The politics of fiction | Elif Shafak

翻译人员: Felix Chen 校对人员: Angelia King

I'm a storyteller.

我是名故事讲述者。

That's what I do in life -- telling stories,

我在生活中所做的就是讲讲故事，

writing novels --

写写小说。

and today I would like to tell you a few stories

今天我想给大家讲几个故事，

about the art of storytelling

这些故事是关于故事讲述的艺术

and also some supernatural creatures

和一些被称作精灵的

called the djinni.

超自然生物。

But before I go there, please allow me to share with you

但在我讲述之前，请允许我分享

glimpses of my personal story.

一些我个人的故事。

I will do so with the help of words, of course,

我不仅会借助一些词汇，当然，

but also a geometrical shape, the circle,

还会借助一些几何图形，圆形。

so throughout my talk,

因此在我的整个演讲中，

you will come across several circles.

大家会看到一些圆形。

I was born in Strasbourg, France

我出生在法国的斯特拉斯堡，

to Turkish parents.

父母都是土耳其人。

Shortly after, my parents got separated,

不久后，我父母离异，

and I came to Turkey with my mom.

我与母亲来到土耳其。

From then on, I was raised

从那儿以后，我作为

as a single child by a single mother.

一名单身母亲的独身女被扶养长大。

Now in the early 1970s, in Ankara,

二十世纪七十年代早期，在安卡拉

that was a bit unusual.

这不太寻常。

Our neighborhood was full of large families,

我们的邻居都是大家庭，

where fathers were the heads of households,

这些家庭中都是父亲当家。

so I grew up seeing my mother as a divorcee

因此，我在离异的母亲身旁，

in a patriarchal environment.

在一个重男轻女的环境中长大。

In fact, I grew up observing

事实上，我在对两种

two different kinds of womanhood.

不同的女性的观察中长大。

On the one hand was my mother,

一种女性是我的母亲，

a well-educated, secular, modern, westernized, Turkish woman.

一名受过良好教育的，非宗教的，现代的，西方化的土耳其女性。

On the other hand was my grandmother,

另一种女性是我的祖母，

who also took care of me

她也照顾着我，

and was more spiritual, less educated

她更重视精神上的追求，没受过多少教育

and definitely less rational.

并且肯定更少理性。

This was a woman who read coffee grounds to see the future

她是这样一位女性，通过观察咖啡渣来了解未来，

and melted lead into mysterious shapes

把铅溶解成神秘的形状

to fend off the evil eye.

来抵御邪恶。

Many people visited my grandmother,

许多人来拜访我的祖母，

people with severe acne on their faces

他们在脸上有着严重的痤疮

or warts on their hands.

或是手上长疣。

Each time, my grandmother would utter some words in Arabic,

每次，我的祖母都会说出一些阿拉伯语的词，

take a red apple and stab it

拿出个红苹果，然后

with as many rose thorns

她想要去掉多少个疣，

as the number of warts she wanted to remove.

就用相同数量玫瑰刺刺入苹果。

Then one by one, she would

接着她会一个一个地

encircle these thorns with dark ink.

把这些刺用黑墨水圈起来。

A week later, the patient would come back

一周后，病人会再次回来

for a follow-up examination.

做后续检查。

Now, I'm aware that I should not be saying such things

现在，我意识到我不应该在

in front of an audience of scholars and scientists,

学者和科学家前讲述这类事情。

but the truth is, of all the people

但事实是，在所有这些

who visited my grandmother for their skin conditions,

因皮肤问题拜访了我祖母的人中，

I did not see anyone go back

我从未见过任何人回来时

unhappy or unhealed.

是不开心或是未治愈的。

I asked her how she did this. Was it the power of praying?

我问过她是如何做到这点的。这是祈祷的力量么？

In response she said, "Yes, praying is effective,

她回答道，“是的，祈祷是有效的。

but also beware of the power of circles."

但也要了解圆圈的力量。”

From her, I learned, amongst many other things,

除了许多其他事情之外，我从她那儿

one very precious lesson --

学到了这非常珍贵的一课。

that if you want to destroy something in this life,

那就是，如果在生命中你想毁掉某些事物，

be it an acne, a blemish

比如痤疮、疤痕

or the human soul,

或是人的灵魂，

all you need to do is to surround it with thick walls.

