The healing power of reading | Michelle Kuo

Translator: Miriam Loivotoki Elisha Reviewer: Nelson Simfukwe

I want to talk today about how reading can change our lives

Ninataka kuzungumza namna kusoma kunavyoweza kubadilisha maisha yetu

and about the limits of that change.

na kuhusu mipaka ya mabadiliko hayo

I want to talk to you about how reading can give us a shareable world

Ninataka kuzungumza na wewe namna kusoma kunavyoweza kutupa ulimwengu wa ushirika

of powerful human connection.

wa muunganiko wenye nguvu wa kibinadamu

But also about how that connection is always partial.

pia namna ambavyo muunganiko huo ni sehemu tu mara zote

How reading is ultimately a lonely, idiosyncratic undertaking.

Kusoma mwisho wa siku ni kitendo cha upweke na kisicho cha kawaida.

The writer who changed my life

Muandishi aliyebadilisha maisha yangu

was the great African American novelist James Baldwin.

Ni mmarekani mweusi na mwandishi wa riwaya James Baldwin

When I was growing up in Western Michigan in the 1980s,

Wakati ninakuwa katika eneo la Magharibi mwa Michigan miaka ya 1980,

there weren't many Asian American writers interested in social change.

hakukuwa na wamarekani wenye asili ya asia wengi wanaoandika kuhusu mabadiliko ya kijamii

And so I think I turned to James Baldwin

Na ndio maana nilimgeukia James Baldwin

as a way to fill this void, as a way to feel racially conscious.

kama namna ya kuliziba hili ombwe, kama namna ya kuwamakini na rangi

But perhaps because I knew I wasn't myself African American,

lakini haswa kwa sababu nilifahamu mimi sikuwa mmarekani mweusi,

I also felt challenged and indicted by his words.

Pia nilisikia kupata changamoto na kuthibitishwa na maneno yake.

Especially these words:

Hasusani maneno haya:

"There are liberals who have all the proper attitudes,

"Ni watu huria walio na mitazamo sahihi,

but no real convictions.

lakini hawana misimamo halisi.

When the chips are down and you somehow expect them to deliver,

pale ambapo vipande vipo chini na unawategemea kuleta matokeo,

they are somehow not there."

na huenda hawako hapo kwa namna fulani".

They are somehow not there.

Hawako hapo kwa namna fulani.

I took those words very literally.

Nikayachukua hayo maneno nikitafakari.

Where should I put myself?

Nijiweke wapi?

I went to the Mississippi Delta,

Nilikwenda kwenye delta ya Mississippi,

one of the poorest regions in the United States.

mojawapo ya maeneo masikini sana ya Marekani.

This is a place shaped by a powerful history.

Hii ni sehemu ambayo imejengwa na historia yenye nguvu.

In the 1960s, African Americans risked their lives to fight for education,

Katika mwaka wa 1960, Wamarekani weusi walijitoa maisha yao kupigania Elimu,

to fight for the right to vote.

kupigania haki ya kupiga kura.

I wanted to be a part of that change,

Nilitaka kuwa sehemu ya badiliko hilo,

to help young teenagers graduate and go to college.

kuwasaidia vijana wadogo wamalize shule na kujiunga na vyuo.

When I got to the Mississippi Delta,

Nilipoenda kwenye Delta ya Mississipi,

it was a place that was still poor,

Palikuwa ni mahali duni bado,

still segregated,

bado pametengwa,

still dramatically in need of change.

Bado panahitaji mabadiliko ya kasi.

My school, where I was placed,

Shule yangu, pale nilipokuwa nasoma,

had no library, no guidance counselor,

haikuwa na maktaba, hakuna mshauri,

but it did have a police officer.

lakini ilikuwa na afisa wa polisi.

Half the teachers were substitutes

Nusu ya walimu walikuwa ni mbadala

and when students got into fights,

na wanafunzi walipoingia kwenye ugomvi,

the school would send them to the local county jail.

Shule iliwapeleka kwenye jela ya mahali hapo.

This is the school where I met Patrick.

Hii ndiyo shule nilipokutana na Patrick.

He was 15 and held back twice, he was in the eighth grade.

Alikuwa na miaka 15 na alikamatwa mara mbili, alikuwa darasa la nane.

