How Poetry Unlocked My Superpowers | Keenan Scott II | TED

翻译人员: Sue Lu 校对人员: Coco Shen

Now, before I had the honor as a playwright to make it to Broadway,

在我能荣幸地作为编剧进入百老汇，

which also opened the door for me to work in TV and film,

并由此进入影视业工作之前，

like everybody, I had a dream growing up.

和你一样，孩提时代的我也有个梦想。

Now, before I tell you what that dream was,

不过，在我说出这个梦想前，

you have to promise not to laugh.

你们要保证不会笑我。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

You're going to laugh? Promise?

你们会笑话我？保证不会？

Alright.

好吧，言归正传。

When I was growing up,

我长大时，

I wanted to be ...

想成为一个……

a superhero.

超级英雄。

See, I wanted to be what I saw so vibrantly

我想成为那些跃然纸上的人物，

on the pages of my Marvel and DC comic books.

那些在漫威和DC漫画书里的形象。

I actually used to sit on a stoop in the projects with my godbrother Johnny,

我曾和教兄约翰尼坐在门廊上创作，

and we would create our own stories, writing and drawing them all.

又写又画，编出自己的故事。

Now I have to confess, years before Miles Morales,

我得承认，在迈尔斯·莫拉莱斯之前，

we actually made the first Black Spider-Man.

我们早已创作了第一个黑蜘蛛侠。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Two of them. What can I say? We was from Queens.

其实两个。怎么说呢？我们来自皇后区。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Now, as we know, there's always a moment in a superhero's life

众所周知，超级英雄总会在生命某一刻

where they realize that they have superpowers.

忽然意识到自己拥有超能力。

Now mine was revealed to me

我发现自己有超能力是在 --

by my arch nemesis, my eighth grade English teacher --

我的死对头，我的八年级英文老师 --

(Laughter)

（笑声）

after he gave the class an assignment to write a poem.

他给全班布置写诗的作业之后。

What happened after I did that

那之后发生的一切

would forever change the course of my life.

永远改变了我的人生轨迹。

Because when I turned in that assignment, the poem was so good,

当我交上我的诗作时，因为写得太好，

my teacher actually thought I plagiarized it.

老师以为我是抄袭的。

He asked me how did I know what all these literary devices were

他问我怎么知道所有这些文学手法,

that I didn't even know had names at the time.

其实我压根没听说过它们。

Because up until this point, because of my dyslexia,

因为我患有阅读障碍，

English and writing was always my kryptonite.

英文和写作一直是我的致命弱点。

I didn't even realize that all those years of consuming hip-hop music and culture

我没想到常年泡在嘻哈音乐文化中

was actually teaching me how to use literary techniques.

让我学到如何运用那些文学手法。

Like when Tupac said, "Picture perfect, I paint a perfect picture,"

就像图帕克 (Tupac) 说的， “画作完美，我描绘了一幅完美画作，”

I would find out that that was alliteration.

我后来才知道那叫做头韵，

Hmm.

嗯，

I wanted to try that.

我也想尝试那种写法。

"Pompous politicians pressure people to push towards their God."

“浮夸政客迫使百姓靠近心中的上帝。”

Hmm.

嗯，

Now, right in that moment, a new power was unlocked.

就在那一刻，一股新的力量被释放了。

"We stood by street signs that were slightly slanted in the slums of the city.

“我们站在城市贫民窟微斜的路标旁,

Then we gradually, geographically graphed the graffiti on granite walls.

按地理位置逐步在花岗岩墙上涂鸦，

And this was driven from the rage of the reaction of racism that was --"

对种族主义的愤怒驱动着这一切--“

Alright. Y'all get the point.

好吧，大家都明白我想讲的。

(Applause)

（掌声）

Thank you.

谢谢。

I would soon find out what a metaphor was.

我很快知道了什么是比喻，

A simile, double entendre, onomatopoeia, end rhyme, internal rhyme and so on.

明喻，双关语，拟声词，尾韵，内韵等。

And I felt myself getting stronger

我感觉自己日益强大，

with every word and phrase I was putting together.

