2013年我收藏过的一段视频。
2020年看依然被感动。❤
顺便在今天重温一下。
[https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV16W41147r8?from=search&seid=2102625788159302092]
这几分钟的对话出自Patti Smith,于2012年丹麦路易斯安那文学节上的演讲。
我第一次读时，标题是「对年轻艺术家说的话」。所以印象很深。
原完整视频很长。
英文原稿地址：https://medium.com/@monicabulgari/patti-smith-advice-to-the-young-7ec5f4f979b5
我顺了一遍词，编辑了一个双语版本。加了几张照片。
发现我还是更喜欢前面的部分，和结尾那句话。
一名作家，或者说任何文艺工作者，都不能期望自己会受到大众欢迎。
我也录制过一些似乎没什么人听的唱片。也许你写了一些诗集，而它们只有五十个读者。
但是，你依然会坚持下去；因为你必须如此，因为这是你真心想要做的事情。
不过话说回来，能被人喜爱是一件很美妙的事情。
A writer, or any artist, can’t expect to be embraced by the people. You know I’ve done records where it seemed like no one listened to them, you write poetry books that maybe you know, 50 people read, and you just keep doing you work, because you have to, because it’s your calling, but it’s beautiful to be embraced by the people.
有人曾跟我说：“你不觉得那种成功（受到大众欢迎）会一定程度上把一个艺术家毁掉吗？就像如果你是一个朋克摇滚乐手，其实并不想要一张大火的热门专辑。”而我的回答是：“去你的吧。”
Some people have said to me : “Don’t you think that kind of success spoils one as an artist, you know if you’re a punk rocker, you don’t wanna have a hit record”, and I said “No, fuck you”.
当你完成了自己的创作后，越多的人能体验到，那就越棒。
你不会写完什么之后说：“我只想让酷的人来欣赏（其他人滚开）。”
你应该希望，你的作品会感染到每一个人；每个人都会成为你作品的传播者，甚至从中受到启发/鼓舞。
You know it’s just like one does their work for the people, and the more people you can touch, the more wonderful it is. You don’t do your work and say : “ I only want the cool people to read it.” You know, you want everyone to be transported, or hopefully, inspired by it.
当我很年轻的时候，威廉·巴勒斯（William Burroughs，《裸体午餐》作者）告诉我——我那会儿还非常挣扎并且从来没什么钱——
威廉给我的建议是，
“ Build a good name.” “要建立一个好名声，”
“ Keep your name clean. “ “要爱惜羽毛。”
“ Don’t make compromises” “不要妥协。”
“不要担心挣不到钱或者不会成功。
你只需关心，专注做好作品并且做正确的选择来保护它。
如果建立了良好的名声，它终会转变成一笔财富。”
“Don’t worry about making a bunch of money, or being successful, be concerned with doing good work, and make the right choices, and protect your work, and if you build a good name, eventually, that name will be its own currency.”
我记得当他告诉我这一切时，我回答道：“对，但是威廉，我叫Smith，你懂的。”
*（Patti Smith在开玩笑，因为带”Smith”的goldsmith、silversmith之类都是金匠、银匠。此为Patti打趣William Burroughs“名声系无形财富”的说法。）
And I remember when he told me that and I said : “ Yeah but, William, my name is Smith you know.”
只是开玩笑啦。在这个年头，做个艺术家，事实上做为一个人本身已经十分困难。
你必须努力去过这样的生活，在追逐理想的道路上，你还得尽可能保持身心健康。尽可能活得开心，去追求你想要的东西。
无论你想要的是生个小孩也好，想要成为一个大人物也好，
想要生活在森林里也好，想要做点什么保护环境也好，或者你想给侦探剧写剧本。
Just joking, but, to be an artist, actually to be a human being in this times, it’s odd difficult. You have to go through life, hopefully trying to stay healthy, being as happy as you can, and pursuing, you know, doing what you want. If what you want is to have children, if what you want is to be a baker, if what you want is to live out in the woods, or try to save the environment, or maybe what you want is to write scripts for detective shows.
