A Rich Man in his Garden
James Fenton gave a poetry reading last year. He started with ‘Out of the East’, the epic poem which opens Part 2 of his new collection Out of Danger. Much of what Fenton had experienced as a journalist in Indo-China is infused into the poem like a bloodstain. “It’s a far cry. / It’s a war cry. / Cry for the war that can do this thing,” Fenton read – or rather sang. It was not just what he read, it was how he read it. Fenton punched the air, spoke his lines as if they were burning in his mouth, and pranced around dramatically. It was the most electrifying stage performance I’ve ever seen – and it was just a poetry reading.
“James,” says Christopher Reid, poetry editor at Faber and Faber, “is the nearest thing we have to a rap artist. When he reads he doesn’t mumble in the way we university poets are meant to.”
But James Fenton is not how poets are meant to be. Poets are not meant to be rich. They are meant to be wild, drunk, aesthetically penniless. Fenton, described as “the most talented poet of his generation” a decade ago, defies this cliché. He is very rich, though his wealth has little to do with his verse. Fenton is rich because of a musical. When he was fired as librettist of the musical Les Miserables in 1985, it was thought only fair that he should gain some reward for the work he had already done. His agent negotiated a percentage. Given that Les Miserables has played all around the globe, this must amount to a very large sum of money indeed.
On the proceeds, Fenton has bought property. He owns a flat near the Adelphi theatre in London and a farm four miles outside Oxford. The money has also brought him independence. “When I work now,” he says, “it is only because I want to.” It’s been a long wait since Fenton’s last volume, The Memory of War and Children in Exile was published in 1983. Acclaim for the book was led by another poet, Peter Porter; his view of Fenton hasn’t changed. “He is a spasmodic poet, but also very popular – it’s the way he writes, with a mixture of poetic language and real directness. But the important thing about him is that he doesn’t indulge himself in poetry every morning. He’s devoted to the outside world.”
In the Seventies, this devotion took Fenton to most points east – Vietnam, Cambodia and in 1986 to the Philippines, where he became Far East correspondent for a newspaper. In the late Eighties, he bought a prawn farm with a group of friends out there, and spent a lot of time in the remote countryside. He settled down to write many of the poems collected in Out of Danger.
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Fans will not be disappointed. The qualities of the last volume – narrative skill, wit, a taste for fantasy – are on display in abundance. There’s also a new tone, a new preoccupation. At least five of the poems are achingly tender love lyrics. Presumably these are addressed to someone?
“I wouldn’t presume anything,” Fenton answers briskly. “The point is, with a lyric, you have to write about what you are feeling, but also what one generally feels in such situations. That’s what makes the poem, not a peculiar person. So I wouldn’t presume anything at all if I were you.”
Fenton was born in 1949, the son of a theologian. His interest in English literature began only when he took his school-leaving exam. He had written to W.H. Auden, and the poet visited the school. “He talked to us and we were absolutely tongue-tied,” says Fenton. “He was particularly nice to me.” Auden’s influence was decisive. When Fenton went up to Oxford to read English< Auden would take him out to lunch.
After Oxford, Fenton considered journalism. He wrote to every newspaper north of Birmingham, but no job was forthcoming. The poor Anthony Thwaite, then literary editor of the New Statesman, came to the rescue. Fenton had been doing monthly book reviews for him: when Thwaite needed an assistant, Fenton got the job.
His first volume of poetry was published in 1972. “The book was well-received,’ says Fenton, “and I was convinced that I wanted to be a poet. But the point was: how to live as a poet? I didn’t want to leave off poetry and I didn’t want to be a literary journalist. If all you worked on was books, and you wanted to write them, I figured you’d end up constantly referring to your own reading.”
The book won an award and he used the money to go to Vietnam. Why Indochina? “I knew I wanted to travel, either to Africa or Indo-China.” His account of his trips to Vietnam just after the US had pulled out, and of the fall of Saigon, remain one of the great pieces of modern reportage.
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Currently, he is a poet-landowner. On returning to England, he left he had to be near Oxford. So he bought the farm, restored the house, created the library and set to work on a design for the garden. The result is a vegetable plot of geometrical orderliness, a rose garden, flower beds and a wide, carefully-tended lawn. But it’s a far cry from the East – and it’s hard to believe Fenton is going to stick around. “Well,” he says, “it does fulfill the ideals I set myself when I started this. I thought I was going to buy a house but it was the garden that was what I wanted to do next. It’s a way of saying: I’m going to be here for a long time.”
Task 1
The article about the British poet and journalist James Fenton gives a lot of references to key dates and place names (which is typical of articles written in publicistic style). Indicate at which date the poet did the following:
- gave a reading from his new poetry collection;
- lost job as librettist on musical Les Miserables;
- published Memory of War;
- became Far East correspondent on the Philippines;
- bought a farm in Philippines with some friends; started to write Out of Danger;
- studied at Oxford University;
- published first volume of poetry, which won an award;
- lives on farm near Oxford.