力量源于我串起的每一个词语。

Now a couple of years later, in high school,

两年后，还在高中上学，

I would discover the world of slam poetry.

我发现了大满贯诗歌的世界。

I had just recently got cut from my basketball team,

那时我刚被篮球队裁掉，

so I had a lot of extra time on my hands that I wasn't used to.

一下有了大把空闲时间，很不习惯。

So what I did was I transformed my competitive energy

于是我把热衷竞赛的精力

from the court to the stage.

从球场转移到了舞台。

Now this was years before I ended up going to college

这都发生在我上大学之前，

and studying Chekhov and Meisner and William Shakespeare and August Wilson.

那时还没学过契诃夫、迈斯纳、 威廉·莎士比亚和奥古斯特·威尔逊。

Back then I was studying underground battle rap kings

那时，我学的是地下战斗说唱王，

like Loaded Lux and Mook,

如 Loaded Lux 和 Mook，

and prophets that called themselves Def Poets.

以及自称 Def 诗人的先知们。

See, those men,

看，那些人，

they looked and sounded like me.

他们看着听着都很像我，

They sounded like the neighborhoods I lived in.

听起来就像来自我生活过的街区，

They sounded like home.

听起来就像乡音。

So now, like those poets, Lemon Andersen and Black Ice,

所以，如同诗人柠檬安徒生和黑冰等，

I started to look at people different.

我开始用不同的眼光看待他人。

Stories started coming in and out of my mind

各种故事不停在我脑海里涌现，

just from observing the everyday world around me.

源自于我对日常生活的观察。

Now I can make the regular, most mundane

现在我能将一个最普通的

blue collar worker of the middle class sound like a superhero.

中产阶级蓝领塑造成超级英雄。

Like I remember there was always this guy on the corner

记得那个角落总有个家伙

telling stories and reminiscing.

在那讲故事，回忆往昔。

We all know this guy, right?

我们都知道他，对吧？

And all his stories would start off with, "Y'all, I used to be nice."

他所有的故事开头都是： “听着，我曾经也很不错的。“

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Most people would write him off.

多数人会将他一笔勾销，

But me, I saw more than a person whose dream was deferred.

但我看到的不只是一个梦想迟至者，

I saw a person who came alive in those stories.

我看到他在故事中变得鲜活起来，

I knew that he was more than those dreams.

我知道他不只是那些梦想，

Whether they knew it ...

他们自己也许知道……

or not.

也许不知道。

I used to be nice, yo.

听着，我曾经很棒的，

Nice like Jordan fadeaway nice.

像乔丹的后仰跳投那么棒。

When I stepped on the court,

当我步入球场，

stars would align, the world stopped spinning,

星星会排成行，而世界停止旋转，

gravity would cease and I appeared to jump higher.

重力会消失，我似乎跳得更高。

You see, the angle of my form

你看，我形体的角度

was nothing less than Da Vinci's sketch of the ideal man.

不亚于达芬奇那理想男人的素描。

Man, I used to be nice.

哥们，我曾经很棒的。

I wasn't fast, but I was quick.

我跑不快，但我很灵活敏锐。

My defense was well equipped and my assists were crisp.

我的防守完美到位，助攻也利落干脆。

Since birth I was chosen, I used to part defenses like Moses.

生来注定，我就像摩西般瓦解防守堡垒。

Due to my vision, I could envision

我预见力超好，能够预视

其他球员即将定位的位置。

a player's position before they was positioned.

是的，我已练就。

I was conditioned.

My no-looks were textbook, and scouts even said I was off the hook.

我不看人传球很爆表， 球探都夸我棒得出人意料。

Look, my crossover would put my opponent on pause and cause the crowd to go,

看，我的交叉传球令对手停滯不前， 观众也不禁惊叹，

Oh!

噢！

Yeah, I used to be nice.

是啊，我曾经很棒的。

I used to pin shots on the backboard, never bored, and when I scored,

我常把投篮钉在篮板上，很来劲，

I transformed into something that wasn't even human.