其实这些外在的形式都不重要。真正重要的是知道自己想要的是什么，
然后坚持不懈地追梦。并认识到这一切会很困难。
因为人生本身，真的非常的艰难。
你会失去你爱的人，你会经历心碎；
有时候你会生病，有时候牙疼的要命；
有时候你可能会饥肠辘辘。
但是，另一方面，你会经历最美丽的一切。
有时候就像这片天空。就像你创作的简短的作品让你激动不已，
或者你找到了值得去爱的人，或者是你的孩子。
It doesn’t really matter, you know, what matters is to know what you want, and pursue it, and understand that it’s gonna be hard, because life is really difficult. You’re gonna lose people you love, you’re gonna suffer heartbreak, sometimes you’ll be sick, sometimes you’ll have really bad tooth ache, sometimes you’ll be hungry, but on the other hand, you’ll have the most beautiful experiences, sometimes just the sky, sometimes a piece of work that you do that feel so wonderful, or you find somebody to love, or your children.
生命中充满了这样美的东西。所以，当你痛苦难捱的时候，你得明白，
这不过是生活附带的另一部分罢了。
There are beautiful things in life, so, when you’re suffering, just, you know, it’s part of the package.
你可以这么看：我们诞生，我们终会死去，我们都明白。
所以我们可以感到无比开心，同时也会真的彻底搞砸。
所以就这样体验下去，就像过山车一样。
永远不会一直完美。会有一些完美的时刻，接着是艰难的时刻。
但是这些都是值得的。我觉得是值得的。
相信我，我就是这么想的。
You know, you look at it : we’re born, and we also have to die. We know that. So it makes sense that we’re gonna be really happy, and things are gonna be really fucked up too. Just ride with it. It’s like a roller coaster ride. It’s never gonna be perfect, it’s gonna have perfect moments, and then rough spots, but it’s all worth it, believe me, I think it is.
我确信，每一代人都会说他们身处最好的时代、也身处最坏的时代。
但是我相信，我们现在是在一个前所未有的时代。这是先锋的时代。
因为历史上任何一个时代都不像现在这样，这是一切如此独特的缘故。
You know, I’m sure that each generation could say that their time was the best and the worst of times. But I think that right now, we are at something different that I’ve never seen. It’s a pioneering time, because there is no other time in history like right now. And that’s what makes it unique.
并不是独特在我们有新生派的艺术家，是因为人民，因为这是人们的时代而如此独特。
因为科技真的让“自我表达”的权利过渡到普罗大众手上。
以往只有少部分人能创作自己的歌曲、出版唱片，如今，每个人都有此机会。
It’s not unique because we have like Renaissance style artists, It’s unique because the people… it is the time of the people. Because technology has really democratized self-expression. Instead of a handful of people making their own records or writing their own songs,everybody can write them.
每个人都可以在网上写诗让别人去读，
每个人都能接触到过去无法接触/获取的事物。
全球罢工也好，扳倒那些自以为掌控一切的世界的集团、XX也罢，都变得可能。因为，我们在科技的帮助下可以团结。
Everyone can post a poem on the Internet, and have people read it, everyone has access, and access that they’ve never had before, there are possibilities for global striking, for bringing down these corporations and g**s who think they rule the world, because we can unite as one people through technology.
我们仍然在试探着搞懂，科技给人的究竟是一种怎么样的力量，人又该如何使用这力量？
但无可置疑，人们手中确实紧握着前所未有的力量。
而我认为我们现在正经历这一段痛苦的，类似青春期的时期。
当然，我们还是会思考：技术的用途可以是什么？我们要对这个世界做什么？我们该如何看待自身？
We’re all still figuring it out, and what power we actually have, but the people still do have the power, more than ever, and I think right now, we’re going through this painful sort of like adolescence. Again, what do we do with this technology, what do we do with our world, who are we ?
但这些，这些难解的问题也令人兴奋。现在的年轻人，新一代的人，他们是新时代的先驱者。
But, it also makes it exciting. You know, all the young people right now, the new generations, they are pioneers in a new time.
所以我说，要坚强，试着享受但是保持清醒。同时还要保持健康，因为前路满是挑战，快乐点吧。
So, just, I say : stay strong, try to have fun but stay clean, stay healthy, because you know, you have a lot of challenges ahead, and,** be happy**.”
最近在重温一些有营养的好文章，对年轻时代的我有过很深的影响。感兴趣的可以来我的公众号Yuetalks找我玩。
More：
那些平凡的青春日子，我在循环听小红莓。