Billy Collins: Everyday moments, caught in time

Translator: Morten Kelder Skouboe Reviewer: Anders Finn Jørgensen

I'm here to give you

Jeg vil give jer

your recommended dietary allowance

jeres anbefalede daglige dosis

of poetry.

af poesi.

And the way I'm going to do that

Og måden, jeg vil gøre det,

is present to you

er præsentere jer

five animations

for fem animationer

of five of my poems.

af fem af mine digte.

And let me just tell you a little bit of how that came about.

Og lad mig lige fortælle lidt om, hvordan de blev til.

Because the mixing of those two media

For at blande de to medier

is a sort of unnatural or unnecessary act.

er en slags unaturlig eller unødvendig handling.

But when I was United States Poet Laureate --

Men da jeg var USAs nationaldigter --

and I love saying that.

og det elsker jeg at sige.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

It's a great way to start sentences.

Det er en skøn måde at starte sætninger.

When I was him back then,

Dengang jeg var ham,

I was approached by J. Walter Thompson, the ad company,

blev jeg opsøgt af J. Walter Thompson, reklamebureauet,

and they were hired

og de var hyret

sort of by the Sundance Channel.

af Sundance Channel.

And the idea was to have me record some of my poems

Idéen var at få mig til at optage nogle af mine digte,

and then they would find animators

og så ville de finde animatorer

to animate them.

for at animere dem.

And I was initially resistant,

Først var jeg imod,

because I always think

for jeg synes altid,

poetry can stand alone by itself.

poesi kan stå alene af sig selv.

Attempts to put my poems to music

Forsøg på at sætte mine digte til musik

have had disastrous results,

har haft katastrofale følger

in all cases.

i alle tilfælde.

And the poem, if it's written with the ear,

Og digtet, hvis det er skrevet med øret,

already has been set to its own verbal music

er allerede blevet sat til sin egen verbale musik,

as it was composed.

da det blev komponeret.

And surely, if you're reading a poem

Hvis man læser et digt,

that mentions a cow,

der nævner en ko,

you don't need on the facing page

behøver man ikke på modsatte side

a drawing of a cow.

en tegning af en ko.

I mean, let's let the reader do a little work.

Lad nu læseren arbejde lidt.

But I relented because it seemed like an interesting possibility,

Men jeg gav efter, for det virkede som en interessant mulighed,

and also I'm like a total cartoon junkie

og jeg har også været en total tegnefilmsnarkoman

since childhood.

fra barnsben.

I think more influential

Jeg tror, mere indflydelsesrig

than Emily Dickinson or Coleridge or Wordsworth

end Emily Dickinson eller Coleridge eller Wordsworth

on my imagination

på min fantasi

were Warner Brothers, Merrie Melodies

var Warner Brothers, Merrie Melodies

and Loony Tunes cartoons.

og Looney Tunes tegnefilm.

Bugs Bunny is my muse.

Snurre Snup er min muse.

And this way poetry could find its way onto television of all places.

Og på denne måde kunne poesi finde frem til fjernsynet af alle steder.

And I'm pretty much all for poetry in public places --

Jeg er ret meget for poesi offentlige steder --

poetry on buses, poetry on subways,

poesi på busser, poesi i metroen,

on billboards, on cereal boxes.

på plakattavler, på morgenmadskasser.

When I was Poet Laureate, there I go again --

Da jeg var nationaldigter, nu gør jeg det igen --

I can't help it, it's true --

jeg kan ikke lade være --

(Laughter)

(Latter)

I created a poetry channel on Delta Airlines

Skabte jeg en poesikanal på Delta Airlines,

that lasted for a couple of years.

der holdt et par år.

So you could tune into poetry as you were flying.

Så man kunne stille ind på poesi, mens man fløj.

And my sense is,

Min fornemmelse er,

it's a good thing to get poetry off the shelves

det er godt at få poesi ned fra hylderne

and more into public life.

og mere ud i offentligheden.

Start a meeting with a poem. That would be an idea you might take with you.

Begynd et møde med et digt. Det ville være en idé at tage med.

When you get a poem on a billboard or on the radio

Når man får et digt på en tavle eller over radioen

or on a cereal box or whatever,

eller på morgenmaden eller andet,

it happens to you so suddenly

sker det så pludseligt,

that you don't have time

at man ikke har tid

to deploy your anti-poetry deflector shields

til at opsætte sit anti-poesi deflektorskjolde,

that were installed in high school.

der blev installeret i gymnasietiden.