得分时，我像变成一个超人。

But who knew I would be ruined by a guy so envious of my game,

谁知妒火攻心的家伙

his aim was me.

攻击目标竟然是我。

So when I heard the snap of my knee ...

当听到我的膝盖啪的一声，

everything went silent.

一切归于静默。

I no longer heard the crowd or my team.

我听不见观众、或是球队的声音。

My years of dedication

多年的付出

deteriorated with my dream.

将随我的梦想逝去。

So I lay there on the floor, four minutes left, fourth quarter.

我躺在地上，比赛第四节，还剩四分钟，

No water, just a jersey drenched in sweat. Regrets of trying to dunk on him.

没有水，只有汗湿的运动衫。 后悔试图灌篮胜那家伙。

No need to ask why. This is the hand I was dealt.

无需问为什么，这就是我拿到的牌。

No sleeves. I couldn't cheat.

没有袖子，我不能欺瞒。

Defeat didn't taste good.

失败的滋味真不好受。

But I used to be nice, yo.

但我曾经很棒的啊，哥们，

Nice like Jordan fadeaway nice.

像乔丹的后仰跳投那么棒。

When I stepped on the court,

当我步入球场，

the stars would align, the world stopped spinning,

星星会排成行，而世界停止旋转，

gravity would cease, and I appeared to jump higher.

重力会消失，我似乎跳得更高。

Yeah, I used to be nice.

是啊，我曾经很棒的。

(Applause)

（掌声）

Now I found myself

而今我发现自己

becoming obsessed with words

迷上文字

and how they sounded.

和它们的声韵。

I started absorbing and paying attention more to speech patterns

我开始吸收和关注

when people would speak,

周围人们的交谈方式，

when I was on a train going through the city.

坐火车穿越城市时也不放过机会。

I also fell in love with jazz, because I realized

我也爱上爵士乐，

that the style that I was creating for myself

因为我的创作风格

had elements of improvisation,

含有即兴元素，

like jazz greats:

就像爵士乐大师一样:

Gil Scott-Heron, Miles Davis, Thelonious.

吉尔·斯科特-赫伦、 迈尔斯·戴维斯、塞洛尼斯。

I also went and discovered new poets that I didn’t know.

我还发现了一些新诗人，

That's when I discovered Langston Hughes and Jean Toomer.

如兰斯顿·休斯和吉恩·托莫。

Now like every story,

每一个故事里，

everyone has a love interest.

中心人物都有个心上人，

And mine was Nikki Giovanni.

我的是妮基·乔瓦尼（Nikki Giovanni)，

And I actually fell in love with her.

我真的爱上她了。

I found an Afrocentric descended angel ...

我发现一个非裔天使 ......

sitting by herself.

独自坐在那里，

And she is beautiful.

优雅美丽。

Certain moments are precious, I was told.

我听说，有些时刻珍贵无比，

And when you get to see into someone's soul, you see heaven.

当你看到他人的灵魂，你看到天堂。

So if that's true, heaven is where I am.

若真是这样，我此刻正在天堂。

She painted her finger across the sky like she was painting the stars.

她用纤指轻划过垠空，如同涂染星星，

And the world fell silent as I listened

世界陷入沉静，

to the internal instrumental that my heartbeat made.

让我聆听我心跳演奏的乐曲。

I walked up behind her and touched her shoulder like the wind.

我跟随其后，如风般轻触她的细肩，

And she looked at me like that familiar image she sees in her dreams.

她回头看我，如同凝视梦中熟悉的身影。

She is like the perfect use of assonance in just the right amount of lines.

她恰似完美诗行中完美运用的谐音。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Her pupils looked lost, and I wanted to teach her to love what she sees.

她的眼神迷失，我想教她热爱眼前所视。

Through pictures I have pieced together her figure like a mosaic,

她的形象如马赛克一样已拼凑固定

and I have her on the walls of my mind

在我的心墙，

like graffiti on the cathedrals of the ghetto called apartments.

