Billy Collins: Everyday moments, caught in time

Prevoditelj: Katarina Smetko Recezent: Suzana Baric

I'm here to give you

Došao sam vam dati

your recommended dietary allowance

preporučenu dnevnu dozu

of poetry.

poezije.

And the way I'm going to do that

To ću učiniti tako

is present to you

da vam predstavim

five animations

pet animacija

of five of my poems.

za pet mojih pjesama.

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

Ukratko ću vam ispričati kako je došlo do toga.

Because the mixing of those two media

Jer miješanje tih dvaju medija

is a sort of unnatural or unnecessary act.

nekako je neprirodno i nepotrebno.

But when I was United States Poet Laureate --

Kad sam bio pjesnički laureat SAD-a --

and I love saying that.

obožavam to izgovarati.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

It's a great way to start sentences.

To je odličan način započinjanja rečenica.

When I was him back then,

Kad sam tada to bio,

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

kontaktirala me tvrtka za oglašavanje J. Walter Thompson.

and they were hired

Radili su, recimo

sort of by the Sundance Channel.

za televizijski program Sundance Channel.

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

Ideja je bila da ja snimim neke svoje pjesme,

and then they would find animators

a oni će pronaći animatore

to animate them.

da ih animiraju.

And I was initially resistant,

Isprva sam se opirao

because I always think

jer uvijek mislim

poetry can stand alone by itself.

da je poezija samodostatna.

Attempts to put my poems to music

Pokušaji uglazbljivanja mojih pjesama

have had disastrous results,

imali su katastrofalne rezultate,

in all cases.

svaki put.

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

A pjesma, ako je pisana sa sluhom,

already has been set to its own verbal music

već je dobila svoju verbalnu glazbu

as it was composed.

dok je sastavljana.

And surely, if you're reading a poem

Ako čitate pjesmu

that mentions a cow,

u kojoj se spominje krava,

you don't need on the facing page

sigurno na suprotnoj stranici

a drawing of a cow.

ne trebate crtež krave.

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

Mislim, neka se i čitatelj malo potrudi.

But I relented because it seemed like an interesting possibility,

No, popustio sam jer se činilo kao zanimljiva mogućnost,

and also I'm like a total cartoon junkie

a i pravi sam ovisnik o crtićima

since childhood.

od djetinjstva.

I think more influential

Mislim da su više utjecaja

than Emily Dickinson or Coleridge or Wordsworth

nego Emily Dickinson ili Coleridge ili Wordsworth

on my imagination

na moju maštu imali

were Warner Brothers, Merrie Melodies

Warner Brothers, Merrie Melodies,

and Loony Tunes cartoons.

i crtani filmovi Loony Tunes.

Bugs Bunny is my muse.

Zekoslav Mrkva moja je muza.

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

Na taj je način poezija mogla dospjeti čak na televiziju.

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

A ja potpuno podržavam poeziju na javnim mjestima --

poetry on buses, poetry on subways,

poezija u busevima, poezija u podzemnoj,

on billboards, on cereal boxes.

na plakatima, na kutijama žitarica.

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

Kad sam bio pjesnički laureat -- evo ga opet --

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

ne mogu si pomoći, istina je --

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

I created a poetry channel on Delta Airlines

Napravio sam pjesnički kanal za Delta Airlines

that lasted for a couple of years.

koji je bio aktivan nekoliko godina.

So you could tune into poetry as you were flying.

Mogli ste slušati poeziju dok ste letjeli.

And my sense is,

Ja smatram

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

da je dobro da se poezija skine s polica

and more into public life.

i više unese u javni život.

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

Počnite sastanak pjesmom. To biste mogli upamtiti.

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

Kad stavite pjesmu na reklamni plakat ili je pustite na radiju

or on a cereal box or whatever,

ili je stavite na kutiju žitarica ili kamo već,

it happens to you so suddenly

ona vam dođe tako iznenada

that you don't have time

da ne stignete

to deploy your anti-poetry deflector shields

aktivirati svoje štitove protiv poezije

that were installed in high school.

koje ste ugradili još u srednjoj školi.

So let us start with the first one.

Počnimo s prvom pjesmom.

