Billy Collins: Everyday moments, caught in time

Prevodilac: Miljana Stojanovic Lektor: Branislav Ivkovic

I'm here to give you

Bili Kolins: Ovde sam da se pobrinem

your recommended dietary allowance

za Vašu preporučenu dijetalnu dozu

of poetry.

poezije.

And the way I'm going to do that

Učiniću to tako

is present to you

što ću Vam pokazati

five animations

pet animacija

of five of my poems.

pet mojih pesama.

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

Ali dopustite da Vam najpre ispričam ukratko kako je do toga došlo.

Because the mixing of those two media

Jer kombinovanje ova dva medija

is a sort of unnatural or unnecessary act.

je donekle neprirodan ili nepotreban čin.

But when I was United States Poet Laureate --

Ali kada sam bio pesnik - laureat SAD,

and I love saying that.

a volim da pominjem to.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

It's a great way to start sentences.

To je odličan način da započnete rečenicu.

When I was him back then,

Kada sam bio taj u ono vreme,

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

kontaktirala me je reklamna agencija Džej Valter Tomson,

and they were hired

a njih je unajmio

sort of by the Sundance Channel.

Sandens Kanal, na neki način.

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

Njihova ideja je bila da ja snimim neke od svojih pesama,

and then they would find animators

a oni bi onda našli animatore

to animate them.

da ih animiraju.

And I was initially resistant,

U početku sam se opirao,

because I always think

jer sam oduvek mislio

poetry can stand alone by itself.

da poezija može da stoji sama.

Attempts to put my poems to music

Pokušaji da se moje pesme pretvore u muziku

have had disastrous results,

dali su katastrofalne rezultate,

in all cases.

svaki put.

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

Pesma, ako je pisana sa sluhom,

already has been set to its own verbal music

je tako komponovana

as it was composed.

da već ima sopstvenu verbalnu muziku.

And surely, if you're reading a poem

A sasvim je sigurno da, ako čitate pesmu

that mentions a cow,

u kojoj se pominje krava,

you don't need on the facing page

nije potrebno da na susednoj stranici

a drawing of a cow.

vidite nacrtanu kravu.

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

Mislim, pustimo čitaoca da sam nešto uradi.

But I relented because it seemed like an interesting possibility,

Ipak sam pristao, zato što mi se to učinilo kao zanimljiva prilika

and also I'm like a total cartoon junkie

i zato što sam potpuni zaluđenik za crtaće

since childhood.

još od detinjstva.

I think more influential

Čini mi se da su više uticaja

than Emily Dickinson or Coleridge or Wordsworth

od Emili Dikinson ili Kolridža ili Vordsvorta

on my imagination

na moju maštu

were Warner Brothers, Merrie Melodies

imali Vorner bros, Meri melodis

and Loony Tunes cartoons.

i Luni tuns crtaći.

Bugs Bunny is my muse.

Duško Dugouško je moja muza.

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

A ovo je način da poezija dospe čak i na televiziju.

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

Ja sam veliki pobornik prikazivanja poezije na javnim mestima -

poetry on buses, poetry on subways,

poezija u autobusima, u metrou,

on billboards, on cereal boxes.

na bilbordima, na kutiji pahuljica.

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

Kada sam bio pesnik - laureat, eto ponovo to pominjem...

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

šta ću, istina je...

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I created a poetry channel on Delta Airlines

pokrenuo sam kanal sa poezijom na letovima kompanije Delta,

that lasted for a couple of years.

koji je postojao par godina.

So you could tune into poetry as you were flying.

Tako da ste mogli da slušate poeziju dok letite.

And my sense is,

Moj utisak je

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

da je dobro skinuti poeziju sa polica

and more into public life.

i uključiti je više u svakodnevni život.

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

Započnite sastanak jednom pesmom. Tu biste ideju mogli primeniti.

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

Kada je pesma na bilbordu, na radiju

or on a cereal box or whatever,

ili na kutiji od pahuljica ili bilo gde,

it happens to you so suddenly

desi Vam se tako iznenadno

that you don't have time

da nemate vremena

to deploy your anti-poetry deflector shields

da se sakrijete iza štitova svoje protiv-pesničke odbrane

that were installed in high school.

koje ste razvili u srednjoj školi.

