City of Sociability社交之城

西沃恩·基爾費(fèi)瑟　寧一中/譯介

【導(dǎo)讀】西沃恩·基爾費(fèi)瑟的《都柏林文化史》（Dublin： A Cultural History）2005年由牛津大學(xué)出版，著名文論家伊格爾頓作序。全書凡九章，涉及到愛爾蘭文化的各個(gè)方面。愛爾蘭首都都柏林被譽(yù)為社交之城，而酒吧則是交際的重要場所。圣殿酒吧、邁克達(dá)德酒吧、宮殿酒吧都是都柏林的著名酒吧。到都柏林游覽，少不了去參觀這些酒吧并喝上一杯，感受那里酒吧的氛圍是了解都柏林文化的一個(gè)重要方面。事實(shí)上，光顧都柏林酒吧的，有作家、詩人、歌手、演員、冒險(xiǎn)家、政客、記者、律師、學(xué)生各色人等。這是一個(gè)地道的交際所在，到都柏林不去這些酒吧體驗(yàn)一下，離開的時(shí)候一定會(huì)帶著遺憾。

Sometimes friends from overseas who are planning to visit Dublin ask me what they should see and do. I am happy enough to make suggestions until they ask the two questions I dread： Where should I go to hear live music， and which are the good pubs？ Both these questions arise， I think， from the way that people choose to visit Dublin not to see anything in particular， but because they believe in its sociability. This， of course， is not a myth. Dublin is the most sociable of cities， although fifteen years ago one would have appended the caveat “unless youre gay”. Happily， things have changed.

時(shí)有朋自海外來，欲訪都柏林，問我何處值得一看、何事值得一做，我都樂意為他們出謀劃策。不過有兩個(gè)問題讓我害怕作答，那就是：上哪兒去聽一場現(xiàn)場音樂會(huì)？哪里的酒吧最好？這些問題的提出，我想是因?yàn)檫@些人造訪都柏林不是專門看什么，而是深信都柏林是一座社交之城。當(dāng)然，這想法沒錯(cuò)。都柏林確實(shí)是社交生活最為活躍的城市，盡管15年前大家往往會(huì)加上“同性戀當(dāng)心”的提醒?？上驳氖?，情況已經(jīng)發(fā)生了變化。

In the 1990s Dublin was marketed in Britain and Germany as a “stag night” and “office party” destination， with the new fast ferries （which cross from Holyhead in 100 minutes） and the cheap flights offered by Ryanair making it an easy place to spend a weekend. By the start of the twenty-first century the spread of low-budget airlines， adjustments in the exchange rates， European Union enlargement and changes in fashion saw a drop in that party tourism （which migrated to Prague and elsewhere）.

20世紀(jì)90年代，都柏林在英國和德國是作為“告別單身之夜”和“辦公室聚會(huì)”的所在而被推銷的。因?yàn)樾麻_辟了快船航道（從霍利黑德出發(fā)，100分鐘就能到都柏林），瑞安航空公司也提供了便宜航班，去那里度周末就輕而易舉了。21世紀(jì)剛開始，由于低價(jià)航班的擴(kuò)張、匯率的調(diào)整、歐盟的擴(kuò)大和時(shí)尚的變化，這個(gè)聚會(huì)旅游的打卡地風(fēng)光不再（轉(zhuǎn)去了布拉格和別的地方）。

Aspects of the heavy drinking culture were unattractive to other kinds of tourists， and Temple Bar， for instance， now actively discourages the “stag night” trade. That increase in tourism from the young caused some public order problems， but also contributed to a relaxed attitude that appeals strongly to multi-cultural tourists.

過度飲酒的文化對(duì)其他一些旅游者來說并無吸引力。比如，圣殿酒吧現(xiàn)在就積極支持取消“告別單身之夜”這一項(xiàng)目。來旅游的年輕人增多，盡管產(chǎn)生了一些公共秩序問題，卻也增添了輕松氣氛，大大吸引了多文化旅游者。

But sociability is not a commodity that can be ordered with a pint of stout. A visitor might get a lot of pleasure from visiting pubs that are beautifully dec-orated and pubs that have interesting historical associations. Many a visitor enjoys a drink in the Palace Bar or McDaids in the knowledge that these are places where Patrick Kavanagh1， Flann OBrien2 and Brendan Behan3 might have been seen in the 1940s and 1950s.