It's a little poem called "Budapest,"

To je kratka pjesma, a zove se "Budimpešta".

and in it I reveal,

U njoj otkrivam,

or pretend to reveal,

ili nastojim otkriti,

the secrets of the creative process.

tajne kreativnog procesa.

(Video) Narration: "Budapest."

(Video) Naracija: "Budimpešta"

My pen moves along the page

Moje se pero kreće stranicom

like the snout of a strange animal

poput njuške neobične životinje

shaped like a human arm

u obliku ljudske ruke

and dressed in the sleeve

obučene u rukav

of a loose green sweater.

širokog zelenog džempera.

I watch it sniffing the paper ceaselessly,

Gledam kako uporno njuška papir

intent as any forager

kao i bilo koji sakupljač

that has nothing on its mind

kojemu su na umu

but the grubs and insects

samo ličinke i kukci

that will allow it to live another day.

od kojih će moći preživjeti još jedan dan.

It wants only to be here tomorrow,

Želi samo biti ovdje i sutra,

dressed perhaps

obučena možda

in the sleeve of a plaid shirt,

u rukav karirane košulje,

nose pressed against the page,

nosa pritisnutog uz stranicu,

writing a few more dutiful lines

i ispisati još nekoliko obveznih redaka

while I gaze out the window

dok ja gledam kroz prozor

and imagine Budapest

i zamišljam Budimpeštu

or some other city

ili neki drugi grad

where I have never been.

u kojem nisam nikad bio.

BC: So that makes it seem a little easier.

BC: To malo olakšava pjesmu.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

Writing is not actually as easy as that for me.

Pisanje mi zapravo nije tako lako,

But I like to pretend that it comes with ease.

ali volim se pretvarati da mi dolazi s lakoćom.

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

Jedna od mojih studentica došla je do mene nakon uvodnog predavanja

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

i rekla: "Znate, poezija je teža nego pisanje",

which I found both erroneous and profound.

što mi se učinilo i pogrešnim i dubokim.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

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

Tako da se volim barem pretvarati da samo teče.

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

Jedan moj prijatelj ima slogan; i on je pjesnik.

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

On kaže da "ako ne uspiješ od prve,

hide all evidence you ever tried."

sakrij sve dokaze da si uopće pokušao."

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

The next poem is also rather short.

Sljedeća je pjesma također prilično kratka.

Poetry just says a few things in different ways.

Poezija samo kaže neke stvari na drugačiji način.

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

Mislim da bi se ova pjesma mogla svesti na:

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

"Ponekad ti pojedeš medvjeda, ponekad medvjed pojede tebe."

And it uses the imagery

U pjesmi koristim slike

of dollhouse furniture.

namještaja iz kućice za lutke.

(Video) Narration: "Some Days."

(Video) Naracija: "Ponekad"

Some days

Ponekad

I put the people in their places at the table,

stavljam ljude na njihova mjesta za stolom,

bend their legs at the knees,

savijam im noge u koljenima,

if they come with that feature,

ako su tako napravljeni,

and fix them into the tiny wooden chairs.

i smještam ih na malene drvene stolice.

All afternoon they face one another,

Cijelo poslijepodne gledaju jedni druge,

the man in the brown suit,

čovjek u smeđem odijelu,

the woman in the blue dress --

žena u plavoj haljini --

perfectly motionless, perfectly behaved.

potpuno nepokretni, savršeno pristojni.

But other days I am the one

No drugih dana ja sam taj

who is lifted up by the ribs

kojeg primaju pod rebra i podižu

then lowered into the dining room of a dollhouse

i zatim spuštaju u blagovaonicu kuće za lutke

to sit with the others at the long table.

kako bih sjedio s drugima za dugim stolom.

Very funny.

Jako smiješno.

But how would you like it

No kako bi se vama svidjelo

if you never knew from one day to the next

da vam je svaki dan neizvjesno

if you were going to spend it

hoćete li ga provesti

striding around like a vivid god,

koračajući uokolo poput živopisnog boga,

your shoulders in the clouds,

s ramenima u oblacima,

or sitting down there

ili sjedeći ovdje dolje

amidst the wallpaper

okružen tapetama

staring straight ahead

pogleda uperenog pred sebe

with your little plastic face?

na malenom plastičnom licu?