So let us start with the first one.

Så lad os begynde med det første.

It's a little poem called "Budapest,"

Det er et lille digt ved navn "Budapest,"

and in it I reveal,

og i det afslører jeg,

or pretend to reveal,

eller foregiver at afsløre,

the secrets of the creative process.

den kreative proces' hemmeligheder.

(Video) Narration: "Budapest."

(Video) Fortæller: "Budapest."

My pen moves along the page

Min pen bevæger sig langs siden

like the snout of a strange animal

som snuden på et underligt dyr

shaped like a human arm

formet som en menneskearm

and dressed in the sleeve

og klædt i ærmet

of a loose green sweater.

af en løs grøn sweater.

I watch it sniffing the paper ceaselessly,

Jeg ser det snuse til papiret uophørligt,

intent as any forager

ufravendt som enhver fødesamler,

that has nothing on its mind

der intet har på sinde,

but the grubs and insects

men larverne og insekterne,

that will allow it to live another day.

som vil lade det leve endnu en dag.

It wants only to be here tomorrow,

Det vil blot være her i morgen,

dressed perhaps

klædt måske

in the sleeve of a plaid shirt,

i ærmet af en ternet skjorte,

nose pressed against the page,

næsen presset mod siden,

writing a few more dutiful lines

skrivende nogle flere lydige linjer,

while I gaze out the window

mens jeg stirrer ud af vinduet

and imagine Budapest

og forestiller mig Budapest

or some other city

eller en anden by,

where I have never been.

hvor jeg aldrig har været.

BC: So that makes it seem a little easier.

BC: Så det får det til at se lidt lettere ud.

(Applause)

(Bifald)

Writing is not actually as easy as that for me.

At skrive er faktisk ikke så let for mig.

But I like to pretend that it comes with ease.

Men jeg kan lide at lade som om, det kommer let.

One of my students came up after class, an introductory class,

En af mine elever kom op efter timen, en introduktionstime,

and she said, "You know, poetry is harder than writing,"

og hun sagde, "Altså, poesi er sværere end at skrive,"

which I found both erroneous and profound.

hvilket jeg fandt både urigtigt og dybsindigt.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

So I like to at least pretend it just flows out.

Så jeg kan lide at bare foregive, det bare flyder.

A friend of mine has a slogan; he's another poet.

En af mine venner har et slogan; han er også digter.

He says that, "If at first you don't succeed,

Han siger, at "hvis først du ikke lykkes,

hide all evidence you ever tried."

gem al bevis for, du nogensinde prøvede."

(Laughter)

(Latter)

The next poem is also rather short.

Det næste digt er også ret kort.

Poetry just says a few things in different ways.

Poesi siger bare nogle ting på en anden måde.

And I think you could boil this poem down to saying,

Og jeg tror man kunne koge dette digt ned til at sige,

"Some days you eat the bear, other days the bear eats you."

"Nogle dage spiser du bjørnen, andre dage spiser bjørnen dig."

And it uses the imagery

Det udnytter billedsproget

of dollhouse furniture.

ved dukkehusmøbler.

(Video) Narration: "Some Days."

(Video) Fortæller: "Nogle Dage."

Some days

Nogle dage

I put the people in their places at the table,

sætter jeg folkene på deres pladser ved bordet,

bend their legs at the knees,

bøjer deres ben ved knæene,

if they come with that feature,

hvis de har den egenskab,

and fix them into the tiny wooden chairs.

og sætter dem på de små træstole.

All afternoon they face one another,

Hele eftermiddagen ser de hinanden,

the man in the brown suit,

manden i det brune jakkesæt,

the woman in the blue dress --

kvinden i den blå kjole --

perfectly motionless, perfectly behaved.

helt stille, perfekt opdragne.

But other days I am the one

Men andre dage er det mig,

who is lifted up by the ribs

der løftes op ved ribbenene

then lowered into the dining room of a dollhouse

og så sænket ind i et dukkehus' stue

to sit with the others at the long table.

for at sidde med de andre ved langbordet.

Very funny.

Meget sjovt.

But how would you like it

Men hvordan ville du have det,

if you never knew from one day to the next

hvis du aldrig vidste fra en dag til den næste,

if you were going to spend it

om du skulle bruge den på

striding around like a vivid god,

at skridte rundt som en levende gud,

your shoulders in the clouds,

dine skuldre i skyerne,

or sitting down there

eller sidde dernede

amidst the wallpaper

blandt tapetten

staring straight ahead

og stirre lige frem

with your little plastic face?

med dit lille plastikansigt?

