Stephen Burt: Why people need poetry

Prevodilac: Nikola Radulović Lektor: Mile Živković

I read poetry all the time

Ja čitam poeziju sve vreme,

and write about it frequently

pišem često o njoj,

and take poems apart

analiziram pesme,

to see how they work

da vidim kako one funkcionišu

because I'm a word person.

zato što sam zaljubljenik u reč.

I understand the world best, most fully,

Razumem svet mnogo bolje, gotovo u potpunosti,

in words rather than, say, pictures or numbers,

kada je dat u rečima nego, recimo, u slikama ili brojevima.

and when I have a new experience or a new feeling,

I kada doživim neko novo iskustvo ili osetim nešto novo,

I'm a little frustrated

pomalo sam frustriran

until I can try to put it into words.

dok to ne mogu da pretvorim u reči.

I think I've always been that way.

Mislim da sam uvek takav bio.

I devoured science fiction as a child. I still do.

Upijao sam naučnu fantastiku kao dete. Još uvek to činim.

And I found poems by Andrew Marvell

Pronašao sam pesme Endrjua Marvela,

and Matthew Arnold and Emily Dickinson

Metjua Arnolda, Emili Dikinson,

and William Butler Yeats

i Vilijema Batlera Jejtsa

because they were quoted in science fiction,

zato što su citirane u naučnoj fantastici

and I loved their sounds

i zato što volim kako one zvuče.

and I went on to read about ottava rima

Nastavio sam sa čitanjem o otavi,

and medial caesuras and enjambment

cezurama u sredini i anžambenu

and all that other technical stuff

i svim drugim tehničkim stvarima

that you care about if you already care about poems,

o kojima vodite računa ukoliko vodite računa o pesmama

because poems already made me happier

zato što me pesme već čine srećnijim,

and sadder and more alive.

tužnijim i življim.

And I became a poetry critic

Postao sam kritičar poezije

because I wanted to know how and why.

zato što sam želeo da znam kako i zašto.

Now, poetry isn't one thing that serves one purpose

Sad, poezija nije stvar koja više služi svojoj svrsi

any more than music or computer programming

više nego što muzika ili kompjutersko programiranje

serve one purpose.

služe svojoj.

The greek word poem, it just means "a made thing,"

Grčka reč ,,poema" znači samo ,,napravljena stvar"

and poetry is a set of techniques,

Poezija predstavlja spoj tehnika,

ways of making patterns

načine kreiranja šablona

that put emotions into words.

po kojima se osećanja pretvaraju u reči.

The more techniques you know,

Što više tehnika poznajete,

the more things you can make,

to više stvari možete da napravite,

and the more patterns you can recognize

više šablona možete da prepoznate

in things you might already like or love.

u stvarima koje vam se već dopadaju ili koje volite.

That said, poetry does seem to be

Kažu da poezija može biti

especially good at certain things.

posebno korisna u određenim stvarima.

For example, we are all going to die.

Na primer, svi ćemo mi umreti.

Poetry can help us live with that.

Poezija nam pomaže da živimo sa tim.

Poems are made of words, nothing but words.

Pesme su sačinjene od reči, ništa sem reči.

The particulars in poems are like

Pojedinosti u pesmama su kao

the particularities, the personalities,

osobenosti, ličnosti

that distinguish people from one another.

koje razdvajaju jednog čoveka od drugog.

Poems are easy to share, easy to pass on,

Pesme je lako deliti, prenositi

and when you read a poem, you can imagine

i kada čitate pesmu, vi možete zamisliti

someone's speaking to you or for you,

nekog kako vam priča ili radi za vas,

maybe even someone far away

možda čak i neko ko je daleko

or someone made up or someone deceased.

ili neko ko je izmišljen ili neko ko je preminuo.

That's why we can go to poems when we want to

Eto zašto se možemo vratiti pesmama kada želimo

remember something or someone,

da upamtimo nešto ili nekog,

to celebrate or to look beyond death

da slavimo ili pogledamo izvan smrti

or to say goodbye,

ili da se oprostimo.

and that's one reason poems can seem important,

To je razlog zbog kog pesme mogu izgledati važne

even to people who aren't me,

čak i ljudima koji nisu poput mene,

who don't so much live in a world of words.

koji ne žive toliko u svetu reči.

