【精英翻譯】的部落格

Children’s Books Authors Are Selling More Than Books. They’re Taking a Stand. 童書作家不只賣書還推政治主張

精英翻譯社轉自: https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0067/332714/web/

作者／Maria Russo

譯／王麗娟

When photos began circulating of migrant children separated from their parents and placed in what looked like giant cages in detention centers, young adult novelists Melissa de la Cruz and Margaret Stohl had an immediate response. After texting nine author friends asking what they could collectively do, de la Cruz and Stohl drafted a statement of protest called “Kidlit Says No Kids in Cages,” denouncing “practices that should be restricted to the pages of dystopian novels.”

移民兒童被迫與父母分離，安置在拘留中心看似巨大籠子中的照片開始流傳後，青少年成長類小說家梅麗莎．德拉克魯茲和瑪格麗特．史托爾立即有所反應。在給九位作家朋友發簡訊詢問大夥可集體做些什麼後，德拉克魯茲與史托爾草擬了一分抗議聲明，主旨是「兒童文學說籠子裡不該有孩子」，以譴責這些「只應出現在反烏托邦小說中的作法」。

Within minutes, they had 94 signatures from “our fellow kidlit authors and supporters,” de la Cruz said. A day later the statement was posted on Twitter with more than 4,000 signatures. The group has now raised nearly $240,000 for legal services for the migrant families.

德拉克魯茲說，幾分鐘內，他們就獲得來自「兒童文學作家同業與支持者」94人的連署。一天後，該聲明在推特網站上發表，連署者超過4,000人。該團體現已籌得近24萬美元，用於協助移民家庭打官司。

They also expanded fundraising to include online raffles and auctions for such services as manuscript evaluations by best-selling children’s authors and “character naming,” with the winning donor’s name to appear in an as-yet-to-be-written novel.

他們還擴大募款行動，舉辦網路抽獎和拍賣一些服務，如由暢銷童書作者提供稿件評鑑以及「角色命名」等，讓得獎捐款人的名字可出現在尚未寫成的小說中。

Another group of kidlit authors, agents and publishers made an online clearinghouse of original posters designed by prominent children’s book illustrators to protest family separation, all available for free download.

另一群兒童文學作家、代理商和出版商，則設置了一個網路交流中心，供人免費下載原創海報，全出自知名童書插畫家的手筆，以抗議政府拆散移民家庭為內容。

Children’s book creators similarly coordinated a response after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shootings in Parkland, Florida, in February. Graphic novelist Raina Telgemeier and YA novelist Jenny Han set up a group called Kidlit Marches for Kids, rallying colleagues to join the March 24 gun control protest spearheaded by the Parkland students, and designing a protest sign for marchers.

今年二月，佛州帕克蘭市馬喬瑞．史東曼．道格拉斯中學發生校園槍擊案時，童書創作者也做了類似的聯合反應。繪本小說家雷娜．泰格邁爾和青少年成長類小說家珍妮．韓創立一個名為「兒童文學為孩子遊行」的團體，召集同事參加由帕克蘭學生帶頭，3月24日舉行的支持槍枝管制抗議活動，並為遊行者設計了一個抗議標誌圖案。

“We wanted to boost the signal of the kids,” Telgemeier said. Hundreds of kidlit authors marched under the banner in cities including San Francisco, New York and Pittsburgh.

泰格邁爾說：「我們希望強化這些孩子所傳達的訊號。」數百名兒童文學作家在同一個旗幟下，於數個城市進行示威，包括舊金山、紐約和匹茲堡。

Children’s books have always been political, of course — that is why they are fixtures on lists of banned or censored books. And the welfare of children has long been at the forefront for authors who write for them. But current children’s book creators are finding new outlets for their concerns, often banding together, with the support of social media, to increase their effect.

當然，童書一直都很政治，這是它們成了禁書或審查書籍清單常客的原因。兒童的福祉長期以來一直是為他們著書的作家們的重中之重。不過，現今童書創作者正在尋找新的管道來表達他們對於一些議題的關切，經常團結一起，透過社群媒體，提高他們的影響力。

If the old image of a writer for children was a wise-child genius in the mold of Maurice Sendak — one who spoke up for kids and when necessary challenged the political powers that be, but indirectly — these days, children’s authors might not only hold signs at protest marches, they may also volunteer to strategize for a state assembly race, or even run for office.

若說童書作家舊形象是以莫里斯．桑達克（美國著名童書繪本作家及插畫家）為模型的天才聰明小子，替孩子發言，必要時挑戰政治勢力，但係以間接方式。現在，童書作者不僅在抗議遊行中高舉抗議牌，他們還可能自願為州議會競選獻策，甚至競選公職。