你所需要做的就是，用厚厚的墙把它围起来。

It will dry up inside.

它会在墙内干枯。

Now we all live in some kind of a social and cultural circle.

现在，我们都生活在某种社会和文化的圆圈内。

We all do.

我们都是。

We're born into a certain family, nation, class.

我们出生于特定的家庭、国家、阶级。

But if we have no connection whatsoever

但如果我们只生活在这一想当然的圈子内，

with the worlds beyond the one we take for granted,

而不和世界任何其他圈子交流，

then we too run the risk

那么，我们同样会面临

of drying up inside.

枯竭的危险。

Our imagination might shrink;

我们的想象力可能会枯竭。

our hearts might dwindle,

我们的心可能会逐渐萎缩。

and our humanness might wither

而如果我们在自己的文化中

if we stay for too long

长期作茧自缚，

inside our cultural cocoons.

那我们的人性可能会枯萎。

Our friends, neighbors, colleagues, family --

我们的朋友、邻居、同事、家人--

if all the people in our inner circle resemble us,

如果我们周围的人都与我们相似，

it means we are surrounded

这意味着我们被

with our mirror image.

我们的镜像所包围了。

Now one other thing women like my grandma do in Turkey

目前，在土耳其像我祖母这样的妇女会做的另一件事是，

is to cover mirrors with velvet

用丝绒把镜子盖上

or to hang them on the walls with their backs facing out.

或是把镜子背面朝外挂在墙上。

It's an old Eastern tradition

这是古老的东方习俗，

based on the knowledge that it's not healthy

它是基于这样的理解，

for a human being to spend too much time

一个人盯着镜子中自己的影像

staring at his own reflection.

太久是不健康的。

Ironically, [living in] communities of the like-minded

有讽刺意味的是，[生活在]想法相似的团体中

is one of the greatest dangers

是如今全球化的世界中

of today's globalized world.

最大的危险之一。

And it's happening everywhere,

而这中危险无处不在，

among liberals and conservatives,

它存在于自由派和保守派中，

agnostics and believers, the rich and the poor,

不可知论者和信徒之中，富人和穷人之中，

East and West alike.

东方和西方之中。

We tend to form clusters

我们倾向基于共同点

based on similarity,

而聚集成一个个群体，

and then we produce stereotypes

然后我们把其他群体的人

about other clusters of people.

模式化。

In my opinion, one way of transcending

依我看来，突破

these cultural ghettos

这些文化壁垒的途径之一是，

is through the art of storytelling.

通过故事讲述的艺术。

Stories cannot demolish frontiers,

故事不能拆除这些障碍，

but they can punch holes in our mental walls.

但它们能在我们精神围墙上开出孔洞。

And through those holes, we can get a glimpse of the other,

而通过这些孔洞，我们能对他人有所了解，

and sometimes even like what we see.

并且有时所了解到的就正是你所见到的。

I started writing fiction at the age of eight.

我从八岁开始小说的写作。

My mother came home one day with a turquoise notebook

一天，我母亲带着本绿松石色的笔记本回家，

and asked me if I'd be interested in keeping a personal journal.

并问我有没有兴趣写日记。

In retrospect, I think she was slightly worried

回想起来，我觉得她是有点担心

about my sanity.

我的心智健康。

I was constantly telling stories at home, which was good,

我在家会不时地讲些还不错的故事，

except I told this to imaginary friends around me,

除了一点不太好，

which was not so good.

我是对着我周围想象中的朋友讲故事。

I was an introverted child,

我是个内向的孩子

to the point of communicating with colored crayons

用彩色蜡笔来画画表达自己，

and apologizing to objects

向我不小心

when I bumped into them,

碰到的东西道歉。

so my mother thought it might do me good

因此我母亲认为我把

to write down my day-to-day experiences

我每天的经历和情感写下来

and emotions.

会对我有好处。

What she didn't know was that I thought my life was terribly boring,

她所不知道的是，我觉得我的生活非常的无聊，

and the last thing I wanted to do

我唯一想做的事就是

was to write about myself.