He was quiet, introspective,

Alikuwa ni mkimya na mndani,

like he was always in deep thought.

ni kama kila wakati alikuwa mwenye mawazo.

And he hated seeing other people fight.

Na alichukia kuona wengine wakipigana.

I saw him once jump between two girls when they got into a fight

Nilimuona mara moja akiruka kati ya mabinti wawili walipokuwa wakipigana

and he got himself knocked to the ground.

Na akajikuta akidondoka na kuanguka chini.

Patrick had just one problem.

Patrick alikuwa na tatizo moja.

He wouldn't come to school.

Hakuwa akifika shuleni.

He said that sometimes school was just too depressing

Alisema kuwa shule wakati mwingine humfanya kuwa na msongo

because people were always fighting and teachers were quitting.

Sababu wanafunzi hupigana mara zote na walimu wanaondoka.

And also, his mother worked two jobs and was just too tired to make him come.

Lakini pia, mama yake anafanya kazi mbili na huwa anachoka kuweza kumfanya aje shule.

So I made it my job to get him to come to school.

Hivyo nikafanya iwe kazi yangu kumfanya awe anakuja shule.

And because I was crazy and 22 and zealously optimistic,

Na sababu nilikuwa na wazimu na miaka 22 na mwenye bidii ya matumaini

my strategy was just to show up at his house

Njia yangu ilikuwa ni kwenda nyumbani kwao

and say, "Hey, why don't you come to school?"

na kusema "Eti, kwanini hauji shuleni?"

And this strategy actually worked,

Na njia hii ilifanya kazi,

he started to come to school every day.

akaanza kuja shuleni kila siku.

And he started to flourish in my class.

Na akaanza kufanikiwa katika darasa langu.

He was writing poetry, he was reading books.

Aliandika mashairi, alisoma vitabu.

He was coming to school every day.

Alikuja shuleni kila siku.

Around the same time

takriban muda ule ule

that I had figured out how to connect to Patrick,

Nilipogundua namna ya kushirikiana na Patrick,

I got into law school at Harvard.

Nilikwenda shule ya sheria Harvard.

I once again faced this question, where should I put myself,

Nilikutana tena na swali hili, nijiweke wapi,

where do I put my body?

niuweke wapi mwili wangu?

And I thought to myself

Na nikawaza mwenyewe

that the Mississippi Delta was a place where people with money,

Kuwa Mississipi Delta ni mahali ambapo watu wenye fedha,

people with opportunity,

watu wenye fursa,

those people leave.

watu hao huondoka.

And the people who stay behind

Na watu wanaobakia

are the people who don't have the chance to leave.

ni watu ambao hawana fursa ya kuondoka.

I didn't want to be a person who left.

Sikutaka kuwa mtu anayeondoka.

I wanted to be a person who stayed.

Nilitaka kuwa mtu anayebakia.

On the other hand, I was lonely and tired.

Kwa upande mwingine, nilikuwa mpweke na mchovu.

And so I convinced myself that I could do more change

Na hivyo nilijishawishi mwenyewe kuwa ninaweza kufanya mabadiliko

on a larger scale if I had a prestigious law degree.

Kwa kiasi kikubwa kama ningekuwa na shahada yenye heshima ya sheria.

So I left.

Hivyo nikaondoka.

Three years later,

Miaka mitatu baadaye,

when I was about to graduate from law school,

Nilipokaribia kuhitimu shule ya sheria,

my friend called me

rafiki yangu alinipigia simu

and told me that Patrick had got into a fight and killed someone.

na kuniambia kuwa Patrick amepigana na kuua mtu.

I was devastated.

Nilitaharuki.

Part of me didn't believe it,

Sehemu ya mimi haikuamini,

but part of me also knew that it was true.

na sehemu ya mimi pia iliamini kuwa ni kweli.

I flew down to see Patrick.

Nilisafiri kwenda kumuona Patrick.

I visited him in jail.

Nilimtembelea gerezani.

And he told me that it was true.

Na aliniambia kuwa ilikuwa kweli.

That he had killed someone.

Ya kwamba ameua mtu.

And he didn't want to talk more about it.

Na asingependa kuzungumzia suala hilo.

