美国国家公共电台 NPR Pulitzer Prize-Winning Poet Richard Wilbur Dies At 96

 

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

The poet Richard Wilbur died over the weekend. He was 96. Wilbur has been both praised and criticized for his classical approach to poetry, but he earned just about every honor a poet could receive, including being named the second United States poet laureate. NPR's Andrew Limbong has this remembrance.

ANDREW LIMBONG, BYLINE¹: Richard Wilbur won his first Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1957 for his collection "Things Of This World." The title comes from one of his more famous poems "Love Calls Us To The Things Of This World." It's a riff on cities and religion, on beauty and laundry.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

RICHARD WILBUR: (Reading) The eyes open to a cry of pulleys, and spirited from sleep, the astounded² soul hangs for a moment bodiless and simple as false dawn. Outside the open window, the morning air is all awash with angels.

LIMBONG: Here's Wilbur on NPR in 1988.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

WILBUR: I do think it's almost always true that a poem begins when two things, perhaps an inner thing and an outer thing which hadn't been together before, suddenly converge³ and feel as if they wanted to make something new.

LIMBONG: Richard Wilbur was born in New York City in 1921. When he was an infantryman in World War II, he wrote poems for his wife and friends to calm his nerves. When he got back, a buddy⁴ sent his poems to a publishing house that asked if he had more for a book. Wilbur took the job of poet seriously, but he had a sense of humor. He wrote children's books and a poem about a firetruck.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

WILBUR: Right down the shocked street with a siren blast that sends all else skittering to the curb⁵, redness, brass⁶, ladders and hats hurl⁷ past, blurring⁸ to sheer verb.

LIMBONG: Richard Wilbur was not only a poet. He also translated classic plays from French and even wrote lyrics⁹ for Leonard Bernstein's opera "Candide."

(SOUNDBITE OF OPERA, "CANDIDE")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: (As Cunegonde, singing) And yet of course I rather like to revel¹⁰ - ha, ha.

LIMBONG: Andrew Limbong, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF OPERA, "CANDIDE")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: (As Cunegonde, singing) I have no strong objection to champagne¹¹ - ha, ha. My wardrobe is expensive as the devil.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 astounded   

v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶

参考例句：

• His arrogance astounded her. 他的傲慢使她震惊。
• How can you say that? I'm absolutely astounded. 你怎么能说出那种话？我感到大为震惊。

3 converge   

vi.会合；聚集，集中；(思想、观点等)趋近

参考例句：

• The results converge towards this truth.其结果趋近于这个真理。
• Parallel lines converge at infinity.平行线永不相交。

4 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

5 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

6 brass   

n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器

参考例句：

• Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

7 hurl   

vt.猛投，力掷，声叫骂

参考例句：

• The best cure for unhappiness is to hurl yourself into your work.医治愁苦的最好办法就是全身心地投入工作。
• To hurl abuse is no way to fight.谩骂决不是战斗。

8 blurring   

n.模糊，斑点甚多，（图像的）混乱v.（使）变模糊( blur的现在分词 )；（使）难以区分

参考例句：

• Retinal hemorrhage, and blurring of the optic dise cause visual disturbances. 视网膜出血及神经盘模糊等可导致视力障碍。 来自辞典例句
• In other ways the Bible limited Puritan writing, blurring and deadening the pages. 另一方面，圣经又限制了清教时期的作品，使它们显得晦涩沉闷。 来自辞典例句

9 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

10 revel   

vi.狂欢作乐，陶醉；n.作乐，狂欢

参考例句：

• She seems to revel in annoying her parents.她似乎以惹父母生气为乐。
• The children revel in country life.孩子们特别喜欢乡村生活。

11 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。