如同名为公寓之贫民窟大教堂上的涂鸦。

I sat down with her.

我坐到她身边，

And I grabbed my Moon easel.

拿出我的月亮画架

And cloud palette.

和云彩调色盘，

And I started to add stars to her masterpiece.

开始为她的杰作添加繁星点点。

I found an Afrocentric descended angel that reminded me of Aphrodite,

我发现一个非裔天使， 让我想起爱神阿芙罗狄蒂，

and I wondered what would be her aphrodisiac.

我想知道什么是她的催欲剂。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

She was sitting by herself.

她曾独自坐在那里，

And now I sit with her.

现在我和她坐在了一起。

And she is ...

她是

so ...

如此

beautiful.

美丽。

(Applause)

（掌声）

Years would pass.

经年之后，

And unfortunately, I started to lose a lot of my friends

不幸接踵而至，我失去许多友人，

to violence and/or jail.

他们或遭受暴力，或锒铛入狱。

And it was hard for me not to feel a sense of survivor's remorse.

我感受到一种幸存者的痛悔，

So ...

常常 ...

it would keep me up at night on how could I honor them.

我夜不能寐，不知该如何纪念他们。

And I realized that I can honor them

然后，我想到一种方式 -- 讲故事，

by not only telling my stories

不仅讲出我的故事，

but telling their stories as well.

也讲出他们的故事，

So they could live on the page.

他们由此活在书中，

Forever.

直到永恒。

I’m from a place with there’s big houses and spouses.

我来自一个有豪宅和像样配偶的地方；

No, I'm really from a place where single moms commute two hours to work

开玩笑的，我来自一个 单身妈妈得穿着短裙和衬衫

in pencil skirts and nice blouses.

通勤两小时去上班的地方；

I'm from a place where dudes stand in front of the bodega,

那地方常有家伙站在便利店前，

trying to hold their jeans.

时不时拉拉松垮的牛仔裤；

I'm from a place where there's hustlers and fiends.

那地方充满老千和瘾君子，

Cops may intervene, some unseen.

警察也许介入，但通常视而不见。

I'm from a place where boys raise boys,

那地方男孩抚养男孩，

men are nonexistent and mothers are young.

男人不存在，年轻母亲独自承担。

So how y'all expect us to turn out?

那你们还能指望我们变成啥样？

Looking up to hustlers was our worth.

仰视皮条客是我们的价值。

We were told that our awards were skirts.

我们被告知奖品是裙子。

See in the hood, fingers get contorted,

邻里相见，扭曲的手指暗号,

rhetoric retorted, shots ring out by orphans.

言辞反驳，孤儿们的枪声响起。

Now RIP shirts are worn in front of coffins

穿着“请安息”衬衫站在棺材前，

and this happens all too often

这种事发生太频繁，

because we’re taught to do that with no regret, rep your set.

因为我们被教导无怨无悔，为了同伴。

We’re throwing up signs, and we ain’t even deaf.

虽然并非聋子，我们用手势表达身份。

Kin to death. It's like our lives are as long as that Bible verse:

死亡至亲，我们的生命长度如圣经短句：

"Jesus wept."

“耶稣哭泣了。”

See, that’s why I can’t wait till the day when my skin isn’t a novelty.

所以我不能等到我的皮肤不再新奇，

And our stories aren’t synonymous with poverty.

我们的故事不再等同于贫瘠。

Because honestly, it’s hard to deal in modesty

实说吧，很难低调处理

when we have to deal with this identity dichotomy.

这种身份二分法。

Like, why do I have to say I'm human, too?

比如，为何我得强调我也是人？

When DNA proves I'm deep buried in you.

基因已证实你我水乳交融，深不可分。

We made the pyramids so you could see a beautiful view.

我们建筑金字塔，让你见识奇观美景；

We made statues with wide noses. We were just making the truth.

我们塑造宽鼻雕像，我们打造真实；

So imagine someone saying it wasn't you.

想象一下有人说那不是你所造，

And whoever did those great things must have been much lighter than you.

