美国国家公共电台 NPR Life Above A Library Was Like Living In Neverland

 

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Imagine what it would be like to grow up living in a library. For much of the 20th century, public libraries built by the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie included apartments for the families of custodians². A new play opening in New York's acclaimed³ Cherry Lane Theatre tells the story of one such family. Jon Kalish has more.

JON KALISH, BYLINE⁴: The St. Agnes branch of the New York Public Library on Manhattan's Upper West Side was home to the Washington family back in the 1960s.

SHARON WASHINGTON: This (unintelligible).

KALISH: Sharon Washington descends⁵ the marble steps her father once kept spotless, holding onto the wooden banisters she slid down a half century ago, and arrives on the library's main floor.

WASHINGTON: My father would sort of be horrified⁶ by the floors.

KALISH: Why is that?

WASHINGTON: They're scratched and well-trafficked. He wanted them shining. You know, I want to see myself in these floors. Don't step on my floors.

KALISH: But she did. When the library was closed at night and on weekends, Washington climbed the 5-foot-tall shelves and raced her friends on the book carts. She had access to all three floors and a roof the size of a small playground where her dog Brownie could run free.

(SOUNDBITE OF PLAY, "FEEDING THE DRAGON")

WASHINGTON: (As herself) The library roof was an enclosed space that only we had access to. It's where I learned to jump rope, play hopscotch⁷ and ride a bike, all under my mother's watchful⁸ eye.

KALISH: Washington plays herself, her parents and a dozen more characters in "Feeding The Dragon." The play's title refers to her father's daily ritual of shoveling coal into the furnace. She got the idea for the play after taking a memoir⁹ writing workshop with novelist Patty Dann.

PATTY DANN: I've heard many stories from all sorts of people who grew up in interesting places. But living in a library really is hallowed ground. And so from the outset I knew she had a unique story.

KALISH: Dann helped Washington connect with New York Times columnist¹⁰ Jim Dwyer, who wrote about her in 2009.

WASHINGTON: The next day his inbox and my inbox were inundated¹¹ with people who wanted to write my story. It was crazy. It was kind of overwhelming. And what I wanted to do was write my own story.

KALISH: Washington got offers from filmmakers and writers who wanted to collaborate¹² on a children's book. But her story was hardly unique. John Berry's family lived above another Manhattan library. He and his six siblings¹³ played hide-and-seek and rode in the library's dumbwaiter.

JOHN BERRY: We were playing tag, and the card catalog fell over. The drawers broke. Cards went everywhere. And we knew that our life was over in that day (laughter).

KALISH: Berry lived above the library for 20 years, riding his bicycle and skateboarding through the stacks.

BERRY: Being in the library after hours is probably equivalent to Michael Jackson's Neverland. It's like living in a mansion¹⁴ because you don't make a distinction between I live in an apartment above the library and the library's downstairs. You don't make that distinction. You live in the complete library. There are just a lot of guests during the day.

(SOUNDBITE OF PLAY, "FEEDING THE DRAGON")

WASHINGTON: (As herself) Our story isn't told in any of the books that line the shelves of the St. Agnes Library.

KALISH: Playwright¹⁵ and actress Sharon Washington onstage.

(SOUNDBITE OF PLAY, "FEEDING THE DRAGON")

WASHINGTON: (As herself) But in its polished wood is my father's sweat, on the marble stairs my mother's tears, on the wrought¹⁶ iron bannisters my grandmother's prayers.

KALISH: But the books did light the path she would take.

WASHINGTON: I stumbled onto Shakespeare down in the library. And I was like, I didn't really get it, but I thought the stories were kind of cool and all the fairy tales. I think my father as the custodian¹ and maintenance man couldn't afford to give me a lot. But he gave me a library.

KALISH: And he gave her a story that she plans to tell in other media.

WASHINGTON: Limited HBO series - why not? Netflix, Hulu - I'm open. And I don't even have to be in it (laughter).

KALISH: And Sharon Washington says she still hopes to turn her play "Feeding The Dragon" into a children's book.

(SOUNDBITE OF PLAY, "FEEDING THE DRAGON")

WASHINGTON: (As herself) So here I am, the little girl who lived in the library, a teller¹⁷ of tales, a holder¹⁸ of history, a king's daughter. I am the story.

KALISH: For NPR News, I'm Jon Kalish in New York.

1 custodian   

n.保管人，监护人；公共建筑看守

参考例句：

• Benitez believes his custodian is among the top five in world football.贝尼特斯坚信他的门将是当今足坛最出色的五人之一。
• When his father died his uncle became his legal custodian.他父亲死后，他叔叔成了他的法定监护人。

2 custodians   

n.看守人，保管人( custodian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• If we aren't good custodians for our planet, what right do we have to be here? 如果我们作为自己星球的管理者不称职我们还有什么理由留在这里？ 来自电影对白
• Custodians primarily responsible for the inspection of vehicles, access, custody. 保管员主要负责车辆的验收、出入、保管。 来自互联网

3 acclaimed   

adj.受人欢迎的

参考例句：

• They acclaimed him as the best writer of the year. 他们称赞他为当年的最佳作者。
• Confuscius is acclaimed as a great thinker. 孔子被赞誉为伟大的思想家。

4 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。

5 descends   

v.下来( descend的第三人称单数 )；下去；下降；下斜

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite. 这个节日起源于宗教仪式。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The path descends steeply to the village. 小路陡直而下直到村子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

7 hopscotch   

n.小孩独脚跳踢石子的游戏，“跳房子”游戏

参考例句：

• The children squared off the sidewalk to play hopscotch.孩子们在人行道上划出方格，做“跳房子”的游戏。
• At hopscotch,the best hoppers are the children.在跳房子的游戏中，孩子是最优秀的单足跳者。

8 watchful   

adj.注意的，警惕的

参考例句：

• The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。
• It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。

9 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

10 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

11 inundated   

v.淹没( inundate的过去式和过去分词 )；（洪水般地）涌来；充满；给予或交予（太多事物）使难以应付

参考例句：

• We have been inundated with offers of help. 主动援助多得使我们应接不暇。
• We have been inundated with every bit of information imaginable. 凡是想得到的各种各样的信息潮水般地向我们涌来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 collaborate   

vi.协作，合作；协调

参考例句：

• The work gets done more quickly when we collaborate.我们一旦合作，工作做起来就更快了。
• I would ask you to collaborate with us in this work.我们愿意请你们在这项工作中和我们合作。

13 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

14 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

15 playwright   

n.剧作家，编写剧本的人

参考例句：

• Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
• The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。

16 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

17 teller   

n.银行出纳员；(选举)计票员

参考例句：

• The bank started her as a teller.银行起用她当出纳员。
• The teller tried to remain aloof and calm.出纳员力图保持冷漠和镇静。

18 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。