The poet Frank O'Hara said,

Pesnik Frenk O'Hara kaže:

"If you don't need poetry, bully for you,"

,,Ako ti nije potrebna poezija, sreća tvoja."

but he also said when he didn't want to be alive anymore,

Ali je takođe kazao da kada je hteo da umre,

the thought that he wouldn't write any more poems

pomisao da više ne bi pisao pesme

had stopped him.

ga je sprečila u tome.

Poetry helps me want to be alive,

Poezija mi pomaže da živim

and I want to show you why by showing you how,

i želim da vam objasnim zašto je to tako pokazujući vam kako

how a couple of poems react to the fact that

se par pesama odražava na činjenicu

we're alive in one place at one time in one culture,

da smo u jednom trenutku živi na jednom mestu i u jednoj kulturi,

and in another we won't be alive at all.

a u drugom nećemo biti živi uopšte.

So here's one of the first poems I memorized.

Evo jedne od prvih pesama koju sam upamtio.

It could address a child or an adult.

Može se odnositi i na dete i na odraslu osobu.

"From far, from eve and morning

Iz daljine, od noći do jutra,

From yon twelve-winded sky,

sa neba dvanaest vetrova,

The stuff of life to knit me

stvari od kojih sam sazdan,

Blew hither; here am I.

duvaju tamo, ovde sam ja.

Now — for a breath I tarry

Sad, za dah koji zadržavam

Nor yet disperse apart —

koji još uvek ispustio nisam

Take my hand quick and tell me,

uhvati me brzo za ruku i reci mi

What have you in your heart.

šta u srcu obitava tvom.

Speak now, and I will answer;

Reci sad i ja ću ti kazati

How shall I help you, say;

Ti mi kaži kako da pomognem tebi ja,

Ere to the wind's twelve quarters

pre dvanaest četvrti vetra

I take my endless way."

Krenuću putem beskraja

[A. E. Housman]

[A. E. Housman]

Now, this poem has appealed

Sad, ova pesma se dopala

to science fiction writers.

autorima naučne fantastike.

It's furnished at least three science fiction titles,

Ispunila je najmanje tri naslova dela naučne fantastike.

I think because it says poems can brings us news

Mislim da je to tako zato što se kaže da nam pesme donose novosti

from the future or the past

iz budućnosti ili prošlosti

or across the world,

ili širom sveta

because their patterns can seem to tell you

zato što nam se čini da nam njihovi šabloni mogu kazati

what's in somebody's heart.

šta u nečijem srcu obitava.

It says poems can bring people together temporarily,

Kaže se da pesme mogu privremeno spojiti ljude,

which I think is true,

što mislim da je tačno

and it sticks in my head not just because it rhymes

i ne zadržava mi se to u glavi samo zato što se rimuje,

but for how it rhymes,

nego kako se rimuje,

cleanly and simply on the two and four,

jasno i jednostavno na dva i četiri -

"say" and "way,"

..kaži" i ,,put"

with anticipatory hints on the one and three,

sa naznakama predosećanja na prvom i trećem -

"answer" and "quarters,"

,,odgovor" i ,,četvrtine"

as if the poem itself were coming together.

kao da je i sama pesma proradila.

It plays up the fact that we die

To stvarno preuveličava činjenicu da umiremo

by exaggerating the speed of our lives.

preterujući sa tempom življenja.

A few years on Earth become

Nekoliko godina na Zemlji postaje

one speech, one breath.

jedna beseda, jedan dah.

It's a poem about loneliness --

To je pesma o usamljenosti

the "I" in the poem feels no connection will last —

- ,,Ja" u pesmi oseća da neće biti povezanosti koja će trajati

and it might look like a plea for help

i to može izgledati kao poziv u pomoć

'til you get to the word "help,"

dok ne naiđete na reč ,,pomoć",

gde je ovo ,,Ja" koje vam dolazi u susret uzimajući vas za ruku

where this "I" facing you, taking your hand,

is more like a teacher or a genie,

više poput učitelja, duha

or at least that's what he wants to believe.

ili pak ono u šta on veruje.

It would not be the first time a poet had

Ne bi bio prvi put da je pesnik

written the poem that he wanted to hear.

napisao pesmu onakvu kakvu je želeo da čuje.

Now, this next poem really changed

Sad, naredna pesma je stvarno izmenila

what I liked and what I read

ono što sam voleo i čitao

and what I felt I could read as an adult.

i što sam slutio da može čitati odrasla osoba.

It might not make any sense to you

Možda vam ona neće imati nikakvog smisla

if you haven't seen it before.

ako je niste pročitali ranije.

