the subject too taboo to discuss,

由于周围的成年人 过于忌讳谈论这个话题，

Angelou decides that she is to blame.

安杰卢决定将错误归咎于自身。

And when she finally identifies her abuser in court,

当她终于在法庭上指认案犯时，

he is killed by vigilantes.

他就被义警杀死了。

Angelou believes her voice is responsible for his death,

安杰卢认为她的发声导致了他的死，

and for six years, she stops speaking almost entirely.

于是她几乎缄口了六年。

The book chronicles Angelou’s journey to rediscover her voice,

这本书记录了安杰卢 重新寻找她的声音的旅程，

all while exploring the pain and misplaced shame

同时探索着 由逃避不堪的现实所带来的

that emerges from avoiding uncomfortable realities.

痛苦与不该经受的耻辱。

The memoir’s narrative voice expertly blends her childhood confusion

回忆录的叙述高明地 将她童年的困惑与她成人的理解

with her adult understanding,

融合在一起，

offering the reader insights Angelou was deprived of as a child.

给予读者安杰卢 童年时所欠缺的思索。

She connects her early experiences of being silenced and shamed

她串联了作为一个 身在分裂的美国的贫穷黑人

to the experience of being poor and Black in the segregated United States.

与她早年被禁声和侮辱的经历。

“The Black female,” she writes,

“这位黑人女性，” 她写道，

“is caught in the tripartite crossfire of masculine prejudice,

“已陷入了因男性偏见、 白种人的不合理仇恨

white illogical hate, and Black lack of power.”

以及黑人缺乏权力 而导致的三方交火中。”

Her autobiography was one of the first books

她的自传是最先公开讲述

to speak openly about child sexual abuse,

有关儿童性虐待的书籍之一，

and especially groundbreaking to do so from the perspective of the abused child.

史无前例地采用了 受虐待儿童的视角。

For centuries, Black women writers had been limited by stereotypes

几百年来，黑人女性作者一直

被性欲亢进的刻板印象所限制。

characterizing them as hypersexual.

Afraid of reinforcing these stereotypes,

因恐惧于加深这些刻板印象，

few were willing to write about their sexuality at all.

甚至很少有人会在作品中 触碰有关性的描写。

But Angelou refused to be constrained.

然而安杰卢并没有被此限制。

She publicly explored her most personal experience,

她开诚布公地、 不掺杂任何歉意或耻辱地

without apology or shame.

讨论了她最私人的经历。

This spirit of defiance charges her writing with a sense of hope

这种反抗的精神 使她的作品充满了希望，

that combats the memoir’s often traumatic subject matter.

抵抗回忆录中提到的阴影。

When recalling how a fellow student defied instructions not to sing

当回忆起一名同学如何违抗指示，

the Black National Anthem in the presence of white guests,

不在白人客人面前唱黑人国歌时，

she writes, “The tears that slipped down many faces were not wiped away in shame.

她写道：“许多人脸上流下的泪水 并没有因羞愧而被抹去。

We were on top again... We survived.”

我们重新站在了顶峰…… 我们活了下来。”

Angelou’s memoir was published amidst the Civil Rights and Black Power movements,

安杰卢的回忆录是在 民权运动与黑人权力运动期间出版的，

when activists were calling for school curricula

那时，积极分子正在呼吁学校开设

that reflected the diversity of experiences in the US.

可以反映美国 生活多样性的学校课程。

But almost as soon as the book appeared in schools, it was challenged.

但几乎当这本书刚刚出现在课本中， 它就受到了质疑。

Campaigns to control lesson plans surged across America in the 1970s and 80s.

20 世纪 70 年代和 80 年代， 美国各地掀起了一场控制课程计划的运动。

On the American Library Association’s list

在美国图书馆协会

of most frequently banned or challenged books,

最常被禁或被质疑的书籍名单上，

“I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” remained near the top for two decades.

《我知道笼中鸟为何歌唱》 连续二十年徘徊于榜首。

But parents, students, and educators have consistently fought back

但家长、学生和 教育工作者一直在反击

in support of the memoir.

并支持着这本回忆录。

And by 2013, it had become the second most taught non-fiction text

到 2013 年， 它已经成为美国高中英语课堂上

in US high school English classes.

第二频繁被教授的非小说类课文。

When asked how she felt about writing one of the most banned books, Angelou said,

当被问及对写了一本被禁最多的书 有何感想时，安杰卢说，

“I find that people who want my book banned have never read

“我发现那些希望我的书被禁的人

a paragraph of my writing,

从来没有读过哪怕我写的一段话，

but have heard that I write about a rape.

但听说过我写的是一起强奸事件。

They act as if their children are not faced with the same threats.

他们的行为就像他们的孩子 并不会面临同样的威胁一样。

And that’s terrible.”

这很不幸。”

She believed that children who are old enough to be the victims

她相信那些到了足以成为性虐待 与种族歧视被害者年龄的孩子，

of sexual abuse and racism are old enough to read about these subjects.

也同时到了足以阅读这些主题的年龄。

Because listening and learning are essential to overcoming,

因为倾听和学习是克服困难的关键，

and the unspeakable is far more dangerous when left unspoken.

而无法说出的东西如果不被说出来， 就会更加危险。