写下与自己相关的事情。

Instead, I began to write about people other than me

相反，我开始写除我之外的其他人

and things that never really happened.

和那些从未真正发生过的事。

And thus began my life-long passion

就这样，我开始了终生充满激情的

for writing fiction.

小说创作。

So from the very beginning, fiction for me

因此从一开始小说对我来说

was less of an autobiographical manifestation

更像是关于其他生命、其他可能

than a transcendental journey

的超自然的旅程，而不是

into other lives, other possibilities.

自传式的。

And please bear with me:

请多包涵。

I'll draw a circle and come back to this point.

我会画一个圆圈，再回到这一问题。

Now one other thing happened around this same time.

现在与此同时发生的另一件事。

My mother became a diplomat.

我母亲成了一名外交官。

So from this small, superstitious,

因此，我从我祖母附近这小小的、

middle-class neighborhood of my grandmother,

迷信的、中产的街区搬走了，

I was zoomed into this

我转入了这所

posh, international school [in Madrid],

豪华的国际学校[在马德里]，

where I was the only Turk.

在学校里我是唯一的土耳其人。

It was here that I had my first encounter

正是在这儿，我第一次被

with what I call the "representative foreigner."

称为“外国人的代表”。

In our classroom, there were children from all nationalities,

我们的班上，有来着各国的孩子。

yet this diversity did not necessarily lead

然而，这种多样性不一定能带来

to a cosmopolitan, egalitarian

一个世界性的、平等的

classroom democracy.

民主课堂。

Instead, it generated an atmosphere

相反，这形成了一种氛围，

in which each child was seen --

在这种氛围下，每个孩子不是被

not as an individual on his own,

看作一个独立的个体，

but as the representative of something larger.

而是被看作某些更大群体的代表。

We were like a miniature United Nations, which was fun,

这有点像迷你联合国，很有趣，

except whenever something negative,

除了有某些关于国家或是宗教

with regards to a nation

相关的负面的

or a religion, took place.

事情发生时。

The child who represented it was mocked,

代表负面消息中的国家或宗教的孩子会被无止境地嘲笑、

ridiculed and bullied endlessly.

奚落和欺辱。

And I should know, because during the time I attended that school,

我应该知道，因为在我加入那所学校期间，

a military takeover happened in my country,

我的国家发生了军事接管，

a gunman of my nationality nearly killed the Pope,

一名我国的枪手几乎杀了教皇，

and Turkey got zero points in [the] Eurovision Song Contest.

土耳其歌手在欧洲电视歌唱大赛上得了零分。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I skipped school often and dreamed of becoming a sailor

在那些日子里，我经常转校并常梦想

during those days.

成为一名水手。

I also had my first taste

在那儿我也第一次接触

of cultural stereotypes there.

到了文化刻板印象模式。

The other children asked me about the movie

其他孩子与我谈论电影

"Midnight Express," which I had not seen;

“午夜快车”，可我没看过这部电影。

they inquired how many cigarettes a day I smoked,

他们问我一天吸几支烟，

because they thought all Turks were heavy smokers,

因为他们认为土耳其人都是大烟鬼。

and they wondered at what age

他们想知道我是从几岁

I would start covering my hair.

开始盖住头发的。

I came to learn that these were

我逐渐了解到，关于我的国家

the three main stereotypes about my country:

有三种主要的模式，

politics, cigarettes

政治，香烟

and the veil.

和面纱。

After Spain, we went to Jordan, Germany

离开西班牙后，我们去了约旦，德国

and Ankara again.

而后又回到安卡拉。

Everywhere I went, I felt like

我去的任何地方，我觉得

my imagination was the only suitcase

我的想象力是我唯一

I could take with me.

能随身携带的行李。

Stories gave me a sense of center,

故事给了我中心意识、

continuity and coherence,

连续性意识和一致性的意识，

the three big Cs that I otherwise lacked.

这三个大C是我在不同程度上所缺少的。

In my mid-twenties, I moved to Istanbul,

在我二十几岁时，我搬到了伊斯坦布尔，

the city I adore.