"The Garden"

,,Bašta"

"Oleander: coral

Oleander: koralno crvena boja

from lipstick ads in the 50's.

na reklamama za šminku iz pedesetih.

Fruit of the tree of such knowledge

Plod sa drveta takvog znanja.

To smack (thin air)

Cmoknuti (kratak uzdah)

meaning kiss or hit.

što znači poljubiti ili udariti.

It appears

Pojavljuje se

in the guise of outworn usages

prerušeno u zastarele izraze

because we are bad?

zato što smo mi loši?

Big masculine threat,

Velika muška pretnja,

insinuating and slangy."

insinuacijski i slengom rečeno.

[Rae Armantrout]

[Rej Armantrot]

Now, I found this poem in an anthology

Sad, pronašao sam ovu pesmu u antologiji

of almost equally confusing poems in 1989.

podjednako zbunjujućih pesama 1989. godine.

Tad sam čuo da se radilo o ovim skandaloznim piscima

I just heard that there were these scandalous writers

called Language poets who didn't make any sense,

zvanim ,,poetama jezika", što mi nije imalo smisla.

and I wanted to go and see for myself what they were like,

Želeo sam da odem i vidim sam kakvi su oni

i neki od njih po meni nisu uradili mnogo,

and some of them didn't do much for me,

but this writer, Rae Armantrout,

ali je spisateljica Rej Armantrot

did an awful lot, and I kept reading her

napisala užasno mnogo i nastavio sam da je čitam

until I felt I knew what was going on,

dokle nisam osetio o čemu se radilo,

as I do with this poem.

kao i sa ovom pesmom.

It's about the Garden of Eden and the Fall

Radi se o bašti raja i padu

and the Biblical story of the Fall,

i biblijskoj priči o padu

in which sex as we know it

u kojoj se seks, kao što znamo,

and death and guilt

smrt i krivica

come into the world at the same time.

pojavljuju u svetu u isto vreme.

It's also about how appearances deceive,

Takođe se radi o tome kako izgled vara,

how our culture can sweep us along

kako nas naša kultura tera

into doing and saying things we didn't intend

da radimo i govorimo stvari koje nismo nameravali

or don't like, and Armantrout's style

ili nismo voleli, ali stil Armantrotove

is trying to help us stop or slow down.

pokušava da nam pomogne da se zaustavimo ili usporimo.

"Smack" can mean "kiss" as in air kisses,

,,Cmoknuti" može značiti ,,poljubiti" kao pri pozdravljanju

as in lip-smacking,

ili cmoktanju,

but that can lead to "smack" as in "hit"

ali nas to može navesti da ,,cmoknuti" znači ,,udariti"

as in domestic abuse,

kada se radi o zlostavljanju u porodici

because sexual attraction can seem threatening.

zato što seksualna privlačnost može izgledati preteće.

The red that means fertility

Crvena boja koja simbolizuje plodnost

can also mean poison.

može označavati otrov.

Oleander is poisonous.

Oleander je otrovan.

And outworn usages like "smack" for "kiss"

Zastarele upotrebe poput ,,cmoknuti" za ,,poljubiti"

or "hit" can help us see

ili udariti nam mogu pomoći da uvidimo

how our unacknowledged assumptions

kako nas naše neprihvaćene prepostavke

can make us believe we are bad,

mogu navesti da poverujemo da smo loši

either because sex is sinful

zato što je ili seks grešan

or because we tolerate so much sexism.

ili zato što smo mnogo tolerantni prema seksizmu.

We let guys tell women what to do.

Mi dopuštamo momcima da govore ženama šta treba da rade.

The poem reacts to old lipstick ads,

Pesma reaguje na stare reklame za karmin,

and its edginess about statement,

njena uznemirenost zbog sadržaja reklama,

its reversals and halts, have everything to do

njeni preokreti i zastajanja se odnose na

with resisting the language of ads

suprotstavljanje jeziku reklama

that want to tell us so easily what to want,

koje žele da nam olako kažu šta želimo,

what to do, what to think.

šta da radimo i mislimo.