So let us start with the first one.

Hajde da počnemo sa prvom pesmom.

It's a little poem called "Budapest,"

Ta mala pesma zove se "Budimpešta",

and in it I reveal,

a u njoj otkrivam,

or pretend to reveal,

tačnije pretvaram se da otkrivam,

the secrets of the creative process.

tajne kreativnog procesa.

(Video) Narration: "Budapest."

(Video) Naracija: "Budimpešta"

My pen moves along the page

Moje pero šeta po listu

like the snout of a strange animal

kao njuška neke čudne 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,

Posmatram kako njuška papir bez prestanka,

intent as any forager

namere kao u svakog proždrljivca

that has nothing on its mind

koji ne misli ni na šta

but the grubs and insects

sem na crve i insekte,

that will allow it to live another day.

potrebne da preživi još jedan dan.

It wants only to be here tomorrow,

Želi samo da bude tu i sutra,

dressed perhaps

obučeno recimo

in the sleeve of a plaid shirt,

u rukav kakve karirane košulje,

nose pressed against the page,

nosa priljubljenog uz list,

writing a few more dutiful lines

i napiše još par predanih redova

while I gaze out the window

dok ja zurim kroz prozor

and imagine Budapest

i zamišljam Budimpeštu

or some other city

ili neki drugi grad

where I have never been.

u kome nikad nisam bio.

BC: So that makes it seem a little easier.

BK: Eto, tako zvuči malo lakše.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Writing is not actually as easy as that for me.

Pisanje meni nije toliko lako, zapravo.

But I like to pretend that it comes with ease.

Ali volim da se pretvaram da pišem s lakoćom.

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

Jedna studentkinja mi je prišla posle časa, na kursu za početnike,

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

i rekla: "Znate, poezija je teža od pisanja",

which I found both erroneous and profound.

što mi se učinilo u isti mah netačno i mudro.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

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

Dakle, volim da se makar pretvaram da to jednostavno teče.

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

Jedan moj prijatelj voli da kaže, on je takođe pesnik,

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

On kaže da, "ako isprva ne uspeš,

hide all evidence you ever tried."

sakrij sve dokaze da si ikad i pokušao".

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

The next poem is also rather short.

Sledeća pesma je takođe dosta kratka.

Poetry just says a few things in different ways.

Poezija samo govori nekoliko stvari na različite načine.

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

Mislim da se ova pesma može svesti na izreku:

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

"Ima dana kada ti pojedeš medveda, ima dana kada medved pojede tebe".

And it uses the imagery

Koristi sliku

of dollhouse furniture.

nameštaja iz kućica za lutke.

(Video) Narration: "Some Days."

(Video) Naracija: Ima dana

Some days

Ima dana

I put the people in their places at the table,

kada stavim ljude na njihova mesta za stolom,

bend their legs at the knees,

savijem im noge u kolenima,

if they come with that feature,

ako poseduju tu funkciju,

and fix them into the tiny wooden chairs.

i posadim ih na majušne drvene stolice.

All afternoon they face one another,

Čitavo popodne zure jedni u druge,

the man in the brown suit,

čovek u braon odelu,

the woman in the blue dress --

žena u plavoj haljini...

perfectly motionless, perfectly behaved.

savršeno nepomični, savršeno uljudni.

But other days I am the one

Ali ima dana kada sam ja taj

who is lifted up by the ribs

koga podignu za rebra visoko

then lowered into the dining room of a dollhouse

pa spuste u trpezariju kućice za lutke

to sit with the others at the long table.

da sedim sa ostalima za dugim stolom.

Very funny.

Baš smešno.

But how would you like it

Ali kako bi se tebi dopalo da

if you never knew from one day to the next

nikad ne znaš danas, nećeš li sutra

if you were going to spend it

provesti dan

striding around like a vivid god,

šepureći se kao sam bog,

your shoulders in the clouds,

sa ramenima među oblacima,

or sitting down there

ili sedeći tamo dole

amidst the wallpaper

okružen tapetama

staring straight ahead

buljeći pravo ispred sebe

with your little plastic face?

malog plastičnog lica?

