ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sarah Kay - Poet
A performing poet since she was 14 years old, Sarah Kay is the founder of Project VOICE, an organization that uses spoken word poetry as a literacy and empowerment tool.

Why you should listen

Plenty of 14-year-old girls write poetry. But few hide under the bar of the famous Bowery Poetry Club in Manhattan’s East Village absorbing the talents of New York’s most exciting poets. Not only did Sarah Kay do that -- she also had the guts to take its stage and hold her own against performers at least a decade her senior. Her talent for weaving words into poignant, funny, and powerful performances paid off.

Sarah holds a Masters degree in the art of teaching from Brown University and an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Grinnell College. Her first book, B, was ranked the number one poetry book on Amazon.com. Her second book, No Matter the Wreckage, is available from Write Bloody Publishing.

Sarah also founded Project VOICE, an organization that uses spoken word poetry as a literacy and empowerment tool. Project VOICE runs performances and workshops to encourage people to engage in creative self-expression in schools and communities around the world.

More profile about the speaker
Sarah Kay | Speaker | TED.com
TED2019

Sarah Kay: "A Bird Made of Birds"

莎拉•凱依: 〈用鳥群做成的鳥〉

Filmed:
1,727,091 views

莎拉•凱依引用她的詩人朋友卡非•阿克巴的話:「你計畫要寫的詩,老天爺已經寫過了。」她藉著表演〈用鳥群做成的鳥〉這首詩,分享她如何找到和在哪裡找到詩的靈感。(莎拉•凱依也是 TED 的播客《某人敬上》(Sincerely, X)的主持人,請用「發光體」(Luminary)播客軟體收聽,網址:luminary.link/ted)
- Poet
A performing poet since she was 14 years old, Sarah Kay is the founder of Project VOICE, an organization that uses spoken word poetry as a literacy and empowerment tool. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
I have a friend朋友 named命名 Kaveh卡韋 Akbar阿克巴爾,
who is a fellow同伴 poet詩人.
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我有個朋友名叫卡非•阿克巴,
他和我一樣是個詩人。
00:18
And Kaveh卡韋 found發現 this photo照片 online線上
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在網路上,他發現一張
藍鯨心臟的解剖照片,
00:21
of the anatomical解剖 heart of a blue藍色 whale
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00:25
that scientists科學家們 had hung
on a hook from the ceiling天花板,
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科學家用鉤子把心臟
從天花板懸吊下來,
00:29
which哪一個 is how they were able能夠 to observe
that the heart of a blue藍色 whale
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這樣他們就能看到
藍鯨的心臟之大,
容得下一個人站在裡面。
00:32
is big enough足夠 that a person
can stand up fully充分 inside of it.
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00:37
And when Kaveh卡韋 shared共享 this photo照片 online線上,
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卡非在網路上分享這張照片時,
00:40
he did so with the caption標題,
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加上了這樣的文字:
00:42
"This is another另一個 reminder提醒
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「這再度提醒你,
00:45
that the universe宇宙 has already已經 written書面
the poem you were planning規劃 on writing寫作."
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你計畫要寫的詩,
老天爺已經寫過了。」
00:52
And when I first saw that,
I was horrified嚇壞了.
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我看見時,驚懼萬分。
00:55
I was like, "Come on, man!
I'm trying to invent發明 new metaphors隱喻!
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我心想:「喂!
我還想發明新的隱喻呢!
00:58
I'm trying to discover發現 beauty美女
that hasn't有沒有 been discovered發現 yet然而.
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我還想發掘還沒被發現過的美。
01:01
What do you mean, the universe宇宙
is always going to get there before me?"
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你是說老天爺總會比我快一步嗎?」
01:05
And I know this isn't
a uniquely獨特地 poet詩人 problem問題,
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我知道這不是只有詩人才有的問題,
01:08
but on days when the world世界
feels感覺 especially特別 big
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當我們感到世界太大、
01:14
or especially特別 impossible不可能
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太不可思議、
01:16
or especially特別 full充分 of grandeur富麗堂皇,
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太壯麗宏偉時,
01:19
those are the days when I feel,
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我就會感覺:
01:22
"What do I possibly或者 have to contribute有助於
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「身為詩人,我還有甚麼
值得貢獻的呢?」
01:25
to all of this?"
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01:28
Not long ago, I saw this video視頻
that some of you may可能 have seen看到.
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不久前,我看到一個影片,
你們可能已經看過了。
01:31
It makes品牌 the internet互聯網 rounds
every一切 couple一對 of months個月.
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這影片每兩個月
就在網路上發燒一次。
01:34
There are these birds鳥類
that are called starlings八哥,
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有一種鳥叫做椋鳥,
01:36
and they fly in what's
called a "murmurationmurmuration,"
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牠們集體飛行的樣子,
稱為「鳥雲」,
01:40
which哪一個 is generally通常
just a big cloud of birds鳥類.
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就是一大群鳥在天空飛翔,
樣子像朵雲。
01:43
And someone有人 happened發生 to catch抓住
a quick video視頻 on their phone電話
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有人用手機捕捉到椋鳥飛行的短片。
01:47
of these starlings八哥 flying飛行.
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01:50
And at first, it's just an amorphous非晶 blobBLOB,
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剛開始只是沒有特定隊形的一群鳥,
01:53
and then there's a moment時刻
where the birds鳥類 shift轉移,
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然後一瞬間,隊形開始變換,
01:56
and they form形成 the shape形狀 of a starling歐椋鳥
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在天空中排成一隻椋鳥的形狀!
02:00
in the sky天空!
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02:02
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
02:03
And as soon不久 as I saw it, I was like,
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我一看到這個景象,就心想:
02:05
(Gasps喘氣) "The universe宇宙 has already已經
written書面 the poem
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(喘氣聲)「你計畫要寫的詩,
02:08
you were planning規劃 on writing寫作!"
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老天爺已經寫過了。」
02:09
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
02:10
Except, for the first time,
it didn't fill me with despair絕望.