(Applause)

(Bifald)

BC: There's a horror movie in there somewhere.

BC: Der er en gyser derinde et sted.

The next poem is called forgetfulness,

Det næste digt hedder glemsomhed,

and it's really just a kind of poetic essay

og det er virkelig bare en art poetisk essay

on the subject of mental slippage.

om mental tilbagegang.

And the poem begins

Og digtet begynder

with a certain species of forgetfulness

med en bestemt art af glemsomhed,

that someone called

som nogen kaldte

literary amnesia,

litterær hukommelsestab,

in other words, forgetting the things that you have read.

med andre ord at glemme, hvad man har læst.

(Video) Narration: "Forgetfulness."

(Video) Fortæller: "Glemsomhed."

The name of the author is the first to go,

Forfatterens navn er det første til at smutte,

followed obediently

fulgt lydigt

by the title, the plot,

af titlen, plottet,

the heartbreaking conclusion,

den hjerteskærende slutning,

the entire novel,

hele romanen,

which suddenly becomes one you have never read,

som pludselig bliver en, du aldrig har læst,

never even heard of.

endda aldrig hørt om.

It is as if, one by one,

Det er som, en efter en,

the memories you used to harbor

besluttede minderne, du plejede

decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain

at nære, at trække sig tilbage til hjernens sydlige hemisfære

to a little fishing village

til en lille fiskerlandsby,

where there are no phones.

hvor der ingen telefoner er.

Long ago,

For lang tid siden

you kissed the names of the nine muses good-bye

kyssede du navnene på de ni muser farvel,

and you watched the quadratic equation

og du den kvadratiske ligning

pack its bag.

pakke sin taske.

And even now,

Og selv nu,

as you memorize the order of the planets,

mens du memorerer planeternes rækkefølge,

something else is slipping away,

forsvinder noget andet,

a state flower perhaps,

en stats blomst måske,

the address of an uncle,

en onkels adresse,

the capital of Paraguay.

Paraguays hovedstad.

Whatever it is

Hvad end det er,

you are struggling to remember,

du kæmper for at huske,

it is not poised on the tip of your tongue,

står det ikke parat på tungen,

not even lurking

lurer ikke engang

in some obscure corner

i et afsides hjørne

of your spleen.

af din milt.

It has floated away

Det har flydt væk

down a dark mythological river

ned ad en mørk mytologisk flod,

whose name begins with an L

hvis navn begynder med et L,

as far as you can recall,

så vidt du kan genkalde,

well on your own way to oblivion

selv godt på din egen vej mod glemslen,

where you will join those

hvor du vil slutte dig til dem,

who have forgotten even how to swim

der endda har glemt, hvordan man svømmer

and how to ride a bicycle.

eller kører på en cykel.

No wonder you rise in the middle of the night

Ikke underligt du står op midt om natten

to look up the date of a famous battle

for at slå datoen på et berømt slag op

in a book on war.

i en bog om krig.

No wonder the Moon in the window

Ikke underligt Månen i vinduet

seems to have drifted out of a love poem

lader til at være drevet ud fra et kærlighedsdigt,

that you used to know by heart.

du plejede at kunne udenad.

(Applause)

(Bifald)

BC: The next poem is called "The Country"

BC: Det næste digt hedder "Landet"

and it's based on,

og det er baseret på,

when I was in college

da jeg gik på universitetet,

I met a classmate who remains to be a friend of mine.

mødte jeg en klassekammerat, som stadig er en af mine venner.

He lived, and still does, in rural Vermont.

Han boede, og bor stadig, på landet i Vermont.

I lived in New York City.

Jeg boede i New York.

And we would visit each other.

Og vi besøgte hinanden.

And when I would go up to the country,

Og mens jeg var på landet,

he would teach me things like deer hunting,

ville han lære mig ting som hjortejagt,

which meant getting lost with a gun basically --

hvilket egentlig betød at fare vild med et gevær --

(Laughter)

(Latter)

and trout fishing and stuff like that.

og ørredfiskeri og den slags.

And then he'd come down to New York City

Og så ville han komme ned til New York,

and I'd teach him what I knew,

og jeg ville lære ham, hvad jeg vidste,

which was largely smoking and drinking.

hvilket mest var at ryge og drikke.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

And in that way we traded lore with each other.