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

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

BK: Ovde negde krije se scenario za horor film.

The next poem is called forgetfulness,

Sledeća pesma se zove "Zaboravnost",

and it's really just a kind of poetic essay

to je zapravo neka vrsta poetskog eseja

on the subject of mental slippage.

na temu mentalnog zamračenja.

And the poem begins

Pesma počinje pričom

with a certain species of forgetfulness

o određenoj vrsti zaboravnosti

that someone called

koju neki zovu

literary amnesia,

literarna amnezija,

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

drugim rečima, zaboravljate stvari koje ste pročitali.

(Video) Narration: "Forgetfulness."

(Video) Naracija: "Zaboravnost"

The name of the author is the first to go,

Ime pisca odlazi prvo,

followed obediently

slede ga poslušno

by the title, the plot,

naslov, radnja,

the heartbreaking conclusion,

srceparajući rasplet,

the entire novel,

čitav roman

which suddenly becomes one you have never read,

odjednom postaje neki koji nikada nisi čitao,

never even heard of.

za koji nikada nisi ni čuo.

It is as if, one by one,

Kao da su, jedno za drugim,

the memories you used to harbor

sećanja koja si nekad gajio

decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain

odlučila da se povuku u južnu hemisferu mozga

to a little fishing village

u malo ribarsko selo

where there are no phones.

u kome nema telefona.

Long ago,

Odavno si

you kissed the names of the nine muses good-bye

rekao zbogom imenima svih devet muza

and you watched the quadratic equation

i pomogao kvadratnoj jednačini

pack its bag.

da spakuje svoje kofere.

And even now,

Čak i sada,

as you memorize the order of the planets,

dok učiš redosled planeta,

something else is slipping away,

nešto drugo ti izmiče,

a state flower perhaps,

možda ime državnog cveta,

the address of an uncle,

adresa nekog strica,

the capital of Paraguay.

glavni grad Paragvaja.

Whatever it is

Šta god da je

you are struggling to remember,

čega ne možeš da se setiš

it is not poised on the tip of your tongue,

ne stoji ti na vrhu jezika,

not even lurking

i ne krije se čak

in some obscure corner

ni u nekoj tamnoj komori

of your spleen.

tvoga srca.

It has floated away

Sve je otplovilo

down a dark mythological river

niz mračnu mitološku reku

whose name begins with an L

čije ime počinje na L

as far as you can recall,

koliko uspevaš da se setiš,

well on your own way to oblivion

odmakao na svom putu ka zaboravu

where you will join those

pridružićeš se onima

who have forgotten even how to swim

koji su zaboravili da plivaju,

and how to ride a bicycle.

čak i da voze bicikl.

No wonder you rise in the middle of the night

Nije ni čudo što ustaješ u sred noći

to look up the date of a famous battle

da tražiš ime čuvene bitke

in a book on war.

u knjizi o ratu.

No wonder the Moon in the window

Nije ni čudo što Mesec na prozoru

seems to have drifted out of a love poem

kao da se išunjao iz ljubavne pesme

that you used to know by heart.

koju si nekad znao napamet.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

BC: The next poem is called "The Country"

BK: Sledeća pesma se zove "Selo"

and it's based on,

i insiprisana je,

when I was in college

kada sam bio na fakultetu

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

upoznao sam jednog kolegu koji mi je ostao prijatelj

He lived, and still does, in rural Vermont.

On je živeo, i dalje živi, u ruralnom delu Vermonta.

I lived in New York City.

Ja sam živeo u Njujorku.

And we would visit each other.

Posećivali smo se.

And when I would go up to the country,

Kada bih ja išao kod njega na selo,

he would teach me things like deer hunting,

on bi me učio stvarima kao što je lov na jelene,

which meant getting lost with a gun basically --

što je praktično značilo lutanje šumom sa puškom u ruci...

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

and trout fishing and stuff like that.

i pecanju pastrmki i takvim stvarima.

And then he'd come down to New York City

A kada bi on došao u Njujork,

and I'd teach him what I knew,

ja bih njega učio onome što ja znam,

which was largely smoking and drinking.

a to se u glavnom svodilo na alkohol i cigarete.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

And in that way we traded lore with each other.