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但是這次,我並不感到絕望。
02:14
Instead代替, I thought, "OK.
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我倒是想:「好吧,
02:17
Maybe it's not my job工作
to invent發明 something new.
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我的任務可能不是發明新東西,
02:21
Maybe instead代替 it's my job工作 to listen
to what the universe宇宙 is showing展示 me
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而是要聽聽老天爺要告訴我些甚麼,
02:28
and to keep myself open打開
to what the universe宇宙 offers報價,
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然後以開放的心胸來面對,
02:33
so that when it's my turn,
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等輪到我的時候,
02:35
I can hold保持 something to the light,
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我可以有東西可以呈現,
02:38
just for a moment時刻,
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就算只是一瞬間,
02:40
just for as long as I have.
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只是我擁有的一瞬間。」
02:43
The universe宇宙 has already已經 written書面 the poem
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你計畫要寫的詩,
02:48
that you were planning規劃 on writing寫作.
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老天爺已經寫過了。
02:51
And this is why
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這就是為什麼
02:53
you can do nothing
but point at the flock of starlings八哥
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你只能指著那群鳥,
02:59
whose誰的 bodies身體 rise上升 and fall秋季
in inherited遺傳 choreography編舞,
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看著牠們的身體以與生俱來的
舞姿上下移動,編起隊伍,
03:05
swarming蜂擁 the sky天空 in a sweeping籠統的 curtain窗簾
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成群飛翔,像是在天空中拉起窗簾,
03:09
that, for one blistering起泡 moment時刻,
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就在火熱的一瞬間,
03:12
forms形式 the unmistakeable無可挑剔 shape形狀
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排成那明顯的椋鳥形狀,
03:14
of a giant巨人 bird
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03:16
flapping against反對 the sky天空.
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在天空中揮舞著巨大的翅膀。
03:19
It is why your mouth forms形式 an "o"
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這時你的嘴巴張成「o」的形狀,
03:23
that is not a gasp喘氣,
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但這不是個吃驚的表情,
03:24
but rather, the beginning開始 of,
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而是正要開口說:
03:27
"Oh. Of course課程."
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「哦!當然了。」
03:30
As in, of course課程 the heart of a blue藍色 whale
is as large as a house
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當然藍鯨的心臟跟房子一樣大,
03:36
with chambers tall enough足夠
to fit適合 a person standing常設.
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心室裡容得下一個人站在裡面。
03:40
Of course課程 a fig becomes possible可能
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當然無花果得以結果,
03:44
when a lady淑女 wasp黃蜂 lays樂事 her eggs
inside a flower,
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因為雌黃蜂在花裡產下蛋後,
03:49
dies and decomposes分解,
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在花中死去並腐朽,
03:52
the fruit水果, evidence證據 of her transformation轉型.
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無花果實,就是她生命變幻的證據。
03:55
Sometimes有時, the poem is so bright,
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有時候,你的詩太巧妙,
03:59
your silly愚蠢 language語言 will not stick to it.
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文字太愚蠢,描寫不出那巧妙。
04:02
Sometimes有時, the poem is so true真正,
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有時候,你的詩太真實,
04:06
nobody沒有人 will believe you.
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反而沒有人相信你。
04:08
I am a bird
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我是一隻用鳥群
04:11
made製作 of birds鳥類.
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做成的鳥。
04:13
This blue藍色 heart a house
you can stand up inside of.
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我是一個跟房子一樣大的藍色心臟,
你可以站在裡面。
04:17
I am dying垂死
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我將死,
04:20
here
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在此,
04:21
inside this flower.
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在這朵花裡。
04:26
It is OK.
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沒有關係,
04:27
It is what I was put here to do.
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這就是我此生要做的。
04:30
Take this fruit水果.
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請享用這果實,
04:33
It is what I have to offer提供.
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這是我所能貢獻的。
04:36
It may可能 not be first,
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這可能不是第一個果實,
04:38
or ever best最好,
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或最好的果實,
04:40
but it is the only way to be sure
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但因這果實,我確定
04:43
that I lived生活 at all.
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我曾經活過。
04:46
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Amanda Zhu
Reviewed by Bruce Sung

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sarah Kay - Poet
A performing poet since she was 14 years old, Sarah Kay is the founder of Project VOICE, an organization that uses spoken word poetry as a literacy and empowerment tool.

Why you should listen

Plenty of 14-year-old girls write poetry. But few hide under the bar of the famous Bowery Poetry Club in Manhattan’s East Village absorbing the talents of New York’s most exciting poets. Not only did Sarah Kay do that -- she also had the guts to take its stage and hold her own against performers at least a decade her senior. Her talent for weaving words into poignant, funny, and powerful performances paid off.

Sarah holds a Masters degree in the art of teaching from Brown University and an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Grinnell College. Her first book, B, was ranked the number one poetry book on Amazon.com. Her second book, No Matter the Wreckage, is available from Write Bloody Publishing.

Sarah also founded Project VOICE, an organization that uses spoken word poetry as a literacy and empowerment tool. Project VOICE runs performances and workshops to encourage people to engage in creative self-expression in schools and communities around the world.

More profile about the speaker
Sarah Kay | Speaker | TED.com