I asked him what had happened with school

Nilimuuliza nini kiliendelea kuhusu shule

and he said that he had dropped out the year after I left.

na akasema aliacha shule mwaka mooja baada ya mimi kuondoka.

And then he wanted to tell me something else.

Na alitaka kuniambia kuhusu kitu kingine

He looked down and he said that he had had a baby daughter

Alitazama chini akasema ya kwamba amepata mtoto wa kike

who was just born.

ambaye ndiye kwanza amezaliwa.

And he felt like he had let her down.

Na anahisi kuwa amemuangusha binti yake.

That was it, our conversation was rushed and awkward.

Hivyo ndivyo ilivyokuwa, mazungumzo yetu yalikuwa ya haraka na mabaya.

When I stepped outside the jail, a voice inside me said,

Nilipotoka nje ya gereza, sauti ndani yangu iliniambia,

"Come back.

"Rudi.

If you don't come back now, you'll never come back."

Usiporudi sasa, hutarudi kamwe".

So I graduated from law school and I went back.

Hivyo nikahitimu shule ya sheria na nikarudi.

I went back to see Patrick,

Nikarudi kumuona Patrick,

I went back to see if I could help him with his legal case.

Nikarudi kuona kama ninaweza kumsaidia na kesi yake ya sheria.

And this time, when I saw him a second time,

Muda huu, nilipomuona kwa mara ya pili,

I thought I had this great idea, I said,

Nilidhani nina hili wazo zuri, nikamwambia,

"Hey, Patrick, why don't you write a letter to your daughter,

"Hey, Patrick, kwanini usiandike barua kwa binti yako,

so that you can keep her on your mind?"

ili uweze kumuweka katika fikra zako?"

And I handed him a pen and a piece of paper,

Nikampatia kalamu na kipande cha karatasi,

and he started to write.

na akaanza kuandika.

But when I saw the paper that he handed back to me,

Lakini nilipoiona karatasi aliyonipatia,

I was shocked.

Nilipigwa na butwaa.

I didn't recognize his handwriting,

Sikuutambua mwandiko wake,

he had made simple spelling mistakes.

alikuwa amefanya makosa machache ya matamshi.

And I thought to myself that as a teacher,

na nikawaza mwenyewe kama mwalimu,

I knew that a student could dramatically improve

Ninafahamu ya kuwa mwanafunzi anaweza kufanya vizuri kwa kasi

in a very quick amount of time,

Kwa muda mfupi sana,

but I never thought that a student could dramatically regress.

lakini sikuwahi kuwaza kuwa mwanafunzi anaweza kurudi nyuma kwa kasi.

What even pained me more,

kilichoniumiza zaidi,

was seeing what he had written to his daughter.

ni kuona kile alichokiandika kwa binti yake.

He had written,

aliandika,

"I'm sorry for my mistakes, I'm sorry for not being there for you."

"Ninasikitika kwa makosa yangu, ninasikitika kutokuwa pamoja nawe."

And this was all he felt he had to say to her.

Na hiki ndicho alichojisikia anataka kusema naye.

And I asked myself how can I convince him that he has more to say,

Nikajiuliza ni namna gani ninaweza kumshawishi kuwa anaweza kumwambia zaidi,

parts of himself that he doesn't need to apologize for.

ile sehemu yake ambayo hahitaji kuomba radhi kwayo.

I wanted him to feel

Nilitaka yeye ajisikie

that he had something worthwhile to share with his daughter.

kuwa anakitu cha thamani kumshirikisha binti yake.

For every day the next seven months,

Kwa kila siku kwa miezi saba iliyofuatia,

I visited him and brought books.

Nilimtembelea na kumpelekea vitabu.

My tote bag became a little library.

Mkoba wangu uligeuka kuwa maktaba ndogo.

I brought James Baldwin,

Nilimpelekea James Baldwin,

I brought Walt Whitman, C.S. Lewis.

Nilipeleka Walt Whitman, C.S.Lewis.

I brought guidebooks to trees, to birds,

Nilileta vitabu vya mwongozo wa miti, wa ndege,

and what would become his favorite book, the dictionary.

na kitabu alichotokea kukipenda zaidi, kamusi.

On some days,

Kwa baadhi ya siku,

we would sit for hours in silence, both of us reading.

tulikaa kimya kwa masaa, wote wawili tukisoma.

