小山区与奥古斯特·威尔逊的历史书写

The Hill District and August Wilson's African American Historical Writing

本文拟在广泛的社会、历史语境下,从当代非裔美国剧作家奥古斯特·威尔逊的个人记忆及其笔下的历史记忆这一双重角度,来透析他如何以小山区为轴心来完成自己的非裔美国历史书写。真实与虚构、过去与现在、个人记忆与集体记忆共同构建出威尔逊系列剧中的小山区,而多种叙事元素之间既相互角力又彼此融合,于是,威尔逊的历史书写在突出小山区的世纪变迁这条叙事主线的同时,还带有一种蕴含张力的含混性和神秘感,指向被遗忘甚或被刻意掩藏的种族过往,从而充分体现出作者对于非裔美国历史、文化的深层次思考。

This paper interprets the contemporary African American playwright August Wilson＇s cycle of plays as unique historical writing in terms of personal memories and a dramaturgical chronology of the Hill District. The playwright is found to have represented the African American 20 th century by mixing the real and the fictional, the past and the present, the individual memories and the collective experiences. With these narrative elements collaborating while contending with each other, the Wilsonian historical writing foregrounds the Hill District＇s centennial vicissitudes. At the same time, it also impresses one with its ambiguous and mythological tension which targets at a forgotten racial past, and thus the playwright＇s reflections on the African American history and culture are highlighted.