亚当·艾特肯诗集《致马可·波罗的信》的亚洲书写

Asia in Adam Aitken s Letter to Marco Polo

《致马可·波罗的信》是亚裔澳大利亚新锐诗人亚当·艾特肯的第一部诗集。诗集表达了艾特肯对亚洲人民、环境和文化等各方面的认识,回应了“澳大利亚是亚洲的一部分吗?”这一历久弥新的议题。不同于亚洲他者想象,艾特肯的亚洲书写没有过分浪漫化或矮化亚洲。然而,自小浸润在澳大利亚主流文化中的他也无法彻底拥护亚洲文化。诗歌中流露出的既亲近亚洲又排斥亚洲的矛盾情绪反映了澳大利亚人普遍共有的心理特征。

Letter to Marco Polo is the first poetry collection by Adam Aitken,a fledging but distinguished Asian Australian poet.This collection expresses Aitken s views on Asian people,environment,and culture.Also,it may be interpreted as a response to the long-standing controversial issue,“whether Australia is part of Asia.”Contrary to the stereotypical conception of Asia as the imaginary“Other”,Aitken s representation of Asia neither romanticizes nor derogates it,but Aitken is still far from fully embracing Asian culture due to his deep immersion in the dominant white culture.The ambivalent attitude toward Asia,which is apparently reflected in this collection,reveals a common psychological knot among Australians.