And on other days,

Na siku nyingine,

we would read together, we would read poetry.

tulisoma pamoja, tulisoma mashairi.

We started by reading haikus, hundreds of haikus,

tulianza kwa kusoma haikus, mamia ya haikus,

a deceptively simple masterpiece.

ni kito rahisi na danganyifu.

And I would ask him, "Share with me your favorite haikus."

Na ningemuuliza, "Nishirikishe haiku zako unazozipenda".

And some of them are quite funny.

Na baadhi yake ni za kufurahisha sana.

So there's this by Issa:

Kuna hii ya Issa:

"Don't worry, spiders, I keep house casually."

"Usijali, buibui, ninaweka nyumba kikawaida."

And this: "Napped half the day, no one punished me!"

Na hii: "Nimelala nusu ya siku, na hakuna aliyeniadhibu!"

And this gorgeous one, which is about the first day of snow falling,

Na hii nyingine ya kuvutia, inayohusu siku ya kwanza barafu ilipodondoka,

"Deer licking first frost from each other's coats."

"Kulungu wakilamba baridi ya kwanza kutoka kwenye koti la kila mmoja wao."

There's something mysterious and gorgeous

Kuna kitu cha ajabu na cha kuvutia

just about the way a poem looks.

kuhusu namna shairi linavyoonekana.

The empty space is as important as the words themselves.

Nafasi ya shairi ni muhimu kama maneno yenyewe.

We read this poem by W.S. Merwin,

Tunasoma shairi hili lililoandikwa na W.S.Merwin,

which he wrote after he saw his wife working in the garden

ambalo aliliandika baada ya kumuona mkewe akifanya kazi kwenye bustani

and realized that they would spend the rest of their lives together.

na akakumbuka kuwa wataishi maisha yao yote yaliyobaki wakiwa pamoja.

"Let me imagine that we will come again

"Wacha nifikiri kuwa tutakuja tena

when we want to and it will be spring

tutakapotaka na itakuwa wakati wa masika

We will be no older than we ever were

hatutakuwa na umri mkubwa kuliko tulivyowahi kuwa

The worn griefs will have eased like the early cloud

na majonzi yatakuwa mepesi kama mawingu ya mapema

through which morning slowly comes to itself"

ambayo kwayo asubuhi huja yenyewe taratibu"

I asked Patrick what his favorite line was, and he said,

Nikamuuliza Patrick mstari alioupenda zaidi ni upi, na akasema

"We will be no older than we ever were."

"Hatutakuwa na umri mkubwa kuliko tulivyokuwa."

He said it reminded him of a place where time just stops,

Alisema inamkumbusha mahali ambapo muda husimama,

where time doesn't matter anymore.

pale ambapo muda haumaanishi kitu chochote.

And I asked him if he had a place like that,

Na nikamuuliza kama amewahi kuwa na mahali pa jinsi hiyo.

where time lasts forever.

pale ambapo muda hudumu milele.

And he said, "My mother."

Na akasema, "Mama yangu".

When you read a poem alongside someone else,

Na pale unaposoma shairi pamoja na mtu mwingine,

the poem changes in meaning.

shairi hubadilika katika maana.

Because it becomes personal to that person, becomes personal to you.

Kwa sababu huwa la kibinafsi kwa mtu huyo, huwa la kibinafsi kwako.

We then read books, we read so many books,

Halafu tulisoma vitabu, tulisoma vitabu vingi sana,

we read the memoir of Frederick Douglass,

tulisoma kumbukumbu za Frederick Douglass,

an American slave who taught himself to read and write

Mtumwa wa Marekani aliyejifunza mwenyewe kusoma na kuandika

and who escaped to freedom because of his literacy.

na aliyetoroka na kuwa huru sababu ya kuelimika kwake.

I had grown up thinking of Frederick Douglass as a hero

Nimekua nikimfikiria Frederick Douglass kama shujaa

and I thought of this story as one of uplift and hope.

na niliiona hii simulizi kama iliyojaa matumaini na yenye kuinua

But this book put Patrick in a kind of panic.

Lakini kitabu hiki kilimuweka Patrick katika hofu.