Task 2
The article is a biographical account of Fenton’s career, but events are not related in chronological order. At what point in time does it begin and end? Why do breaks in chronology occur?
Task 3
Grammatical devices such as reference and conjunction are used to signal the relationship between elements in a text. This is called grammatical cohesion. Another feature of texts (including those written in publicistic style) is lexical cohesion. This refers to the way vocabulary items are repeated or, more frequently, replaced with a synonym or paraphrase as the topic is developed. Point out the related words in these extracts from the article.
- He is very rich, though his wealth has little to do with his verse. Fenton is rich because of a musical (paragraph 3).
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- It’s been a long wait since Fenton’s last volume The Memory of War. Acclaim for the book was led by another poet, Peter Porter (paragraph 4).
- At least five of the poems are achingly tender love lyrics (paragraph 6).
- He had written to W.H. Auden and the poet visited the school (paragraph 8).
Task 3
Lexical links also help to make the relationships between paragraphs in a text clear. Paragraphs usually contain a transitional sentence, which points forward to the next paragraph or backwards to the previous paragraph. The transitional sentences usually occur at the end of one paragraph and the beginning of the next. Answer the following questions about the article:
- Read the first sentence of paragraph 3. What words echo the last sentence of paragraph 2? How is paragraph 3 developed?
- Paragraph 4 begins: ‘On the proceeds, Fenton has bought property.’ What event in paragraph 3 does this refer to?
- Paragraph 6 begins ‘Fans will not be disappointed.’ What won’t they be disappointed with?
- Who asked the question at the end of paragraph 6? What makes it clear that the first sentence in paragraph 7 is in answer to the question?
- Which words in the first paragraph are echoed in the concluding paragraph?
Exercise 3.
The text below provides an excerpt from the speech “Yes, We Can” of the U.S. President Barack Obama. Read the text and do the tasks that follow.
Yes, We Can
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who wanted three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.
It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, disabled or not disabled – Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.
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It’s the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.
I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he’s fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation’s promise in the months ahead.
I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the Strrets of Scranton and rode with on that train to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.
I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation’s next First Lady, Michelle Obama, Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us to the White House. And while she’s no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.
To my campaign manager David Ploufe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics – you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you’ve sacrificed to get it done.
But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to – it belongs to you.
[…]
This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that’s on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in lines to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.
She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky […].
And tonight, I think about all that she’s been throughout her century in America – the heartache and the hope; the struggle and progress; the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.
At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.
When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.
When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.
She was there for the buses of Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that “We Shall Overcome.” Yes we can.
A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.
America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves – if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?
This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us we can’t, we will respond with the timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:
Yes We Can. God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.
Barack Obama – November 5, 2008
Task 1
Comment on stylistic and rhetorical effects of using the following linguistic expressions:
- pronouns (personal, possessive, indefinite, etc.);
- proper names;
- modal auxiliaries (expressing root, deontic, and epistemic modality);
- lexical expressive means and stylistic devices;
- syntactic expressive means and stylistic devices.
Task 2
Compare the original English text with its translation into Russian given below. Find out which expressions in the source text are rendered by those given in italics in the target text. Comment on similarities and differences in the stylistic and pragmatic value of the italicized expressions.
Да, мы можем
Если кто-то еще сомневался в том, что Америка это страна, где возможно все; если кто-то по-прежнему задается вопросом, жива ли сегодня мечта наших отцов-основателей; если кто-то подвергает сомнению силу нашей демократии, то сегодня он получил ответ.
Ответ этот – в очередях, растянувшихся возле школ и церквей в таком количестве, какого еще не видела наша страна; в поступках людей, по три-четыре часа ожидавших своей очереди для голосования, причем многие – впервые в жизни. Дело в том, что они поверили – на сей раз все будет иначе, на сей раз их голос принесет перемены.
Этот ответ дали люди молодые и пожилые, бедные и богатые, демократы и республиканцы, чернокожие, латиноамериканцы, азиаты, коренные американцы, люди с ограниченными возможностями и вполне здоровые граждане. Это американцы, которые сказали миру, что наша страна никогда не была сборищем красных и синих штатов. Мы были и всегда будем Соединенными Штатами Америки.
Это ответ тех людей, среди которых очень многие и долгое время говорили, что надо быть циниками, надо бояться и сомневаться в своих возможностях и достижениях. Своим ответом эти люди положили руки на арку истории и вновь повернули ее в сторону надежды на лучшее.
Этого дня все ждали давно. Но сегодня, благодаря тому, что мы сделали в этот день, на этих выборах и в этот определяющий момент, в Америку пришли перемены.
