美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Nearing 90,' Judith Viorst Says She's Never Been Happier

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

Judith Viorst, the author of the iconic children's book "Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day," has a new book of poetry. It's about what happens after you grow up, all the way up.

JUDITH VIORST: Even though I'm pushing 90, I'm only a girl of 88.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: The book is called "Nearing 90." WEEKEND EDITION books editor Barrie Hardymon visited Viorst at home to talk about it.

BARRIE HARDYMON, BYLINE¹: Judith Viorst's children's books are on many, many shelves. But she's also a prolific² poet.

VIORST: The poets I revere³ are Auden, Dickinson, Hopkins, Eliot and Yeats. But I decided⁴ somebody has to write about Metamucil and saggy⁵ kneecaps. So why not me?

HARDYMON: Her latest book of verse is part of her poetry series on the decades - "Hard To Be Hip⁶ Over 30," "How Did I Get To Be 40," "Forever 50," "Suddenly 60," "I'm Too Young To Be 70," "Unexpectedly 80" and now "Nearing 90."

Can I ask you to read one or two poems?

VIORST: Sure. (Reading) Once upon a time, I flirted⁷ - smooth skin, long-haired, tight-skirted, never satisfied with what I got, foolish choices, duds I dated, bad vacations, jobs I hated. What did I complain about? - a lot. Once upon a time, I twinkled. Now I'm achy, creaky, crinkled, also slowed down, sidelined, out of touch - no stroke, no chemotherapy and, as of now, dementia-free. What's there to complain about? - not much.

HARDYMON: We met in her cheerful, brightly colored Washington, D.C., home, where she's lived with her husband, Milton, a retired⁸ journalist, for decades. There are photos of them, their children and grandchildren on every available surface and wall at every conceivable moment in their lives. When they first moved to Washington, she took a job as an editor at a science nonprofit that also published books. They asked her to write about the NASA space program.

VIORST: I remember coming home sobbing⁹ to Milton, saying, I've finally gotten a chance to write a book. And they want me to write about space. And I don't even know where space is. And spoken like a true reporter, he said, say yes. We'll figure out where space is.

HARDYMON: She did, of course, go on to figure it out. She's now the author of science books, poetry, fiction, nonfiction, four musicals and some of the most beloved children's literature of all time. Viorst has been a writer since she was 7.

VIORST: My first masterpiece was an ode to my dead mother and father, both alive at the time and quite irritated.

HARDYMON: It was a short poem, which she still remembers called "Children's Blessings¹⁰."

VIORST: (Reading) They took them up the golden stairs far away from me. I wonder if ever again my parents I will see.

HARDYMON: But they were alive.

VIORST: They were alive and, as I said, very pissed off.

HARDYMON: (Laughter).

Well, you got to start somewhere. The famous Alexander, the one who went to bed with gum in his mouth, is her youngest son, who she said had more than his share of bad days trying to keep up with his brothers. "Lulu And The Brontosaurus" is the product of a rainy day babysitting restless grandchildren. And her book about the death of a beloved cat is a response to a difficult question from her oldest son and became the classic "The Tenth Good Thing About Barney."

VIORST: Tony was - I don't know - 5 or 6. And out of the blue, he said to me, mommy, am I going to die someday? So, you know, all prepared in my mommy way, I said, everybody dies. Everybody dies but not for a very, very, very long time. And he says, mommy, I don't want to die. And I said, in my lowest moment as a mother, maybe they'll invent something (laughter). Then I decided what I better do is write a book, work it out for myself and my son.

HARDYMON: Viorst gets asked a lot for parenting advice. After all, she studied Freudian psychology¹¹ and wrote a few nonfiction books. One is called "Necessary Losses," which is almost the mission statement for all her books, even the one starring kids. Loss is hard but crucial. And it doesn't feel good.

VIORST: Practically, everything that I've written that is funny or joyful¹² I've probably lived through first with tears and crying and bitching and moaning and carrying on. I mean, I am not your merry, little lady bouncing chucklingly through life. But eventually, I pull myself together. I'm hoping that I'm now doing it at a quicker pace.

HARDYMON: Viorst is still writing, still reading widely, looking forward to grandchildren graduating and feeling pretty great.

VIORST: Somebody asked me recently what my favorite time of life was. And I absolutely stunned¹³ myself by saying right now.

HARDYMON: That's Judith Viorst. Her new book of poems is called "Nearing 90."

Barrie Hardymon, NPR News.

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 prolific   

adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的

参考例句：

• She is a prolific writer of novels and short stories.她是一位多产的作家，写了很多小说和短篇故事。
• The last few pages of the document are prolific of mistakes.这个文件的最后几页错误很多。

3 revere   

vt.尊崇，崇敬，敬畏

参考例句：

• Students revere the old professors.学生们十分尊敬那些老教授。
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven.中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 saggy   

松懈的，下垂的

参考例句：

• Daisy: Would you still love me if I were old and saggy? 当我的皮肤变得又老又松弛时，你还会爱我吗？
• My darling, if my breasts were saggy, would you still love me? 这是女人最担心的一个问题。

6 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

7 flirted   

v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She flirted her fan. 她急速挥动着扇子。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• During his four months in Egypt he flirted with religious emotions. 在埃及逗留的这四个月期间，他又玩弄起宗教情绪来了。 来自辞典例句

8 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

9 sobbing   

<主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的

参考例句：

• I heard a child sobbing loudly. 我听见有个孩子在呜呜地哭。
• Her eyes were red with recent sobbing. 她的眼睛因刚哭过而发红。

10 blessings   

n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福

参考例句：

• Afflictions are sometimes blessings in disguise. 塞翁失马，焉知非福。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We don't rely on blessings from Heaven. 我们不靠老天保佑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

12 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

13 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。