Na taj način smo razmenjivali znanja.

The poem that's coming up

Sledeća pesma

is based on him trying to tell me a little something

inspirisana je njegovim pokušajem da me nauči ponešto

about a domestic point of etiquette

o domaćinskim pravilima

in country living

života na selu

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

koja su za mene u početku bila dosta komlikovana.

It's called "The Country."

Zove se "Selo".

(Video) Narration: "The Country."

(Video) Naracija: Selo

I wondered about you

Zbunio si me

when you told me never to leave

kad si mi rekao da nikad ne ostavljam

a box of wooden strike-anywhere matches

kutiju šibica koje pale o sve

just lying around the house,

bilo gde po kući,

because the mice might get into them

jer bi miš mogao da uđe u nju

and start a fire.

i izazove požar.

But your face was absolutely straight

Ali tvoje je lice bilo potpuno mirno

when you twisted the lid down

kada si odvrnuo poklopac

on the round tin

ovalne konzerve

where the matches, you said, are always stowed.

gde se šibice, kazao si, uvek čuvaju.

Who could sleep that night?

Ko da zaspi te noći?

Who could whisk away the thought

Ko da odagna sliku

of the one unlikely mouse

jednog malo verovatnog miša

padding along a cold water pipe

koji hoda po hladnoj vodovodnoj cevi

behind the floral wallpaper,

iza cvetnih tapeta,

gripping a single wooden match

stežući čvrsto jednu drvenu šibicu

between the needles of his teeth?

među svojim igličastim zubima?

Who could not see him rounding a corner,

Ko ga ne bi zamišljao kako zavija za ugao,

the blue tip scratching against rough-hewn beam,

plavi vrh kresne o hrapavu gredu,

the sudden flare

iznenadni blesak

and the creature, for one bright, shining moment,

i stvorenje, na jedan blistav i sjajan trenutak,

suddenly thrust ahead of his time --

gurnuto naglo ispred svog vremena...

now a fire-starter,

sada on izaziva požar

now a torch-bearer

sada on nosi baklju

in a forgotten ritual,

u zaboravljenom obredu,

little brown druid

mali smeđi druid

illuminating some ancient night?

koji osvetljava neku davnu noć?

And who could fail to notice,

I kome ne bi privukli pažnju

lit up in the blazing insulation,

osvetljeni izolacijom u plamenu

the tiny looks of wonderment

majušni izrazi čuđenja

on the faces of his fellow mice --

na licima njegovih drugova miševa...

one-time inhabitants

nekadašnjih stanovnika

of what once was your house in the country?

onoga što je jednom bila tvoja kuća na selu?

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

BC: Thank you.

BK: Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

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

Hvala. I poslednja pesma zove se "Mrtvi".

I wrote this after a friend's funeral,

Napisao sam je nakon sahrane jednog prijatelja,

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

ali ne toliko o njemu konkretno, već o nečemu što je sveštenik ponavljao,

as all eulogists tend to do,

što svi sveštenici vole da ponavljaju,

which is how happy the deceased would be

a to je koliko bi srećan pokojnik bio

to look down and see all of us assembled.

kada bi pogledao dole i video nas tu okupljene.

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

To mi se učinilo kao loš početak zagrobnog života,

having to witness your own funeral and feel gratified.

da vidim sopstvenu sahranu i da budem srećan zbog toga.

So the little poem is called "The Dead."

Ova mala pesma se zove "Mrtvi".

(Video) Narration: "The Dead."

(Video) Naracija: "Mrtvi"

The dead are always looking down on us,

Mrtvi nas uvek gledaju odozgo,

they say.

tako kažu.

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

Dok obuvamo cipele ili pravimo sendvič,

they are looking down

gledaju odozgo

through the glass-bottom boats of heaven

kroz staklena dna čamaca iz raja

as they row themselves slowly

dok veslaju lagano

through eternity.

kroz večnost.

They watch the tops of our heads

Posmatraju nam teme

moving below on Earth.

dok se šetamo dole na Zemlji.