这是我非常热爱的城市。

I lived in a very vibrant, diverse neighborhood

我生活在一个充满生气的、非常多样化的街区，

where I wrote several of my novels.

在那儿我写了几部小说。

I was in Istanbul when the earthquake hit

1999年伊斯坦布尔发生地震时

in 1999.

我在那儿。

When I ran out of the building at three in the morning,

当我在凌晨3点跑出房子时，

I saw something that stopped me in my tracks.

我看到些东西，并停下了脚步。

There was the local grocer there --

那儿有个当地杂货店--

a grumpy, old man who didn't sell alcohol

店主是一个坏脾气的老人，他不卖酒精

and didn't speak to marginals.

说话不着边际。

He was sitting next to a transvestite

他坐在一名易装癖者的旁边，

with a long black wig

她头上带着黑色的长长的假发，

and mascara running down her cheeks.

睫毛膏一直抹到脸颊上。

I watched the man open a pack of cigarettes

我看到店主用颤抖的手打开

with trembling hands

一包香烟

and offer one to her,

给了她一支。

and that is the image of the night of the earthquake

这就是如今那个地震的夜晚

in my mind today --

留在我的脑海中的画面--

a conservative grocer and a crying transvestite

一名保守的杂货店主和一名哭泣的易装癖者

smoking together on the sidewalk.

在人行道边一起吸烟。

In the face of death and destruction,

面对着死亡和破坏，

our mundane differences evaporated,

我们世俗的分歧消失了，

and we all became one

我们成了一家人

even if for a few hours.

即使只有几个小时。

But I've always believed that stories, too, have a similar effect on us.

但我始终相信，这样的故事对我们也有同样的效果。

I'm not saying that fiction has the magnitude of an earthquake,

我不是说小说和地震有同样的震级。

but when we are reading a good novel,

但当我们读一篇好小说时，

we leave our small, cozy apartments behind,

这就好比我们会离开我们温馨舒适的小公寓，

go out into the night alone

晚上独自出门

and start getting to know people we had never met before

去认识之前我们从未遇到的人们

and perhaps had even been biased against.

或许那些我们心存偏见的人。

Shortly after, I went

不久后，我去了

to a women's college in Boston, then Michigan.

波士顿的一所女子大学，然后去了密歇根州。

I experienced this, not so much as a geographical shift,

我经历这些，不是把它看做一个地理上的改变，

as a linguistic one.

而是语言上的改变。

I started writing fiction in English.

我开始用英文写小说。

I'm not an immigrant, refugee or exile --

我不是移民、难民或是流亡者。

they ask me why I do this --

人们问我为什么要这么做。

but the commute between languages

但在各种语言中转换

gives me the chance to recreate myself.

给了我重新创造的机会。

I love writing in Turkish,

我爱用土耳其语写作，

which to me is very poetic and very emotional,

它对我来说很有诗意和感觉。

and I love writing in English, which to me

并且我也爱用英语写作，它对我来说

is very mathematical and cerebral.

很精确很理性。

So I feel connected to each language in a different way.

因此，我与各种语言之间以不同的方式连接起来。

For me, like millions of other people

对我来说，正如今天世界上

around the world today,

其他千百万其他的人们，

English is an acquired language.

英语是种必备的语言。

When you're a latecomer to a language,

如果你是一个语言的后学者，

what happens is you live there

那你会面对

with a continuous

持续的

and perpetual frustration.

和持久的挫折。

As latecomers, we always want to say more, you know,

作为后学者，我们总是想多说些，你知道，

crack better jokes, say better things,

讲点更好笑的笑话，说点更有趣的事。

but we end up saying less

但最终我们说的更少，

because there's a gap between the mind and the tongue.

因为在思想和语言交流之间直接有道鸿沟。

And that gap is very intimidating.

这道鸿沟非常有威胁。

But if we manage not to be frightened by it,

但如果我们设法不被它吓倒，

it's also stimulating.

它也会很刺激。

And this is what I discovered in Boston --

这就是我在波士顿所认识到的--

that frustration was very stimulating.