He fixated on a story Douglass told of how, over Christmas,

Alibakia katika simulizi aliyoielezea Douglass jinsi ambavyo, katika Christmas,

masters give slaves gin

Mabwana waliwapa watumwa jini(pombe kali)

as a way to prove to them that they can't handle freedom.

kama namna ya kuwaaminisha kuwa hawawezi kuumudu uhuru.

Because slaves would be stumbling on the fields.

Kwa sababu watumwa waliweweseka katika mashamba.

Patrick said he related to this.

Patrick alisema anajifananisha na hili.

He said that there are people in jail who, like slaves,

Alisema kuwa kuna watu gerezani ambao, kama watumwa,

don't want to think about their condition,

hawataki kuwaza juu ya hali zao,

because it's too painful.

kwa sababu inawaumiza sana.

Too painful to think about the past,

Inaumiza sana kuwaza mambo ya nyuma,

too painful to think about how far we have to go.

inaumiza sana kuwaza kuhusu umbali gani tunapaswa kwenda.

His favorite line was this line:

Mstari alioupenda sana ulikuwa huu:

"Anything, no matter what, to get rid of thinking!

"Chochote kile, bila kujali chochote, kujiondoa katika kuwaza!

It was this everlasting thinking of my condition that tormented me."

Ilikuwa ni huku kuwaza kusiko koma kuhusu hali yangu ndiko kunako kipa mateso."

Patrick said that Douglass was brave to write, to keep thinking.

Patrick alisema Douglass alikuwa jasiri kuandika, ili aendelee kuwaza.

But Patrick would never know how much he seemed like Douglass to me.

Lakini Patrick hakufahamu kuwa alionekana kufanana sana na Douglass kwangu.

How he kept reading, even though it put him in a panic.

Namna alivyoendelea kusoma, ijapokuwa ilimuweka katika hofu.

He finished the book before I did,

Alimaliza kitabu kabla yangu,

reading it in a concrete stairway with no light.

akisoma katika ngazi za zege zisizo na taa.

And then we went on to read one of my favorite books,

Halafu tukaendelea kusoma mojawapo ya vitabu ninavyovipenda,

Marilynne Robinson's "Gilead,"

Cha Marilynne Robinson's "Gilead,"

which is an extended letter from a father to his son.

ambayo ni barua endelevu kutoka kwa baba kwenda kwa mwanae.

He loved this line:

Alipenda mstari huu:

"I'm writing this in part to tell you

"Ninaandika hii kwa sehemu kukuambia

that if you ever wonder what you've done in your life ...

ya kwamba kama umewahi kujiuliza kile umekifanya katika maisha yako...

you have been God's grace to me,

umekuwa neema ya Mungu kwangu,

a miracle, something more than a miracle."

muujiza, kitu ambacho ni zaidi ya muujiza."

Something about this language, its love, its longing, its voice,

Kitu kimoja kuhusu hii lugha, upendo wake, subira yake, sauti yake,

rekindled Patrick's desire to write.

iliamsha shauku ya Patrick katika kuandika.

And he would fill notebooks upon notebooks

Na alijaza daftari kwa daftari

with letters to his daughter.

na barua kwenda kwa binti yake.

In these beautiful, intricate letters,

katika barua hizi nzuri na imara,

he would imagine him and his daughter going canoeing down the Mississippi river.

alijiwazia yeye na binti yake wakipanda mtumbwi katika mto Mississipi

He would imagine them finding a mountain stream

Alijiwazia yeye na binti yake wakipata vijito vya milimani

with perfectly clear water.

vikiwa na maji masafi bila kasoro.

As I watched Patrick write,

Nilipomtazama Patrick akiandika,

I thought to myself,

Nilijiwazia mwenyewe,

and I now ask all of you,

na sasa ninawaulizeni nyote,

how many of you have written a letter to somebody you feel you have let down?

ni wangapi wenu mmewahi kuandika barua kwa mtu unayehisi umemwangusha?

It is just much easier to put those people out of your mind.

Ni rahisi sana kuwaweka hao watu nje ya fikra zako.

But Patrick showed up every day, facing his daughter,

Lakini Patrick alijitokeza kila siku, akimkabili binti yake,

holding himself accountable to her,

akijiwajibisha kwake,

word by word with intense concentration.

neno kwa neno kwa umakini wa hali ya juu.