And when we lie down

I kada ležimo

in a field or on a couch,

na livadi ili na kauču,

drugged perhaps

omamljeni možda

by the hum of a warm afternoon,

šumom toplog popodneva,

they think we are looking back at them,

misle da i mi gledamo njih,

which makes them lift their oars

i zato podižu vesla

and fall silent

i sasvim su tihi

and wait like parents

i bde kao roditelji čekajući

for us to close our eyes.

da zatvorimo oči.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

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

BK: Ne znam zasigurno da li ćemo animirati i ostale pesme.

It took a long time --

Trajalo je dosta dugo...

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

Mislim, dosta je neuobičajen ovaj spoj...

a long time to put those two together.

trebalo nam je puno vremena da povežemo ta dva.

But then again, it took us a long time

Ali opet, trebalo nam je puno vremena

to put the wheel and the suitcase together.

da povežemo točak i kofer.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I mean, we had the wheel for some time.

Mislim, odavno imamo točak.

And schlepping is an ancient and honorable art.

A šlepanje jeste drevna i časna veština.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I just have time

Imam vremena još samo

to read a more recent poem to you.

da Vam pročitam jednu noviju pesmu.

If it has a subject,

Ako ima neku temu,

the subject is adolescence.

onda je tema adolescencija.

And it's addressed to a certain person.

Posvećena je jednoj osobi.

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

"Mojoj omiljenoj sedamnaestogodišnjoj srednjoškolki"

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

Da li si svesna da, da si počela da gradiš Partenon

on the day you were born,

čim si se rodila,

you would be all done in only one more year?

završila bi ga za još samo godinu dana?

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

Naravno, ne bi mogla sve to da uradiš sama.

So never mind;

Tako da nema veze;

you're fine just being yourself.

dobra si ti takva kakva jesi.

You're loved for just being you.

Volimo te baš takvu kakva si.

But did you know that at your age

Ali znaš li da je u tvojim godinama

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

Džudi Garland uzimala 150 000 dolara za jedan snimak,

Joan of Arc was leading the French army to victory

Jovanka Orleanka je vodila francusku vojsku u pobedu

and Blaise Pascal had cleaned up his room --

a Blez Paskal je već počistio svoju sobu...

no wait, I mean he had invented the calculator?

ovaj, mislim, izmislio je kalkulator?

Of course, there will be time for all that

Naravno, biće vremena za sve to

later in your life,

kasnije u tvom životu,

after you come out of your room

kad izađeš iz svoje sobe

and begin to blossom,

i procvetaš,

or at least pick up all your socks.

ili makar kad pokupiš sve svoje čarape.

For some reason I keep remembering

Ne znam zašto mi stalno pada na pamet

that Lady Jane Grey was queen of England

da je Džejn Grej bila kraljica Engleske

when she was only 15.

sa samo 15 godina.

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

Ali onda je obezglavljena, tako da bolje da ne uzimamo nju kao uzor.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

A few centuries later,

Nekoliko vekova kasnije,

when he was your age,

kada je bio u tvojim godinama,

Franz Schubert was doing the dishes for his family,

Franc Šubert je prao sudove da pomogne svojima,

but that did not keep him

ali to ga nije sprečilo

from composing two symphonies, four operas

da napiše dve simfonije, četiri opere

and two complete masses as a youngster.

i dve mise kao vrlo mlad.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

But of course, that was in Austria

Ali naravno, to je bilo u Austriji,

at the height of Romantic lyricism,

na vrhuncu romantičarskog lirizma,

not here in the suburbs of Cleveland.

a ne ovde u predgrađu Klivlenda.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Frankly, who cares

Iskreno, koga je briga

if Annie Oakley was a crack shot at 15

što je Eni Oukli nepromašivo pucala sa 15 godina

or if Maria Callas debuted as Tosca at 17?

i što je Marija Kalas debitovala kao Toska sa 17?

We think you're special just being you --

Mi mislimo da si ti posebna baš takva kakva si...

playing with your food and staring into space.

dok se igraš hranom i buljiš u prazno.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

By the way,

Inače,

I lied about Schubert doing the dishes,

lagao sam da je Šubert prao sudove,

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

ali to ne znači da nije nikad pomagao po kući.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Thank you. Thank you.

Hvala Vam. Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Thanks.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)