这种挫折非常刺激。

At this stage, my grandmother,

在这一时期，我的祖母，

who had been watching the course of my life

那名在不断增长的担忧中

with increasing anxiety,

看着我长大的老人，

started to include in her daily prayers

开始在她每日的祈祷中加入新的内容，

that I urgently get married

祈祷我能尽快结婚，

so that I could settle down once and for all.

这样就能一劳永逸的安顿下来了。

And because God loves her, I did get married.

而且因为上帝爱她，我的确结婚了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But instead of settling down,

但并没有安定下来，

I went to Arizona.

我去了亚利桑那州。

And since my husband is in Istanbul,

由于我的丈夫在伊斯坦布尔，

I started commuting between Arizona and Istanbul --

我开始在亚利桑那州和伊斯坦布尔之间奔波。

the two places on the surface of earth

地球上的这两个地方

that couldn't be more different.

非常的不同。

I guess one part of me has always been a nomad,

我想我的一部分一直是游牧民族，

physically and spiritually.

包括身体上和精神上。

Stories accompany me,

故事陪伴着我，

keeping my pieces and memories together,

让我的作品和回忆保持在一起，

like an existential glue.

像是胶水一样。

Yet as much as I love stories,

虽然我爱故事，

recently, I've also begun to think

最近我也开始认为

that they lose their magic

如果当故事不仅被看作故事时，

if and when a story is seen as more than a story.

故事就失去了魔力。

And this is a subject that I would love

而这是一个我很想

to think about together.

在一起考虑的主题。

When my first novel written in English came out in America,

当我第一部英文小说在美国出版时，

I heard an interesting remark from a literary critic.

我听到了一位文学评论家有趣的评论。

"I liked your book," he said, "but I wish you had written it differently."

“我喜欢你的书，”他说道，“但我希望你能用不同的方式写出来。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I asked him what he meant by that.

我问他这是什么意思。

He said, "Well, look at it. There's so many

他说，“嗯，看看它，里面有那么多的

Spanish, American, Hispanic characters in it,

西班牙人、美国人、拉美人人物角色。

but there's only one Turkish character and it's a man."

但只有一个土耳其人物，还是一个男人。”

Now the novel took place on a university campus in Boston,

小说取材于波士顿的一个大学校园内，

so to me, it was normal

对我来说，其中有

that there be more international characters in it

国际背景人物角色比土耳其人物要多，

than Turkish characters,

这很正常。

but I understood what my critic was looking for.

但我理解评论员希望看到的是什么。

And I also understood that I

并且，我也明白

would keep disappointing him.

我会一直让他失望。

He wanted to see the manifestation of my identity.

他想看到我身份认同的体现。

He was looking for a Turkish woman in the book

他想在书中看到一名土耳其妇女，

because I happened to be one.

因为我恰巧就是一名土耳其妇女。

We often talk about how stories change the world,

我们经常谈论，故事是如何改变世界的。

but we should also see how the world of identity politics

但我们也该看到身份政治的世界

affects the way stories

是如何影响故事的

are being circulated,

传播，

read and reviewed.

阅读和评论的方式的。

Many authors feel this pressure,

许多作者感到了这种压力，

but non-Western authors feel it more heavily.

但非西方作者所感受到的压力更重。

If you're a woman writer from the Muslim world, like me,

如果你是名来自穆斯林世界的女性作家，像我一样，

then you are expected to write

因此你被期望写出

the stories of Muslim women

关于穆斯林妇女的故事

and, preferably, the unhappy stories

并且，如果写出些关于悲惨的穆斯林妇女的

of unhappy Muslim women.

悲惨的故事就更好了。

You're expected to write

你被期望写出

informative, poignant and characteristic stories

富有信息的、打动人心的和独特的故事

and leave the experimental and avant-garde

并把实验性和前卫的写作

to your Western colleagues.

留给西方的作家。

What I experienced as a child in that school in Madrid

我在马德里的那所学校作为一个孩子所经历的

is happening in the literary world today.

如今也发生在文学世界中。

Writers are not seen

作家不被看作

as creative individuals on their own,

有创造力的个人，

but as the representatives

而是被看作他们各自文化

of their respective cultures:

的代表。

a few authors from China, a few from Turkey,

一些来自中国的、土耳其的

a few from Nigeria.