但社交并非商品，不可用一品脫烈性黑啤酒換得。裝修漂亮的酒吧和能令人聯(lián)想起很多有趣歷史故事的酒吧，可能會(huì)讓游客得到很多快樂。許多游客喜歡在皇宮酒吧或麥克戴茲喝上一杯，因?yàn)樗麄冎溃?0世紀(jì)40年代和50年代，帕特里克·卡瓦納、弗蘭·奧布賴恩和布倫丹·貝漢都可能光顧過此地。

Fans of Ulysses will probably go into Davy Byrnes because that is where Leopold Bloom had his lunch. Nearys was traditionally a theatrical bar， and Doheny & Nesbitts was always popular with politicians， journalists and lawyers. John Kehoes， the pub closest to the National Library， has a great traditional decor and is very busy in the evenings， with customers spilling out into the streets. The Republic of Ireland has recently introduced a ban on smoking in public places， and this is felt most dramatically in the changed atmosphere in pubs. J. P. Donleavys description of McDaids in the 1940s is a reminder that it is people， not places， who make great pubs：

《尤利西斯》的粉絲不妨去戴維·伯恩酒吧，因?yàn)槟蔷褪抢麏W波德·布魯姆吃午飯的地方。尼亞里是一個(gè)傳統(tǒng)的戲劇酒吧，而多尼-內(nèi)斯比特酒吧則是政客、記者和律師們常去的地方。離國家圖書館最近的約翰·基歐酒吧有著很棒的傳統(tǒng)裝飾，晚上生意非常繁忙，大量顧客在那會(huì)兒涌上街頭。最近，愛爾蘭共和國實(shí)施了公共場合禁止抽煙的法令，使氣氛大為不同，在酒吧最為顯見。J. P.唐利維對(duì)20世紀(jì)40年代麥克戴茲酒吧的描寫讓我們明白，成就好酒吧的，不是場所，而是人：

If a drink were needed in the pub as it invariably was following anyones meeting one another for more than three minutes， folk would only have to descend the stairs， step out across the street and walk twenty yards to the corner， turn left by the exotic furs displayed in a window， and proceed past Tom Nisbets painting gallery and into John MacDaids pub. Which advertised “Where the drink is efficacious and the conversation effervescent”. Slowly but surely this converted church at 3 Harry Street with its cold， barren， lofty interior， its grim downstairs lavatory and a back door out to a side lane， became an established meeting place for poets， painters， writers， and various chancers and con men， the latter who， poor souls， erroneously thought such people worth associating with. Although this public house had a bemused owner and an extremely pleasant and understanding bartender， the only one in Dublin ever to have bought yours truly4 a drink， nevertheless this big grim room to have become celebrated in any manner， was a mystery to all who went there.

見面超過三分鐘就需要到酒吧喝上一杯，這是常事——若如此，只需下樓梯，出門過馬路，走20碼至街角，在一個(gè)展示異國皮草的櫥窗前左轉(zhuǎn)，再往前經(jīng)過湯姆·尼斯貝特畫廊，就進(jìn)入約翰·邁克達(dá)德酒吧了。酒吧的廣告詞是“暢飲熱聊之地”。這個(gè)酒吧位于哈里街3號(hào)，由教堂改建而來，室內(nèi)一片高冷蕭瑟，連樓下的衛(wèi)生間都陰森可怖，一扇后門連通外面的小巷，如今漸漸定型為詩人、畫家、作家，以及各種投機(jī)者和騙子的固定聚集地。這幫投機(jī)者和騙子，一些可憐的家伙，錯(cuò)誤地以為那些文藝界人士值得交往。這家酒吧有個(gè)風(fēng)趣逗樂的老板，還有個(gè)討人喜歡且善解人意的酒保（他是都柏林唯一請(qǐng)我喝了一杯的人）——盡管如此，這么一間森嚴(yán)的房舍如何變身成了鼎鼎大名的酒吧，這對(duì)所有去過的人來說依然是一個(gè)謎。

Likewise you will find the music you are interested in by talking to people and by looking at the papers， but if you have never had the slightest interest in Irish music do not expect to be able to walk into some charming little pub and have the locals entertain you.

同樣，與人交談或者看看報(bào)紙，都可以找到你喜歡的音樂。但倘若你對(duì)愛爾蘭音樂沒有絲毫興趣，就不要指望能走進(jìn)一個(gè)富有魅力的小酒吧，享受本地人帶給你的快樂。

There are a fair number of buskers， particularly around Grafton Street and St. Stephens Green， and many pubs advertise live music and craic， ceilidh and ceol. Thirty years ago crack was a genuine slang term， applied to social occasions when conversation and drink flowed and people took real pleasure in one anothers company.