Мне только что любезно позвонил сенатор Маккейн. Он долго и упорно боролся во время этой кампании, и он еще дольше и упорнее боролся за свою страну, которую так любит. Он принес во имя Америки такие жертвы, которые большинству из нас даже трудно себе представить. И мы сегодня живем лучше благодаря тому, что сделал для Америки этот смелый и самоотверженный лидер. Я поздравляю его и губернатора Пэйлин с тем, чего им удалось достичь, и рад думать о совместной работе с ними в предстоящие месяцы по претворению в жизнь надежд этой страны.
Я хочу поблагодарить своего партнера в этих выборах, человека, который вел кампанию от всего сердца и говорил от имени людей, с которыми вместе вырос на улицах Скрэнтона, с которыми вместе отправился на том поезде к себе домой в Делавэр. Я хочу поблагодарить избранного вице-президента Соединенных Штатов Джо Байдена.
Я не стоял бы сегодня здесь без той неослабной поддержки, которую оказывал мне мой лучший друг на протяжении последних шестнадцати лет, основа нашей семьи и любовь всей моей жизни – новая первая леди нашей страны Мишель Обама. Саша и Малия, я очень люблю вас, и вы заслужили нового щенка, который приедет вместе с нами в Белый Дом. И пусть моей бабушки сегодня нет с нами, я знаю, что она смотрит на меня вместе с моей семьей, которая сделала меня таким, какой я есть. Мне их сегодня очень не хватает, и я знаю, что мой долг перед ними безмерен.
Менеджеру своей предвыборной кампании Дэвиду Плаффу, своему главному стратегу Дэвиду Аксельроду и самой лучшей за всю историю политики избирательной команде я хочу сказать: это ваше достижение, и я всегда буду благодарен вам за те жертвы, которые вы принесли на алтарь победы.
Но прежде всего, я никогда не забуду, кому действительно принадлежит эта победа – она принадлежит вам.
[…]
На этих выборах многое происходило впервые, в них было много историй, которые будут передаваться из поколения в поколение. Но сегодня я вспоминаю об одной женщине, которая голосовала в Атланте. Она похожа на миллионы остальных людей, стоявших в очереди, чтобы отдать свой голос на этих выборах, за исключением одного – Энн Никсон Купер, которой сейчас 106 лет.
Поколение ее родителей помнило рабство. Она родилась в то время, когда на дорогах еще не было машин, а в небе самолетов […]
И сегодня я задумываюсь обо всем том, что она видела на своем веку в Америке – боль и надежды, борьбу и прогресс, времена, когда нам говорили: нет, это невозможно, и людей, которые шли вперед, верные своему убеждению: да, мы это можем.
Когда в засушливых районах Запада возникало отчаяние, когда вся страна страдала от великой депрессии, она видела, как нация превозмогает страх, благодаря Новому курсу, новым рабочим местам и новому ощущению общности цели. Да, мы можем.
Когда в наших гаванях падали бомбы, а всему миру угрожала тирания, она стала свидетельницей того, как ее поколение поднялось до самых больших высот своего величия, и демократия была спасена. Да, мы можем.
Она видела все: городские автобусы Монтгомери, водометные шланги в Бирмингеме, мост в Сельме, и того проповедника из Атланты, который сказал: «Мы все преодолеем». Да, мы можем.
Человек высадился на Луне, в Берлине была снесена стена, а мир стал гораздо более взаимосвязанным благодаря нашей науке и нашему творческому воображению. И в этом году, на этих выборах она коснулась пальцем экрана и проголосовала, потому что, прожив в Америке 106 лет, пройдя вместе с ней самые лучшие и самые мрачные годы, она знает, как может меняться ее страна. Да, мы можем.
Америка, вот чего мы достигли. Мы видели очень многое. Но предстоит сделать еще больше. Поэтому давайте сегодня спросим сами себя: смогут ли наши дети дожить до следующего столетия; повезет ли моим дочерям настолько, что они проживут так же долго, как Энн Никсон Купер; какие перемены они увидят, Каких успехов мы сумеем добиться?
Вот наш шанс ответить на этот призыв. Наш момент настал. Наше время пришло – мы должны вернуть людей к работе и открыть двери новым возможностям для наших детей, восстановить благополучие и продвинуть вперед дело мира; возродить американскую мечту и вновь подтвердить ту фундаментальную истину, что мы едины в своем множестве, что пока мы дышим, мы надеемся, и что пока мы сталкиваемся с цинизмом и сомнениями, а также с теми, кто говорит нам – это невозможно, мы будем отвечать им с той неизменной убежденностью, которая олицетворяет дух нашего народа: Да, мы можем.
Спасибо вам, да благословит вас Господь, да благословит Господь Соединенные Штаты Америки.
Барак Обама – 5 ноября 2008 г.
(Перевод с сайта ИноСМИ.RU)
Part 2
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