På den måde byttede vi lærdom med hinanden.

The poem that's coming up

Digtet, der nu kommer,

is based on him trying to tell me a little something

er baseret på, hvordan han fortalte mig noget

about a domestic point of etiquette

om en pointen ved en hjemme-etikette

in country living

på landet,

that I had a very hard time, at first, processing.

som jeg først havde meget svært ved at forstå.

It's called "The Country."

Det hedder "Landet."

(Video) Narration: "The Country."

(Video) Fortæller: "Landet."

I wondered about you

Jeg undrede mig over dig,

when you told me never to leave

da du bad mig aldrig at lade

a box of wooden strike-anywhere matches

en kasse stryg overalt tændstikker

just lying around the house,

bare ligge rundt i huset,

because the mice might get into them

fordi musede kunne gå i dem

and start a fire.

og starte en brand.

But your face was absolutely straight

Men dit ansigt var helt fast,

when you twisted the lid down

da du skruede låget ned

on the round tin

på den runde dåse,

where the matches, you said, are always stowed.

hvor tændstikkerne, sagde du, altid bliver lagt i.

Who could sleep that night?

Hvem kunne sove den nat?

Who could whisk away the thought

Hvem kunne feje tanken af banen

of the one unlikely mouse

om den ene usandsynlige mus,

padding along a cold water pipe

der trippede langs et koldt vandrør

behind the floral wallpaper,

bag det blomstrede tapet,

gripping a single wooden match

greb en enkelt trætændstik

between the needles of his teeth?

mellem sine nåletænder?

Who could not see him rounding a corner,

Hvem kunne ikke se ham runde et hjørne,

the blue tip scratching against rough-hewn beam,

den blå spids krads mod ru-hugget bjælke,

the sudden flare

det pludselige glimt,

and the creature, for one bright, shining moment,

og skabningen, i ét lyst, skinnende øjeblik,

suddenly thrust ahead of his time --

pludselig kastet forud for sin tid --

now a fire-starter,

nu en ild-tænder,

now a torch-bearer

nu en fakkelbærer

in a forgotten ritual,

i et glemt ritual,

little brown druid

lille brun druide

illuminating some ancient night?

oplysende en oldgammel nat?

And who could fail to notice,

Og hvem kunne undgå at bemærke,

lit up in the blazing insulation,

oplyst i den flammende isolering

the tiny looks of wonderment

de små udtryk af forundring

on the faces of his fellow mice --

på hans musekammeraters ansigter --

one-time inhabitants

engangsbeboere

of what once was your house in the country?

af hvad, der engang var dit hus på landet?

(Applause)

(Bifald)

BC: Thank you.

BC: Tak.

(Applause)

(Bifald)

Thank you. And the last poem is called "The Dead."

Tak. Det sidste dig hedder "De Døde."

I wrote this after a friend's funeral,

Jeg skrev det efter en vens begravelse,

but not so much about the friend as something the eulogist kept saying,

men ikke så meget om vennen som noget lovpriseren blev ved at sige,

as all eulogists tend to do,

som alle lovprisere har det med at gøre,

which is how happy the deceased would be

hvilket er, hvor glade de døde ville være

to look down and see all of us assembled.

over at se ned og se os alle samlet.

And that to me was a bad start to the afterlife,

Og det var for mig en dårlig start på efterlivet,

having to witness your own funeral and feel gratified.

at skulle se sin egen begravelse og føle sig glad.

So the little poem is called "The Dead."

Så det lille dig hedder "De Døde."

(Video) Narration: "The Dead."

(Video) Fortæller: "De Døde."

The dead are always looking down on us,

De døde ser altid ned på os,

they say.

siges det.

While we are putting on our shoes or making a sandwich,

Mens vi tager sko på eller laver en sandwich,

they are looking down

ser de ned

through the glass-bottom boats of heaven

gennem himlens glas-bunds-både,

as they row themselves slowly

mens de roer sig langsomt

through eternity.

gennem evigheden.

They watch the tops of our heads

De ser toppen af vores hoveder,

moving below on Earth.

der flytter sig på Jorden.

And when we lie down

Og når vi ligger ned

in a field or on a couch,

på en mark eller på en briks

drugged perhaps

bedøvet måske

by the hum of a warm afternoon,

af en varm eftermiddags summen,

they think we are looking back at them,

tror de, vi ser tilbage på dem,

which makes them lift their oars

hvilket får dem til at løfte deres årer

and fall silent

og være stille

and wait like parents

og vente som forældre

for us to close our eyes.

på, at vi lukker vores øjne.