都柏林有很多街頭藝人，格拉夫頓街和圣斯蒂芬綠地周圍尤其多。很多酒吧打出廣告，稱有現(xiàn)場音樂演出，還可以 craic（神侃）、ceilidh（聚會(huì)）和 ceol（聽曲）。30年前，crack是地道的俚語，用來描述人們結(jié)伴聊天喝酒、盡情享受的社交場合。

I have a feeling that it originated in the north and may have migrated to Dublin via students at Trinity College Dublin， which then had a large contingent of northerners. Some time in the 1990s， when Irish theme pubs swept across the world， it was gaelicized to craic. However sterling the crack， I do not think that any Irish person ever says that the craic is good， but there it is advertised all over the place. It is an odd promise to market.

我有一種感覺，該詞源于北部，可能是經(jīng)由都柏林圣三一學(xué)院的學(xué)生傳到這里的，當(dāng)時(shí)學(xué)院里有很多北方人。20世紀(jì)90年代的某個(gè)時(shí)候，愛爾蘭主題酒吧風(fēng)靡世界，這個(gè)詞就被蓋爾語化，變樣成了craic。無論crack有多好，我都認(rèn)為沒有一個(gè)愛爾蘭人會(huì)說craic很好，但這里隨處可見用它做的廣告。用這么個(gè)詞來做推廣，真是咄咄怪事。

A ceilidh is a social gathering which may—but need not—involve storytelling or music. When I was a child I always heard it used as a verb—“Shall we go down the lane and ceilidh with Bridget Ellen？” Ceol is the Irish for music.

ceilidh就是社交聚會(huì)，可以講故事或聽音樂，當(dāng)然不一定都有。還在孩提時(shí)代，我就常常聽到這個(gè)詞用作動(dòng)詞，比如：“Shall we go down the lane and ceilidh with Bridget Ellen？”（我們要不要沿著這個(gè)巷子走，找布里奇特·艾倫聚聚去？） Ceol則是愛爾蘭語里“音樂”的意思。

Big shows happen at The Point， which was built in 1878 as a train depot to service Dublins docks. The decline in shipping to the North Wall Quay saw the depot close in the mid-1950s. In 1987 it was purchased by a local businessman， who transformed the disused building into a major music venue. It opened in 1988 and has presented many major acts， including David Bowie5， James Brown6， Bob Dylan7 etc.

大型演出一般在波因特劇院舉辦。波因特劇院建于1878年，當(dāng)時(shí)是為都柏林各個(gè)碼頭服務(wù)的火車站。由于北墻碼頭水運(yùn)的式微，這個(gè)站點(diǎn)在20世紀(jì)50年代中期關(guān)閉了。1987年，當(dāng)?shù)氐囊晃簧倘税阉I了下來，將這個(gè)廢棄的建筑改造成了一個(gè)重要的音樂演出場所。自1988年開業(yè)以來，這里已經(jīng)舉辦了很多大牌歌手的演唱會(huì)，包括大衛(wèi)·鮑伊、詹姆斯·布朗、鮑勃·迪倫等。

In 1967 Seán Corcoran8 and Mary McGannon started the Tradition Club at Slatterys， which was for over twenty years one of the best venues for traditional music in the city. Young people in Dublin are wild about music， and you might experience your most enjoyable gig if you simply listen for music from the street， and go into a bar or café to watch a teenage band play in public for the first time.

1967年，肖恩·科科倫和瑪麗·麥克甘農(nóng)在斯萊特里酒吧創(chuàng)辦了“傳統(tǒng)俱樂部”——20多年來，這里一直是這座城市最好的傳統(tǒng)音樂演出場所之一。都柏林的年輕人對(duì)音樂非?？駸?，即使你只是想在街頭聽聽音樂，那么走進(jìn)一家酒吧或咖啡館，觀看一支青少年樂隊(duì)的首次現(xiàn)場演出，都很可能會(huì)有一場最享受的觀演體驗(yàn)。

Your first day in Dublin is always your worst. So， with nice ambiguity， claimed John Berryman9， the American poet who was sometimes drunk in Dublin. Give into it a bit， and Dublin gets better.

你在都柏林的第一天總是最糟糕的?！s翰·貝里曼如是說，這位美國詩人動(dòng)輒在都柏林喝醉，話中模棱兩可的意味頗堪咀嚼。浸染多一分，都柏林會(huì)更賞心悅目。