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

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

BC: Materijal za horor film.

The next poem is called forgetfulness,

Sljedeća se pjesma zove "Zaboravnost"

and it's really just a kind of poetic essay

i zapravo je poetski esej

on the subject of mental slippage.

na temu mentalnog opadanja.

And the poem begins

Pjesma počinje

with a certain species of forgetfulness

određenom vrstom zaboravnosti

that someone called

koju je netko nazvao

literary amnesia,

literarnom amnezijom,

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

odnosno zaboravljanjem stvari koje ste pročitali.

(Video) Narration: "Forgetfulness."

(Video) Naracija: "Zaboravnost"

The name of the author is the first to go,

Prvo ode ime autora,

followed obediently

a nakon njega poslušno slijede

by the title, the plot,

naslov, radnja,

the heartbreaking conclusion,

srcedrapajući rasplet,

the entire novel,

cijeli roman,

which suddenly becomes one you have never read,

koji odjednom niste pročitali,

never even heard of.

nikad ni čuli za njega.

It is as if, one by one,

Kao da su, jedno po jedno,

the memories you used to harbor

sjećanja koja ste njegovali

decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain

odlučila povući se na južnu polutku mozga

to a little fishing village

u malo ribarsko selo

where there are no phones.

gdje nema telefona.

Long ago,

Još ste se davno

you kissed the names of the nine muses good-bye

pozdravili s imenima devet muza

and you watched the quadratic equation

i gledali ste kako kvadratna jednadžba

pack its bag.

pakira kofere.

And even now,

I upravo sada,

as you memorize the order of the planets,

dok pamtite poredak planeta,

something else is slipping away,

nešto drugo iščezava,

a state flower perhaps,

možda cvijet-simbol države,

the address of an uncle,

ujakova adresa,

the capital of Paraguay.

glavni grad Paragvaja.

Whatever it is

Čega god

you are struggling to remember,

da se pokušavate sjetiti,

it is not poised on the tip of your tongue,

nije vam na vrhu jezika,

not even lurking

niti se skriva

in some obscure corner

u nekom mračnom kutku

of your spleen.

vaše slezene.

It has floated away

Odavno je otplutalo

down a dark mythological river

tamnom mitološkom rijekom

whose name begins with an L

čije ime počinje na L,

as far as you can recall,

koliko se sjećate,

well on your own way to oblivion

dobrano na putu prema zaboravu,

where you will join those

gdje ćete se pridružiti onima

who have forgotten even how to swim

koji su zaboravili čak i plivati

and how to ride a bicycle.

i voziti bicikl.

No wonder you rise in the middle of the night

Nije ni čudo da ustajete usred noći

to look up the date of a famous battle

da biste potražili datum slavne bitke

in a book on war.

u nekoj knjizi o ratu.

No wonder the Moon in the window

Nije ni čudo da se čini

seems to have drifted out of a love poem

da je Mjesec na prozoru isplivao iz ljubavne pjesme

that you used to know by heart.

koju ste nekad znali napamet.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

BC: The next poem is called "The Country"

BC: Sljedeća se pjesma zove "Selo"

and it's based on,

i nastala je

when I was in college

kad sam studirao

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

i upoznao kolegu koji mi je i danas prijatelj.

He lived, and still does, in rural Vermont.

Živio je i još uvijek živi na selu u Vermontu.

I lived in New York City.

Ja sam živio u New Yorku.

And we would visit each other.

Posjećivali bismo jedan drugog.

And when I would go up to the country,

Kad bih ja dolazio na selo,

he would teach me things like deer hunting,

učio me stvarima poput lova na jelene,

which meant getting lost with a gun basically --

što je u biti značilo imati pušku i izgubiti se --

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

and trout fishing and stuff like that.

i pecanja pastrva i takvih stvari.

And then he'd come down to New York City

Onda bi on dolazio u New York

and I'd teach him what I knew,

i ja bih ga učio onome što sam znao,

which was largely smoking and drinking.

što je većinom bilo pušiti i piti.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

And in that way we traded lore with each other.

