讲故事的非洲葡语诗人米亚·科托

Storytelling in Lusophone Africa with Poetic Prose: A Study of Mia Couto’s Creative Narration

当今非洲葡语文坛的重要作家米亚·科托把自身对莫桑比克本土文化的沉浸式体验融入到作品中,从上世纪80年代开始,创作了数量颇丰的优秀作品。这些作品取材于科托和本地人的亲身经历。他习惯把口头文化传统融于文学写作,用想象打破“真实”与“虚构”的边界,聚焦非洲传统泛灵论信仰、殖民主义、内战创伤、女性权益和历史钩沉,彰显出对个体命运的深切关照。同时,他的作品颠覆文学本体,以糅杂的文体和“再创造”的词语重构了对莫桑比克魔幻现实的言说方式,让小说的语言富有诗意的美感,不仅承袭了非洲的古老智慧和传统,还实现了对口述技巧的创造性转化。作为当今非洲文学的中流砥柱,科托无疑是非洲葡语作家从“边缘的边缘”迈向“世界文学中心”的标杆。

In his literary creation covering more than forty years,Mia Couto,a well-known contemporary Lusophone African writer,has published a large amount of works based on the diversity of Mozambican indigenous culture in which he has been immersed in since childhood.These works,blended with native proverbs and aphorisms,are deep-rooted in the personal experiences of Couto and local people.They deal with traditional African animist beliefs,colonialism,civil war trauma,women’s rights and vicissitude of history though the author’s ability to convert reality into fictions that are still very alive,with a concern for individual destiny.Simultaneously,Couto is able to challenge the literary ontology and reconstruct the magical Mozambican world,by using a mixture of literary genres and reinvented Portuguese words.Laden with poetic expressions,Couto’s creative narratives not only reflect an inheritance of the ancient wisdom and traditions,but also illustrate his recreation of oral-based storytelling.As a mainstay of contemporary African literature,Couto is undoubtedly a benchmark for Afro-Lusophone writers who boldly move from the“edge of the margins”to the“centre of world literature”.