更换-丧偶
The
Shadowland
of Dreams
Alex Haley
close
1
RT
Many a
young person tells me
he wants to be a writer.
I
always
encourage such
people,
but
I
also
explain that
there's
a
difference
between
a
writer
and
writing. In most cases these
individuals are dreaming
of wealth and
fame
, not the long hours
alone at the
type-writer.
got
to
want
to
write,
I
say
to
them,
追梦
亚历克斯·哈利
很多年轻人告诉我，
他们想当作家。我总是鼓励这些人，但我也会解
释，“当作家”和写作是有区别的。在多
数情况下，这些人是在梦想
名利，而不是在打字机前独自度过漫长的时间。我对他们说，
“你得
渴望写作，而不是渴望当作家。”close
2
RT
The
reality
is
that
writing
is
a
lonely,
private
and
poor-paying
affair.
For
every
writer
kissed
by
fortune,
there
are
thousands
more
whose
longing
is
never
rewarded
.
Even
those
who
succeed
often
know
long
periods
of
neglect
and poverty. I did.
< br>孤独、冷清、低薪，这就是写作的现实写照。幸运之神会眷顾一些作
家，但数以千
计的人心中的渴望永远无法满足。就算是成功者，大多
也曾长期无人问津、穷困潦倒，包
括我。
close
3
RT
When I left a
20-year career in the
Coast
Guard
to
become a
freelance
writer, I had no
prospects
at all.
What I did have was a friend with whom
I'd grown up in
Henning
,
Tennessee
.
George
found
me
my
home
—
a
cleaned-out
storage
room
in
the
Greenwich
Village
apartment
building where he worked as
superintendent
.
It
didn't
even
matter
that
it
was
cold
and
had
no
bathroom.
Immediately I bought a used
manual
typewriter and felt
like a
genuine
writer.
我离开工作了
20<
/p>
年的美国海岸警备队成为一名自由作家时，前途一
片渺茫。
唯一拥有的是一个儿时的朋友乔治，
他跟我在田纳西州的亨
宁一起长大。
乔治在格林尼治村公寓看门，
他在那
里帮我找了间腾出
来的储藏室。那儿很冷，又没有卫生间，可是我不在乎。我马上买了<
/p>
一部二手的打字机，感觉就像一个真正的作家了。
close
4
RT
After
a
year
or
so,
however,
I
still
hadn't
received
a
break
and
began
to
doubt
myself.
It
was
so
hard
to
sell
a story that I barely
made enough to eat. But I knew I
wanted
to write. I had dreamed about it for years.
I
wasn't
going
to
be
one
of
those
people
who
die
wondering,
I
would keep
putting my dream to the
test
—
even though it meant living with
uncertainty
and fear
of failure.
This is the
Shadowland of hope, and anyone
with a
dream must learn to live there.
然而，过了一年左右还没有时来运转，我开始怀疑自己。作品很难卖
出去，我只
能勉强维持生计，但我知道，我渴望写作，多少年来我一
直
梦<
/p>
想
着
写
作
。
我
不
要
像
有
些
人
一
样
，
临
死
时
还
想
，
“
假
如······”我要坚持不懈
地试验着我的梦，
哪怕衣食无着，
害
怕
失败，也决不放弃。这是希望的阴影地带，每个有梦的人都必须学
会在那里安居。
close
5
RT
Then one day
I got a call that changed my life. It
wasn't an
agent
or
editor
offering a big
contract
. It
was
the opposite,
a kind of
siren
call
tempting
me to
give up my dream.
On the
phone was an old
acquaintance
from
the Coast Guard, now
stationed
in
San
Francisco
.
He
had
once
lent
me
a
few
bucks
and
liked
to
egg
me
about
it.
＄
15,
Alex
teased
.
一天，我接到一个电话，我的一生从此改变。不是经纪人或编辑打来
要和我
签一份大额合同。刚好相反，这个电话像海妖的歌声，诱使我
放弃梦想。
打电话的是海岸警备队的一个老熟人，
警备队现在设在旧
金山。他借过一些钱给我，
不时提起这件事。“我什么时候才能拿回
< br>那
15
块钱啊，亚历克斯”他揶揄道。
< br>close
6
RT
“等我下次卖了稿子吧。”close
7
RT
public-information
assistant
out
here,
and
we're
paying
＄
6,000 a year. If you want
it, you can have it.
他说，“我有个
更好的主意。我们这里要新招一个公共信息助理，年
薪六千。想要的话，这位子就是你的
了。”close
8
RT
Six thousand
a year! That was real money in 1960.
I
could get a nice apartment, a used car, pay off
debts
and
maybe
save a little something.
What's more,
I
could
write
on
the side
.
一年六千！在
1960
年，那可是一大笔钱了。我可以买套不错的房子，
一辆二手车，还清所有的债
，甚至还可以有点积蓄，而且我还可以在
业余时间写作。
clo
se
9
RT
As the dollars were dancing in my head,
something
cleared
my
senses.
From
deep
inside
a
bull-headed
resolution
welled
up.
I had
dreamed of being a writer
—
full
time.
And
that's
what
I
was
going
to
be.
but
no,
stick it
out
and write.
钞票在我脑海中舞动，但我的头脑蓦地
清醒了。从内心深处，一个固
执的决定涌上心头。我的梦想是要当作家，全职作家。我一
定要实现
梦想。“谢谢，我不去，”我听到自己在这样说，“我要坚持写
作。”close
10
RT
Afterward
, as I
paced
around my little room,
I
started to feel like a fool. Reaching
into my
cupboard
—
an orange
crate
nailed to the wall
—
I pulled out
all that was there: two cans of
sardines
.
Plunging my
hands
in
my
pockets,
I
came
up
with
18
cents.
I
took
the
cans
and
coins
and
jammed
them
into
a
crumpled
paper
bag.
There
Alex,
I
said
to
myself.
There's
everything
you've
made
of
yourself
so
far.
I'm
not
sure
I
ever
felt
so
low.