Tako smo razmjenjivali znanja.

The poem that's coming up

Sljedeća pjesma

is based on him trying to tell me a little something

govori kako mi je on pokušao objasniti ponešto

about a domestic point of etiquette

o bontonu u domaćinstvu

in country living

na selu,

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

a što je meni isprva bilo vrlo teško razumjeti.

It's called "The Country."

Pjesma se zove "Selo".

(Video) Narration: "The Country."

(Video) Naracija: "Selo"

I wondered about you

Čudio sam ti se

when you told me never to leave

kad si mi rekao da nikako ne ostavljam

a box of wooden strike-anywhere matches

kutiju drvenih šibica

just lying around the house,

bilo gdje u kući

because the mice might get into them

jer bi miševi mogli ući u nju

and start a fire.

zapaliti vatru.

But your face was absolutely straight

Ali tvoje je lice bilo potpuno ozbiljno

when you twisted the lid down

kad si izravnao poklopac

on the round tin

okrugle limenke

where the matches, you said, are always stowed.

u koju se, rekao si, šibice uvijek spremaju.

Who could sleep that night?

Tko bi te noći mogao spavati?

Who could whisk away the thought

Tko bi se mogao otresti pomisli

of the one unlikely mouse

na malo vjerojatnog miša

padding along a cold water pipe

kako hodi po hladnoj cijevi za vodu

behind the floral wallpaper,

iza cvjetnih tapeta,

gripping a single wooden match

hvata jednu drvenu šibicu

between the needles of his teeth?

između oštrih prednjih zuba?

Who could not see him rounding a corner,

Tko ga ne bi vidio kako zamiče za ugao,

the blue tip scratching against rough-hewn beam,

plavim vrhom šibice zagrebe o hrapavu gredu,

the sudden flare

iznenadni plamsaj

and the creature, for one bright, shining moment,

i taj stvor, na jedan sjajan, blješteći trenutak,

suddenly thrust ahead of his time --

odjednom gurnut ispred svog vremena --

now a fire-starter,

sad je zapalio iskru,

now a torch-bearer

sad je lučonoša

in a forgotten ritual,

u zaboravljenom obredu,

little brown druid

mali smeđi druid

illuminating some ancient night?

koji osvjetljava neku davnu noć?

And who could fail to notice,

Tko ne bi primijetio,

lit up in the blazing insulation,

osvijetljene u plamtećoj izolaciji,

the tiny looks of wonderment

sitne začuđene poglede

on the faces of his fellow mice --

na licima njegovih mišjih drugova --

one-time inhabitants

nekadašnjih stanovnika

of what once was your house in the country?

onoga što je nekad bila tvoja kuća na selu?

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

BC: Thank you.

BC: Hvala.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

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

Hvala. Posljednja se pjesma zove "Mrtvi".

I wrote this after a friend's funeral,

Napisao sam je nakon prijateljeva sprovoda,

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

ali nije toliko o mojem prijatelju, koliko nešto što eulozi stalno govore,

as all eulogists tend to do,

kao i svi eulozi,

which is how happy the deceased would be

a to je kako bi sretan preminuli bio

to look down and see all of us assembled.

da nas sad gleda i vidi kako smo se okupili.

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

Meni se to činilo kao loš početak zagrobnog života,

having to witness your own funeral and feel gratified.

da moraš gledati vlastiti sprovod i osjećati neko zadovoljstvo.

So the little poem is called "The Dead."

Naslov pjesme je, dakle, "Mrtvi".

(Video) Narration: "The Dead."

(Video) Naracija: "Mrtvi"

The dead are always looking down on us,

Mrtvi nas uvijek gledaju s visina,

they say.

kažu.

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

Dok obuvamo cipele ili radimo sendvič,

they are looking down

gledaju nas

through the glass-bottom boats of heaven

kroz stakleno dno nebeskih čamaca

as they row themselves slowly

dok polako veslaju

through eternity.

kroz vječnost.

They watch the tops of our heads

Gledaju nam tjemena

moving below on Earth.

kako se kreću po Zemlji.