尼日利亚的作家。

We're all thought to have something very distinctive,

我们被认为有些非常独特的东西，

if not peculiar.

如果不是怪异的话。

The writer and commuter James Baldwin

詹姆斯·鲍德温，一名经常往返于巴黎和纽约的作家，

gave an interview in 1984

在1984年的一个访谈中

in which he was repeatedly asked about his homosexuality.

被不断的询问他的同性恋问题。

When the interviewer tried to pigeonhole him

当主持人试图把他归类为

as a gay writer,

一名同性恋作家时，

Baldwin stopped and said,

鲍德温停下来说到，

"But don't you see? There's nothing in me

“但你不明白么？我没什么与众不同

that is not in everybody else,

而其他人也没什么不同，

and nothing in everybody else

那么大家都没什么不同，

that is not in me."

我也一样。”

When identity politics tries to put labels on us,

当身份政治试图把标签加在我们身上时，

it is our freedom of imagination that is in danger.

我们想象力的自由就处于危险的境地了。

There's a fuzzy category called

有个叫做多元文化文学的

multicultural literature

模糊分类，

in which all authors from outside the Western world

其中所有来自西方世界外的作家

are lumped together.

被混为一谈。

I never forget my first multicultural reading,

我从未忘记大约10年前在哈佛广场，

in Harvard Square about 10 years ago.

我经历的第一次多元文化的阅读。

We were three writers, one from the Philippines,

我们三位作家，一位来自菲律宾，

one Turkish and one Indonesian --

一个土耳其人，一个印度尼西亚人--

like a joke, you know.

像一个笑话，你知道。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And the reason why we were brought together

我们被一起提及的原因

was not because we shared an artistic style

不是因为我们有同样的艺术风格

or a literary taste.

或文学品味，

It was only because of our passports.

仅仅是因为我们的护照。

Multicultural writers are expected to tell real stories,

多元文化作家被期望讲述真实的故事，

not so much the imaginary.

而不是想象中的故事。

A function is attributed to fiction.

这恰是小说之所以称为小说的一个原因。

In this way, not only the writers themselves,

如此，不仅作者本身，

but also their fictional characters

而且他们小说中的人物

become the representatives of something larger.

都变成了某些更大的事物的代表。

But I must quickly add

但我必须尽快补充说明的是，

that this tendency to see a story

这种把故事不仅仅

as more than a story

作为故事看待的趋势

does not solely come from the West.

并不仅仅发生在西方。

It comes from everywhere.

它到处都存在。

And I experienced this firsthand

并且我有第一手的经验，

when I was put on trial in 2005

2005年我为我一部小说中

for the words my fictional characters uttered in a novel.

的人物所说的话经受了考验。

I had intended to write

我本打算写

a constructive, multi-layered novel

一部关于通过女性的眼睛看

about an Armenian and a Turkish family

一个亚美尼亚家庭和一个土耳其家庭的

through the eyes of women.

有文学结构的、多层次的小说，

My micro story became a macro issue

当我被起诉后，

when I was prosecuted.

我的小故事变成了大问题。

Some people criticized, others praised me

由于写了关于土耳其人和亚美尼亚人之间冲突，

for writing about the Turkish-Armenian conflict.

一些人批评我，一些人称赞我。

But there were times when I wanted to remind both sides

但很多次我想提醒这两种人，

that this was fiction.

这是小说。

It was just a story.

它仅仅是一个故事。

And when I say, "just a story,"

而当我说“仅仅是个故事”时，

I'm not trying to belittle my work.

我不是想贬低我的工作。

I want to love and celebrate fiction

我希望因小说本身而

for what it is,

热爱并赞美它，

not as a means to an end.

而不是作为达到某种目的的手段。

Writers are entitled to their political opinions,

作家有权拥有自己的政治观点，

and there are good political novels out there,

并且有不少好的政治小说，

but the language of fiction

但是小说的语言

is not the language of daily politics.

不是日常政治的语言。

Chekhov said,

契诃夫说过，

"The solution to a problem

“一个问题的解决方案

and the correct way of posing the question

及提问的正确方式

are two completely separate things.

