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

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Zoe Walmsley

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

1998 年，

某個馬里蘭州的學區將美洲文學中

most acclaimed works from its curriculum.

最受好評的一個作品從課程中移除。

Parents pushing for the ban said the book

要求禁止這本書的學生家長的理由是：

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

「性意識太露骨」及「反白人」。

Following an outcry from other parents and teachers,

在其他家長和老師的強烈反對後，

the decision was eventually reversed.

這個決定最後被駁回了。

But this was neither the first nor the last attack

但這並非第一次，也不是最後一次

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

馬婭‧安傑盧的《我知道 籠中鳥為何歌唱》引起爭議。

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

像安傑盧的回憶錄 引起如此多爭議的書很少。

And while book banning decisions typically aren’t made

雖然禁書決策通常不會高到 全州或全國那種等級，

at the state or national level,

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

但絕大部分禁了安傑盧 這本書的學校和圖書館

have given similar reasons.

所給的理由都差不多。

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

最普遍的說法就是 這本回憶錄中提到的關於性侵

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

及美國種族主義的暴力 對年輕讀者不宜。

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

但這些理由都忽略了 安傑盧故事的重點：

which uses these very themes to explore the danger of censorship

這些情節安排是為了探討

審查制度造成年輕人 不敢發聲所帶來的危險。

and silence in the lives of young people.

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

1969 年出版的

《我知道籠中鳥為何歌唱》

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

記述了作者身為一個黑人女性， 成長於窮困的美國南方的童年。

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

敘事的重心包含了安傑盧在七歲半時

when she was seven and a half years old.

遭受性侵的經歷。

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

由於身邊的大人對這件事的 忌諱及避而不談，

Angelou decides that she is to blame.

讓安傑盧認為一定是她的錯。

And when she finally identifies her abuser in court,

而最終，當她在法庭上 指認性侵她的人後，

he is killed by vigilantes.

卻導致那個人死於仗義的暴民手下。

Angelou believes her voice is responsible for his death,

安傑盧覺得是她的發聲 導致那個人的死亡，

and for six years, she stops speaking almost entirely.

於是有六年的時間 她幾乎完全不發一語。

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

這本書記述了安傑盧 重尋自己聲音的歷程，

all while exploring the pain and misplaced shame

同時探索為了逃避令人不安的現實

that emerges from avoiding uncomfortable realities.

所帶來的痛苦和不應有的羞恥感。

The memoir’s narrative voice expertly blends her childhood confusion

回憶錄中的敘述口吻

嫻熟地將她童年時的困惑 及成年後的領會融合起來，

with her adult understanding,

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

讓讀者得窺年幼的安傑盧的權利 是如何被剝奪的。

She connects her early experiences of being silenced and shamed

她將她早年被迫噤聲和蒙羞的經歷

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

與她身為貧窮黑人活在 實行種族隔離的美國的經歷連結起來。

“The Black female,” she writes,

她寫道：「黑人女性

“is caught in the tripartite crossfire of masculine prejudice,

被捲入到三方戰火中， 分別是：男性偏見、

white illogical hate, and Black lack of power.”

白人莫名的仇恨，

以及黑人的缺乏權力。」

Her autobiography was one of the first books

她的自傳是最早公開探討 兒童遭性侵的書籍之一，

to speak openly about child sexual abuse,

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

也是首次以被性侵孩童的 角度去做敘事的書。

For centuries, Black women writers had been limited by stereotypes

有幾百年的光景，

黑人女性作家都受限於

被認為性慾極強的刻板印象。

characterizing them as hypersexual.

Afraid of reinforcing these stereotypes,

因為不想去加深這些刻板印象，

few were willing to write about their sexuality at all.

極少黑人女性作家 願意碰觸相關的議題，

But Angelou refused to be constrained.

但安傑盧拒絕受到束縛。

She publicly explored her most personal experience,

她公開探索她最隱私的經歷，

without apology or shame.

且毫無歉意或羞恥感

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

這種不畏懼的精神 讓她的作品充滿希望，

that combats the memoir’s often traumatic subject matter.

與回憶錄中的創傷事件相抗衡。

When recalling how a fellow student defied instructions not to sing

想起有位同學違抗指令， 在白人訪客前唱起黑人國歌，

the Black National Anthem in the presence of white guests,

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

她寫道：

「許多人的臉上流下驕傲的眼淚，

We were on top again... We survived.”

因為我們又贏了一次……

我們撐過來了。」

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

安傑盧的回憶錄出版於 民權和黑人權力運動時期，

when activists were calling for school curricula

民運人士要求學校課程

that reflected the diversity of experiences in the US.

應該適切反映美國社會文化的多樣性。

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

但每次這本書一出現在學校中時，

就立刻引起爭議。

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

在 1970 至 1980 年代， 美國各地充斥控制課綱的民運。

On the American Library Association’s list

在美國圖書館協會的「最常被禁 或爭議性最高」的名單上，

of most frequently banned or challenged books,

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

《我知道籠中鳥為何歌唱》 名列前矛長達二十年。

But parents, students, and educators have consistently fought back

但也有許多家長、學生，

及教育家努力不懈地反擊， 支持這本回憶錄。

in support of the memoir.

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

直到 2013 年，

這本書成了美國高中英文課

非小說類文本教材的第二名。

in US high school English classes.

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

當被問到自己的書 成為最常被禁的書有何感想，

安傑盧說：

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

「我發現那些希望禁我書的人

都是從未讀過我作品的人，

a paragraph of my writing,

but have heard that I write about a rape.

純粹只因聽說書中提到強暴。

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

他們表現得彷彿他們的孩子 不會面臨同樣的威脅。

And that’s terrible.”

那實在很糟糕。」

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

她認為孩子只要大到可能 成為性侵和種族主義的受害者，

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

就可以讀這些主題的書。

Because listening and learning are essential to overcoming,

因為傾聽和學習是克服困難的關鍵，

and the unspeakable is far more dangerous when left unspoken.

而那些難以說出口的 如果不說出來只會更危險。