(Applause)

(Bifald)

BC: I'm not sure if other poems will be animated.

BC: Jeg ved ikke, om andre digte vil blive animeret.

It took a long time --

Det tog lang tid --

I mean, it's rather uncommon to have this marriage --

jeg mener, det er ret unormalt at have dette ægteskab --

a long time to put those two together.

lang tid at sætte de to sammen.

But then again, it took us a long time

Men så alligevel, det tog os lang tid

to put the wheel and the suitcase together.

at sætte hjulet og kufferten sammen.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

I mean, we had the wheel for some time.

Vi har haft hjulet i en del tid.

And schlepping is an ancient and honorable art.

Og at slæbe er en gammel og ærværdig kunst.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

I just have time

Jeg har lige tid

to read a more recent poem to you.

til at læse et nyere digt for jer.

If it has a subject,

Hvis det har et tema,

the subject is adolescence.

er det pubertet.

And it's addressed to a certain person.

Og det er henvendt til en bestemt person.

It's called "To My Favorite 17-Year-Old High School Girl."

Det hedder "Til Min Yndlings 17-Årige Gymnasiepige."

"Do you realize that if you had started building the Parthenon

"Ved du, at hvis du var begyndt at bygge Parthenon

on the day you were born,

den dag, du blev født,

you would be all done in only one more year?

ville du være helt færdig om bare ét år?

Of course, you couldn't have done that all alone.

Selvfølgelig kunne du ikke have gjort det helt alene.

So never mind;

Så lige meget;

you're fine just being yourself.

du er bare dig selv.

You're loved for just being you.

Du er elsket for bare at være dig.

But did you know that at your age

Men vidste du, at på din alder

Judy Garland was pulling down 150,000 dollars a picture,

tjente Judy Garland 150.000 dollars pr. billede,

Joan of Arc was leading the French army to victory

Jeanne D'Arc ledte den franske hær til sejr

and Blaise Pascal had cleaned up his room --

og Blaise Pascal havde gjort sit værelse rent --

no wait, I mean he had invented the calculator?

nej vent, jeg mener, havde han opfundet regnemaskinen?

Of course, there will be time for all that

Selvfølgelig vil der være tid til alt det

later in your life,

senere i dit liv,

after you come out of your room

efter du kommer ud af dit værelse

and begin to blossom,

og begynder at blomstre

or at least pick up all your socks.

eller i det mindste samle alle dine sokker op.

For some reason I keep remembering

Af en eller anden årsag bliver jeg ved at huske,

that Lady Jane Grey was queen of England

at Lady Jane Grey var dronning af England,

when she was only 15.

da hun kun var 15.

But then she was beheaded, so never mind her as a role model.

Men så blev hun halshugget, så glem hende som rollemodel.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

A few centuries later,

Et par århundreder senere,

when he was your age,

da han var på din alder,

Franz Schubert was doing the dishes for his family,

vaskede Franz Schubert op for sin familie,

but that did not keep him

men det afholdt ham ikke

from composing two symphonies, four operas

fra at komponere to symfonier, fire operaer

and two complete masses as a youngster.

og to hele messer som ung mand.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

But of course, that was in Austria

Men selvfølgelig var det i Østrig

at the height of Romantic lyricism,

på højden af romantisk lyrik,

not here in the suburbs of Cleveland.

ikke her i Clevelands forstæder.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

Frankly, who cares

Helt ærligt, og hvad så,

if Annie Oakley was a crack shot at 15

hvis Annie Oakley var mesterskytte som 15-årig,

or if Maria Callas debuted as Tosca at 17?

eller hvis Maria Callas debuterede som Tosca som 17-årig?

We think you're special just being you --

Vi synes, du er speciel for at være dig --

playing with your food and staring into space.

legende med din mad og stirrende ud i rummet.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

By the way,

Forresten,

I lied about Schubert doing the dishes,

jeg løj om, at Schubert vaskede op,

but that doesn't mean he never helped out around the house."

men det betyder ikke, han aldrig hjalp rundt om i huset."

(Laughter)

(Latter)

(Applause)

(Bifald)

Thank you. Thank you.

Tak. Tak.

(Applause)

(Bifald)

Thanks.

Tak.

(Applause)

(Bifald)