是两件完全不同的事。

And only the latter is an artist's responsibility."

而只有后者才是一名艺术家的责任。”

Identity politics divides us. Fiction connects.

身份政治立场把我们分隔开。小说却把我们连结起来。

One is interested in sweeping generalizations.

一个是概而言之。

The other, in nuances.

另一个则关乎细节。

One draws boundaries.

一个画出界限。

The other recognizes no frontiers.

另一个则没有边界。

Identity politics is made of solid bricks.

身份政治由实心砖组成。

Fiction is flowing water.

小说是流水。

In the Ottoman times, there were itinerant storytellers called "meddah."

在奥斯曼帝国时代，有被称为“麦达赫”的流动故事讲述者。

They would go to coffee houses,

他们会去咖啡馆，

where they would tell a story in front of an audience,

在那儿，他们会在听众前讲故事，

often improvising.

通常是即兴创作的故事。

With each new person in the story,

麦达赫会为故事中的

the meddah would change his voice,

每个新人物改变他的声音，

impersonating that character.

模仿人物的特征。

Everybody could go and listen, you know --

每个人都可以去听，你知道--

ordinary people, even the sultan, Muslims and non-Muslims.

普通人，甚至是苏丹人，穆斯林人和非穆斯林人都听这些故事。

Stories cut across all boundaries,

故事跨越了所有界限。

like "The Tales of Nasreddin Hodja,"

如“阿凡提的故事/纳斯列丁·霍加的故事”

which were very popular throughout the Middle East,

这个故事在中东地区、北非、巴尔干和亚洲

North Africa, the Balkans and Asia.

都非常受欢迎。

Today, stories continue

今天，故事继续

to transcend borders.

越过国界。

When Palestinian and Israeli politicians talk,

当巴基斯坦和以色列的政客交谈时，

they usually don't listen to each other,

他们通常不听对方所说的。

but a Palestinian reader

但巴基斯坦的读者

still reads a novel by a Jewish author,

仍然会读犹太人作者所写的小说，

and vice versa, connecting and empathizing

反之亦然，与讲述者

with the narrator.

产生共鸣。

Literature has to take us beyond.

文学带领着我们走向远方。

If it cannot take us there,

如果它不能做到，

it is not good literature.

那就不是好的文学。

Books have saved the introverted,

书籍拯救了如我这样的内向的、

timid child that I was -- that I once was.

胆怯的孩子--我曾经是这样的孩子。

But I'm also aware of the danger

但我也注意到了

of fetishizing them.

盲目迷信它们的危险。

When the poet and mystic, Rumi,

当诗人和神秘主义者，鲁米，

met his spiritual companion, Shams of Tabriz,

遇到了他的精神伴侣，大不里士的沙姆士，

one of the first things the latter did

后者做的头几件事之一是，

was to toss Rumi's books into water

把鲁米的书扔到水里

and watch the letters dissolve.

并看着这些书消融在水中。

The Sufis say, "Knowledge that takes you not beyond yourself

苏非书上说，“知其然不知其所以然

is far worse than ignorance."

要比无知更可怕。”

The problem with today's cultural ghettos

今天文化壁垒的问题

is not lack of knowledge --

不是缺少知识。

we know a lot about each other, or so we think --

我们相互非常了解，或者说我们这么认为。

but knowledge that takes us not beyond ourselves:

但对知识只是知其然不知其所以然，

it makes us elitist,

这会让我们变得杰出，

distant and disconnected.

却冷漠而与他人疏远。

There's a metaphor which I love:

有个我喜爱的隐喻：

living like a drawing compass.

生活像一个绘制中的罗盘。

As you know, one leg of the compass is static, rooted in a place.

如你所知，罗盘的一个指针是静止的，指向一个地方。

Meanwhile, the other leg

同时，另一个指针

draws a wide circle, constantly moving.

画一个大圆圈，不断的移动。

Like that, my fiction as well.

我的小说也是如此。

One part of it is rooted in Istanbul,

其中的一部分是扎根于伊斯坦布尔的

with strong Turkish roots,

强大土耳其文化。

but the other part travels the world,

但另一部分在这个世界上旅行，

connecting to different cultures.