I wanted in my own life

Ningependa katika maisha yangu binafsi

to put myself at risk in that way.

kujiweka katika hatari kwa namna hiyo.

Because that risk reveals the strength of one's heart.

Kwa sababu hatari hiyo inadhihirisha nguvu za moyo wa mtu.

Let me take a step back and just ask an uncomfortable question.

Ngoja nirudi hatua moja nyuma na niulize swali ambalo linaleta wasiwasi.

Who am I to tell this story, as in this Patrick story?

Mimi ni nani kusimulia simulizi hii, hii simulizi ya Patrick?

Patrick's the one who lived with this pain

Patrick ndiye aliyeishi kwenye maumivu haya

and I have never been hungry a day in my life.

na mimi sijawahi kukaa na njaa hata kwa siku moja kwenye maisha yangu

I thought about this question a lot,

Ninawaza sana kuhusu swali hili,

but what I want to say is that this story is not just about Patrick.

lakini ninachotaka kusema ni kuwa hii simulizi sio tu kuhusu Patrick.

It's about us,

Inatuhusu sisi,

it's about the inequality between us.

ni kuhusu tofauti kati yetu.

The world of plenty

Ulimwengu wa vingi

that Patrick and his parents and his grandparents

ambao Patrick na wazazi wake na mababu zake

have been shut out of.

hawajawahi kuuona.

In this story, I represent that world of plenty.

Katika simulizi hii, mimi ninawakilisha huo ulimwengu wa vingi.

And in telling this story, I didn't want to hide myself.

Na katika kueleza simulizi hii sikutaka kujificha mwenyewe.

Hide the power that I do have.

Kuficha nguvu ambazo ninazo.

In telling this story, I wanted to expose that power

Katika kueleza simulizi hii, ninataka kuifichua nguvu hiyo

and then to ask,

halafu kuuliza,

how do we diminish the distance between us?

tunawezaje kuipunguza umbali kati yetu?

Reading is one way to close that distance.

Kusoma ni njia mojawapo ya kuipunguza hiyo nafasi.

It gives us a quiet universe that we can share together,

Kunatuma ulimwengu wa ukimya ambao tunaweza kuushiriki pamoja,

that we can share in equally.

ambao tunaweza kuushiriki kwa usawa.

You're probably wondering now what happened to Patrick.

Inawezekana unajiuliza sasa kuwa ni nini kilitokea kwa Patrick.

Did reading save his life?

Je kusoma kuliokoa maisha yake?

It did and it didn't.

Kuliyaokoa na hakukuyaokoa.

When Patrick got out of prison,

Patrick alipotoka gerezani,

his journey was excruciating.

safari yake ilikuwa ya maumivu.

Employers turned him away because of his record,

Waajiri hawakumkubali kwa sababu ya historia yake,

his best friend, his mother, died at age 43

rafiki yake mpenzi, mama yake, alifariki katika umri wa miaka 43

from heart disease and diabetes.

kwa ugonjwa wa moyo na kisukari.

He's been homeless, he's been hungry.

Alikuwa hana pa kuishi, amekuwa hana chakula.

So people say a lot of things about reading that feel exaggerated to me.

Kwa hiyo watu wanasema mengi kuhusu kusoma ambayo kwangu ninahisi wanazidisha chumvi.

Being literate didn't stop him form being discriminated against.

Uwezo wa kusoma haukumzuia yeye asitengwe na jamii.

It didn't stop his mother from dying.

Hakukumzuia mama yake asifariki.

So what can reading do?

Kwa hiyo kusoma kunaweza kufanya nini?

I have a few answers to end with today.

Nina majibu machache ninapomalizia leo.

Reading charged his inner life

Kusoma kulibadili utu wake wa ndani

with mystery, with imagination,

kwa mambo yaliyofichika na uwezo wa kuwaza kwa picha.

with beauty.

kwa uzuri.

Reading gave him images that gave him joy:

Kusoma kulimpa taswira zilizompa furaha:

mountain, ocean, deer, frost.

milima, bahari, kulungu, theluji.

Words that taste of a free, natural world.

Maneno yenye ladha ya ulimwengu huru na halisi.

Reading gave him a language for what he had lost.

Kusoma kulimpa lugha kwa yale aliyopoteza.

How precious are these lines from the poet Derek Walcott?