And when we lie down

A kad legnemo

in a field or on a couch,

na polju ili na kauč,

drugged perhaps

možda omamljeni

by the hum of a warm afternoon,

šumom toplog poslijepodneva,

they think we are looking back at them,

oni misle kako i mi gledamo njih

which makes them lift their oars

pa podignu vesla

and fall silent

i utihnu

and wait like parents

i čekaju poput roditelja

for us to close our eyes.

da zatvorimo oči.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

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

BC: Nisam siguran hoće li druge pjesme biti animirane.

It took a long time --

Dugo je trajalo --

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

mislim, prilično je neobičan taj spoj --

a long time to put those two together.

dugo je trebalo da se to dvoje spoji.

But then again, it took us a long time

A opet, dugo nam je trebalo

to put the wheel and the suitcase together.

i da spojimo kotač i kovčeg.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

I mean, we had the wheel for some time.

Mislim, kotač smo imali već dulje vrijeme.

And schlepping is an ancient and honorable art.

A vučenje je drevno i časno umijeće.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

I just have time

Imam još vremena

to read a more recent poem to you.

pročitati vam jednu noviju pjesmu.

If it has a subject,

Ako se može reći da ima temu,

the subject is adolescence.

onda bi to bila adolescencija.

And it's addressed to a certain person.

Pjesma se obraća određenoj osobi.

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

Zove se "Mojoj najdražoj 17-godišnjoj srednjoškolki".

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

"Jesi li svjesna da, da si počela graditi Partenon

on the day you were born,

onog dana kad si se rodila,

you would be all done in only one more year?

bila bi gotova za još samo jednu godinu?

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

Naravno, ne bi to mogla učiniti sama.

So never mind;

Zato nema veze,

you're fine just being yourself.

dobra si takva kakva jesi.

You're loved for just being you.

Voljena si zato što si ti.

But did you know that at your age

Ali jesi li znala da je u tvojoj dobi

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

Judy Garland zarađivala 150.000 dolara po filmu,

Joan of Arc was leading the French army to victory

Ivana Orleanska vodila je francusku vojsku u pobjedu

and Blaise Pascal had cleaned up his room --

i Blaise Pascal je počistio svoju sobu --

no wait, I mean he had invented the calculator?

ne, čekaj, htio sam reći da je izumio kalkulator.

Of course, there will be time for all that

Naravno, bit će vremena za sve to

later in your life,

kasnije u tvojem životu,

after you come out of your room

nakon što iziđeš iz sobe

and begin to blossom,

i procvjetaš,

or at least pick up all your socks.

ili barem pokupiš sve čarape s poda.

For some reason I keep remembering

Iz nekog se razloga sjećam

that Lady Jane Grey was queen of England

da je Lady Jane Grey bila kraljica Engleske

when she was only 15.

kad je imala samo 15 godina.

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

Ali kasnije su joj odrubili glavu pa je ne trebaš smatrati uzorom.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

A few centuries later,

Nekoliko stoljeća kasnije,

when he was your age,

kad je bio tvoje dobi,

Franz Schubert was doing the dishes for his family,

Franz Schubert prao je posuđe kod kuće,

but that did not keep him

ali to ga nije spriječilo

from composing two symphonies, four operas

da sklada dvije simfonije, četiri opere

and two complete masses as a youngster.

i dvije potpune mise dok je bio mladić.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

But of course, that was in Austria

Ali naravno, to je bilo u Austriji

at the height of Romantic lyricism,

na vrhuncu romantičkog lirizma,

not here in the suburbs of Cleveland.

a ne ovdje u predgrađu Clevelanda.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Frankly, who cares

Iskreno, koga briga

if Annie Oakley was a crack shot at 15

što je Annie Oakley bila vrhunski strijelac s 15 godina

or if Maria Callas debuted as Tosca at 17?

ili što je Maria Callas glumila Toscu sa 17?

We think you're special just being you --

Mi mislimo da si posebna takva kakva jesi --

playing with your food and staring into space.

dok se igraš hranom i zuriš u prazno.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

By the way,

Inače,

I lied about Schubert doing the dishes,

lagao sam ono za Schuberta i pranje posuđa,

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

ali to ne znači da nikad nije pomagao po kući.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

Thank you. Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

Thanks.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)