连接不同的文化。

In that sense, I like to think of my fiction

从这个意义上说，我希望我的小说

as both local and universal,

不仅是本地的也是全球的，

both from here and everywhere.

不仅来自当地这里也来自世界各地。

Now those of you who have been to Istanbul

你们中有些人还没去过伊斯坦布尔，

have probably seen Topkapi Palace,

但可能见过托普卡帕宫，

which was the residence of Ottoman sultans

它作为奥斯曼帝国苏丹的住所

for more than 400 years.

超过400年。

In the palace, just outside the quarters

在皇宫中，就在皇帝爱妃

of the favorite concubines,

的住所之外，

there's an area called The Gathering Place of the Djinn.

有一个名为精灵聚居地的地方。

It's between buildings.

它就位于宏伟的建筑之间。

I'm intrigued by this concept.

我被这一概念所吸引。

We usually distrust those areas

我们通常不信任

that fall in between things.

这类处于中间的区域。

We see them as the domain

我们把它们看作是超自然生物

of supernatural creatures like the djinn,

的领域，比如：精灵。

who are made of smokeless fire

它们由无烟的火焰组成

and are the symbol of elusiveness.

并且是难以捉摸的事物的象征。

But my point is perhaps

但我想说的是

that elusive space

也许这种难以捉摸的空间

is what writers and artists need most.

正是作家和艺术家们最需要的。

When I write fiction

在我写小说时，

I cherish elusiveness and changeability.

我珍惜这种不可捉摸性和多变性。

I like not knowing what will happen 10 pages later.

我希望不能预知十页后会发生什么。

I like it when my characters surprise me.

我希望我小说中的角色能带给我惊喜。

I might write about

我也许会在一部小说里

a Muslim woman in one novel,

写些关于穆斯林妇女的故事，

and perhaps it will be a very happy story,

并且也许会是个非常开心的故事。

and in my next book, I might write

而在我的下部小说中，我也许会

about a handsome, gay professor in Norway.

写关于一名挪威的英俊的同性恋教授的故事。

As long as it comes from our hearts,

只要是发自肺腑，

we can write about anything and everything.

我们能写任何事情，一切事物都行。

Audre Lorde once said,

奥德·洛德曾说过，

"The white fathers taught us to say,

“白人神父教导我们说，

'I think, therefore I am.'"

‘我思故我在。’”

She suggested, "I feel, therefore I am free."

她建议改为，“我感觉，故我自由。”

I think it was a wonderful paradigm shift.

我认为这是个美妙的改变。

And yet, why is it that,

然而，为什么这么说，

in creative writing courses today,

在如今的创新写作课程中，

the very first thing we teach students is

最初交给学生的事情就是

"write what you know"?

写下你所知道的？

Perhaps that's not the right way to start at all.

也许这根本不是开始写作之路正确的方式。

Imaginative literature is not necessarily about

富有想象力的文学作品并不一定要写

writing who we are or what we know

我们自己或我们所了解的

or what our identity is about.

或我们的身份认同。

We should teach young people and ourselves

我们应该教导年轻人和我们自己

to expand our hearts

打开心扉

and write what we can feel.

并写下我们所感觉到的。

We should get out of our cultural ghetto

我们应该跨越我们的文化壁垒，

and go visit the next one and the next.

去了解其他更多的文化。

In the end, stories move like whirling dervishes,

最后，故事的传播像是苦行僧的旋转舞，

drawing circles beyond circles.

画出一个又一个圆圈，

They connect all humanity,

它们把所有人连接起来，

regardless of identity politics,

而不考虑身份政治。

and that is the good news.

这是好消息。

And I would like to finish with an old Sufi poem:

我想以一首古老的苏非派的诗结束。

"Come, let us be friends for once;

“来吧，让我们成为朋友；

let us make life easy on us;

让我们生活更轻松；

let us be lovers and loved ones;

让我们相亲相爱；

the earth shall be left to no one."

地球上的人们亲如一家。”

Thank you.

谢谢

(Applause)

（掌声）