Ni jinsi gani yalivyo mazuri haya maneno kutoka kwa mshairi Derek Walcott?

Patrick memorized this poem.

Patrick alilikariri hili shairi.

"Days that I have held,

"Siku ambazo nilizishikilia,

days that I have lost,

siku ambazo nilizipoteza,

days that outgrow, like daughters,

siku ambazo zinakuwa kupitiliza, kama mabinti,

my harboring arms."

mikono yangu inayoshikilia."

Reading taught him his own courage.

Kusoma kulimfundisha ujasiri wake mwenyewe.

Remember that he kept reading Frederick Douglass,

Kumbuka kwamba aliendelea kusoma Frederick Douglass,

even though it was painful.

ijapokuwa ilikuwa ya kuumiza.

He kept being conscious, even though being conscious hurts.

Aliendelea kuwa makini, ijapokuwa kuwa makini kunauma.

Reading is a form of thinking,

Kusoma ni aina ya kutafakari,

that's why it's difficult to read because we have to think.

ndio maana ni vigumu sana kusoma kwa sababu tunataka kutafakari.

And Patrick chose to think, rather than to not think.

Na Patrick alichagua kutafakari, badala ya kutokutafakari.

And last, reading gave him a language to speak to his daughter.

Na mwishoni, kusoma kulimpa lugha ya kuongea na binti yake.

Reading inspired him to want to write.

Kusoma kulimpa shauku ya kutaka kuandika.

The link between reading and writing is so powerful.

Muunganiko kati ya kusoma na kuandika ni wenye nguvu sana.

When we begin to read,

Tunapoanza kusoma,

we begin to find the words.

tunaanza kupata maneno.

And he found the words to imagine the two of them together.

Na alipata maneno ya kutafakari wao wawili wakiwa pamoja.

He found the words

Alipata maneno

to tell her how much he loved her.

ya kumwelezea ni namna gani anampenda.

Reading also changed our relationship with each other.

Kusoma pia kulibadilisha mahusiano baina yetu.

It gave us an occasion for intimacy,

Kunatupa nyakati za kuwa karibu,

to see beyond our points of view.

kuweza kuona zaidi ya mitazamo yetu.

And reading took an unequal relationship

Na kusoma kulichukua mahusiano ya kutokuwa sawa

and gave us a momentary equality.

na kulitupa usawa wa muda mfupi.

When you meet somebody as a reader,

Ukikutana na mtu kama msomaji,

you meet him for the first time,

unakutana naye kwa mara ya kwanza,

newly, freshly.

kwa upya kabisa.

There is no way you can know what his favorite line will be.

Hakuna namna unaweza kufahamu mstari anaoupenda sana ni upi.

What memories and private griefs he has.

Ni kumbukumbu zipi na huzuni zipi za siri alizonazo.

And you face the ultimate privacy of his inner life.

Na unakutana na sitara ya hali ya juu ya utu wake wa ndani.

And then you start to wonder, "Well, what is my inner life made of?

Na halafu unaanza kushangaa, "Eti,utu wangu wa ndani umejengwa na nini?

What do I have that's worthwhile to share with another?"

Ni kitu gani nilichonacho cha thamani cha kumshirikisha mwingine?"

I want to close

Ninataka kufunga

on some of my favorite lines from Patrick's letters to his daughter.

kwa mistari yangu ninayoipenda kutoka kwa barua za Patrick kwa bintiye.

"The river is shadowy in some places

"Mto una kivuli kwenye baadhi ya maeneo

but the light shines through the cracks of trees ...

lakini mwanga unaangaza kupitia mianya ya miti...

On some branches hang plenty of mulberries.

Kwenye baadhi ya matawi muliberi nyingi zimening'inia.

You stretch your arm straight out to grab some."

Unanyoosha mkono wako ili uweze kuyachukua baadhi".

And this lovely letter, where he writes,

Na barua hii ya upendo, anapoandika,

"Close your eyes and listen to the sounds of the words.

"Fumba macho yako na usikilize sauti ya maneno.

I know this poem by heart

Ninafahamu shairi hili kwa moyo

and I would like you to know it, too."

na ningependa pia wewe ulifahamu."

Thank you so much everyone.

Ninawashukuruni nyote.

(Applause)

(Makofi)