That resistance is a lot of the point of the poem,

Otpor predstavlja u velikoj meri smisao ove pesme

which shows me, Armantrout shows me

koja mi pokazuje, Armantrotova mi pokazuje,

what it's like to hear grave threats

šta znači čuti smrtonosne pretnje

and mortal dishonesty in the language

i smrtničko nepoštenje u jeziku

of everyday life, and once she's done that,

svakodnevice. I kada je to jednom uradila,

I think she can show other people, women and men,

smatram da ona može pokazati drugim ljudima, ženama i muškarcima,

what it's like to feel that way

šta znači osećati se tako

and say to other people, women and men

i reći drugim ljudima, ženama i muškarcima,

who feel so alienated or so threatened

koji osećaju da su veoma otuđeni ili ugroženi

that they're not alone.

da nisu sami.

Now, how do I know that I'm right

Sad, kako znam da sam u pravu

about this somewhat confusing poem?

u vezi sa ovom pomalo zbunjujućom pesmom?

Well in this case, I emailed the poet a draft of my talk

U ovom slučaju sam poslao pesnikinji nacrt mog govora

and she said, "Yeah, yeah, that's about it."

i ona je kazala: ,,Da, da, o tome se radi."

Yeah. (Laughter) (Applause)

Da. (Smeh) (Aplauz)

But usually, you can't know. You never know.

Obično ne znate. Nikada ne znate.

You can't be sure, and that's okay.

Ne možete biti sigurni i to je u redu.

All we can do we is listen to poems

Možemo samo da slušamo pesme,

and look at poems and guess

gledamo u njih, nagađamo,

and see if they can bring us what we need,

gledamo da li nam mogu doneti ono što nam je potrebno

and if you're wrong about some part of a poem,

i ako nismo u pravu u vezi sa nekim delom pesme,

nothing bad will happen.

ništa se neće loše dogoditi.

Now, this next poem is older than Armantrout's,

Sad, naredna pesma je starija od Armantrotove,

but a little younger than A. E. Housman's.

ali malo mlađa od pesme A. E. Hausmana.

"The Brave Man"

,,Hrabri čovek"

"The sun, that brave man,

,,Sunce, taj hrabri čovek,

Comes through boughs that lie in wait,

prolazi kroz granje što jeste

That brave man.

taj hrabri čovek.

Green and gloomy eyes

Zelene i sumorne oči

In dark forms of the grass

u crnim obrisima trave

Run away.

su pobegle.

The good stars,

Dobre zvezde,

Pale helms and spiky spurs,

sjajni šlemovi i oštre mamuze

Run away.

su pobegli.

Fears of my bed,

Strahovi od moje postelje,

Fears of life and fears of death,

strahovi od života i strahovi od smrti

Run away.

su pobegli.

That brave man comes up

Taj hrabri čovek se pojavio

From below and walks without meditation,

iz dubine i hoda ne razmišljajući

That brave man."

Taj hrabri čovek."

[Wallace Stevens]

[Volas Stivens]

Now, the sun in this poem,

Sad, sunce u ovoj pesmi,

in Wallace Stevens' poem, seems so grave

u pesmi Volasa Stivensa, izgleda tako ozbiljno

because the person in the poem is so afraid.

zato što je lik u ovoj pesmi veoma uplašen.

The sun comes up in the morning through branches,

Sunce se ujutru probija kroz granje,

dispels the dew, the eyes, on the grass,

rasteruje rosu i kapljice na travi,

and defeats stars envisioned as armies.

pobeđuje zvezde zamišljene kao armije.

"Brave" has its old sense of showy

,,Hrabri" nosi svoje staro značenje blistavog.

as well as its modern sense, courage.

kao i svoje savremeno značenje hrabrosti.

This sun is not afraid to show his face.

Sunce se ne boji da pokaže svoje lice.

But the person in the poem is afraid.

Ali lik u pesmi je uplašen.

He might have been up all night.

Možda je bio na nogama cele noći.

That is the reveal Stevens saves for that fourth stanza,

To je obelodanjenje Stiven sačuvao za četvrtu strofu,

where run away has become a refrain.

gde je beg postalo uzdržavanje.

This person might want to run away too,

Lik možda želi da takođe pobegne,

but fortified by the sun's example,

ali okuražen sunčevim primerom,

he might just rise.

možda se samo uzdigne.

Stevens saves that sonically odd word "meditation"

Stivens je sačuvao tu po zvuku čudnu reč ,,meditacija"

for the end.

za kraj.

Unlike the sun, human beings think.

Za razliku od sunca, ljudska bića razmišljaju.

We meditate on past and future, life and death,

Mi posredujemo između prošlosti i budućnosti, života i smrti,

above and below.

ispod i iznad.

And it can make us afraid.

Može nas to zastrašiti.