无论谁创下这些伟大业绩， 反正不是黑人的你。

But how, when you discovered the tombs,

但坟墓里，

mummy's hair was even woven down to the root?

木乃伊的头发怎会一直编织到根部？

Truth. So if you really want to help us young brothers out,

如果你真想帮助我们年轻的兄弟，

stop making our schools look like prisons.

就别让我们学校变得像监狱；

Stop determining how many jails you're going to build

停止决定建造多少监狱，

off our third grade reading scores.

取决于我们三年级阅读成绩。

Scores, false cause.

分数，从来不是起因。

Give Black boy ball and watch him score.

给黑男孩一个球，看他精彩得分；

Give Black boy good beat, then put him on tour.

给黑男孩好乐奏，他能巡回演出；

Give Black boy big chain because he loves the law.

给黑男孩大金链，他值得奢华享受。

The crowd just screams because he never bores.

观众为他狂呼，他沉醉于功名利禄。

But then watch Black people get confused

然后，等着瞧黑人们深陷困惑，

because a couple of Black boys are up in "Forbes."

因为几个黑男孩登上“福布斯”，

Five mic in “Source.”

专辑获“来源” 5 分麦克风评级。

Then be biased and make him law.

然后却遭偏见所害，法律制裁，

Send Black boy to jail, feed him well because he’s a Moor.

黑男孩锒铛入狱； 好好照料他，他是自豪摩尔人。

Now he’s locked down. Now who miss his amore.

如今他被禁锢，谁会想念他的爱人。

Now he gets angry. He wants more.

如今他感到愤怒，渴望更深。

He screams at the top of his lungs. His voice gets hoarse.

他高声喊叫，声嘶力竭，

Because he remembers when he used to rock polo with man on horse.

忆起那些与人玩马球的日子。

But of course, this is not what Black boys cause.

当然，这并非黑男孩的过错。

He just stares, his look is coarse.

他瞪眼看，目光粗鲁。

They made his God look nothing like him, but made him say "Lord."

他们将他的上帝变得面目全非， 却逼他称其为“主”。

Black boy fights in yard as guards watching us

看守们巡察，却漠视黑孩们在院里打斗，

like Ali and Foreman all over again with the same broken jaw.

就像阿里和福尔曼再次对决， 同样是颌骨折裂。

Now he saw society clips his wings, then asks him to soar.

他终于明白社会剪了他的翅膀， 然后却要求他翱翔。

Now another Black boy dead, but nobody saw.

如今又一个黑孩子离世， 却无人知晓。

Now another Black mother crying in the streets, emotions raw.

如今又一个黑人母亲 在街头哭泣，痛彻心肺。

Now she prays to that same God, saying,

她向同一个上帝祈问：

"Why, Lord, why did you have to take my little Black boy?

“为什么，主啊， 为什么你带走我的小黑孩？

He had so much in store,

他还有一生的日子，无尽的梦想，

but now he's just another young, dead Black boy."

但现在只是另一个死去的黑男孩。”

You see, I'm from a place where boys raise boys,

我来自一个男孩抚养男孩的地方，

men are nonexistent and mothers are young.

男人不存在，年轻母亲独自承担。

So I pray for the Black boy.

所以，我为所有黑男孩祷告。

(Applause)

（掌声）

As you see,

如你所见，

that little boy that has dyslexia,

那个患有阅读障碍的小男孩，

that's spent half of his educational journey

他一半的教育历程，

in special education and remedial classes,

花在特殊教育和补习班。

that always struggled with English

他常常在英文和写作上

and writing

挣扎不断，

eventually found his way academically

最终却寻到自己的学术方向，

and actually started to thrive.

并开始茁壮成长。

And that same little boy made it to Broadway.

小男孩后来步入百老汇，

To the mountaintop of writing.

登上写作的峰巅。

See, by telling stories and being authentic to who I am,

看，讲故事，忠于真实的自己，

I became the superhero I wanted to be as a kid.

我最终成为了童年时向往的超级英雄。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）