Poems, the patterns in poems,

Pesme, njeni šabloni,

show us not just what somebody thought

ne pokazuju nam samo kako neko razmišlja,

or what someone did or what happened

šta je neko uradio ili šta se dogodilo,

but what it was like to be a person like that,

nego kako je bilo biti osoba poput te,

to be so anxious, so lonely, so inquisitive,

biti veoma očajan, usamljen, ljubopitljiv,

so goofy, so preposterous, so brave.

smešan, za podsmeh, hrabar.

That's why poems can seem at once so durable,

Zato pesme mogu odjednom izgledati veoma trajno,

so personal, and so ephemeral,

lično, efemerno,

like something inside and outside you at once.

poput nečeg što je istovremeno u vama i izvan vas.

The Scottish poet Denise Riley compares poetry

Škotski pesnik Denis Rajli poredi poeziju

to a needle, a sliver of outside I cradle inside,

sa iglom, mrvicom spoljašnosti koju sam unutra ljuljao,

and the American poet Terrance Hayes

a američki pesnik Terens Hejz

wrote six poems called "Wind in a Box."

je napisao šest pesama koje se zovu ,,Vetar u kutiji".

One of them asks, "Tell me,

U jedoj od njih pita: ,,Kaži mi

what am I going to do when I'm dead?"

šta ću ja činiti kada budem umro?"

And the answer is that he'll stay with us

A odgovor je da će on ostati sa nama

or won't stay with us inside us as wind,

ili neće ostati u nama poput vetra,

as air, as words.

vazduha i reči.

It is easier than ever to find poems

Lakše je nego ikad pronaći pesme

that might stay inside you, that might stay with you,

koje možda ostaju u vama, koje su sa vama

from long, long ago, or from right this minute,

odvajkada ili od upravo ovog minuta,

from far away or from right close to where you live,

iz dalekog mesta ili nekog koji je veoma blizu onog u kom živite,

almost no matter where you live.

bez obzira na to gde živite.

Poems can help you say, help you show how you're feeling,

Pesme vam mogu pomoći da kažete, da vam pokažu kako se osećate,

but they can also introduce you

ali vas takođe mogu upoznati

to feelings, ways of being in the world,

sa osećanjima, načinima bivstvovanja u svetu,

people, very much unlike you,

ljudima koji su veoma različiti od vas

maybe even people from long, long ago.

možda sa ljudima iz davne prošlosti.

Some poems even tell you

Neke pesme vam čak i kažu

that that is what they can do.

da je to ono što one mogu da učine.

That's what John Keats is doing

To je ono što Džon Kits čini

in his most mysterious, perhaps, poem.

u svojoj, verovatno, najmisterioznijoj pesmi.

It's mysterious because it's probably unfinished,

Misteriozna je zato što je verovatno nedovršena.

he probably left it unfinished,

Verovatno ju je on ostavio nedovršenom

and because it might be meant

i zato što je možda namenjena

for a character in a play,

liku u predstavi, ali to može biti

but it might just be Keats' thinking

samo Kitsovo razmišljanje

about what his own writing,

o svom vlastitom delu,

his handwriting, could do,

njegovom rukopisu, moglo bi biti,

and in it I hear, at least I hear, mortality,

a u njemu čujem, makar ja, smrtnost

and I hear the power of older poetic techniques,

i moć starih pesničkih tehnika

and I have the feeling, you might have the feeling,

i imam osećaj, možda i vi imate osećaj,

of meeting even for an instant, almost becoming,

susreta sa nekim samo na tren, gotovo prikladno

someone else from long ago,

nekim drugim iz davne prošlosti,

someone quite memorable.

nekim koga vredi upamtiti.

"This living hand, now warm and capable

Ova živa ruka, sad topla i sposobna

Of earnest grasping, would, if it were cold

za najozbiljnija poduhvate bi, kada bi bila hladna

And in the icy silence of the tomb,

i nalazila se u ledenoj tišini grobnice,

So haunt thy days and chill thy dreaming nights

pohodila bi ove dane i vaše noći ispunjene snovima.

That thou would wish thine own heart dry of blood

Tada bi poželeli da vam vlastito srce bude suvo i bez krvi.

So in my veins red life might stream again,

U mojim venama će možda crveni život teći ponovo

And thou be conscience-calm’d -- see here it is --

vaša svest umirena - evo ga,

I hold it towards you."

držim ga pred vama.

Thanks.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)