寶貝，艾希特 Baby in Exeter

"I was coming back from the hospital with my son Peter who was sick. I stepped out of a taxi and there were all these cameras, a whole posse of photographers. As this street is very good for that kind of thing, I thought they were shooting a soap or an episode of Morse or something. But it was me. So I first heard that I had won the Nobel prize for literature from the reporters.

It is the most glamorous prize, and naturally it has got a lot of prestige, which none of the other prizes have, so it's the icing on the cake. At one point, sometime in the 70s, they [the Nobel academy] didn't like me - they said they didn't - but they seem to have changed their minds. Committees are like that. Of course I didn't expect to get it. I've been on the shortlist for 40 years. It is good to be the 11th woman on the list, I'm only sorry that one of the first or fourth or the fifth wasn't Virginia Woolf. But I don't think it is helpful to talk about writers in terms of male and female. A lot of British writers have won it, which is good. We produce a lot of good writers. I've been talking non-stop all day. I've spoken to my publisher and agent and old friends who rang me up, which was very good. There were lots of people who have wanted me to have it for a long time, so it is very nice that I have. I'm exhausted. To celebrate I'd have to go and buy champagne. I'm going to bed."--the Guardian, 12/10/2007

"我剛從醫院陪我生病的兒子彼得回到家門口, 才剛剛一踏出計程車, 就看到一大群的記者和照相機. 我以為他們正在我待的這條街上拍攝肥皂劇, 譬如說是摩絲影集之類的. 結果主角卻是我. 然後我才首此從記者的口中獲悉, 我得到諾貝爾文學獎.

這座不但是最最迷人, 也象徵了豐厚的名望的獎項; 他因此不是任何其他的文學獎可以比擬, 所以它如同蛋糕上的糖衣般可口. 有人說, 在七零年代的作家中, 他們（評審們）並不喜歡我, 但現在他們已經改變了想法. 評審團喜歡我這種風格. 當然我之前也不預期會得到這個獎. 我已經被列在候選人名單上四十年了. 這是非常好的結果, 我是第十一個女性作家榮獲這個獎項, 唯一遺憾的是, 第一, 第四, 第五個的獲獎人都不是維吉尼亞. 吾爾伏. 但我也不認為應該以男女作家這個觀點來討論作家的成就. 很多英國作家已經得到過這個獎, 我們的確也生產出很多好的作家, 毋庸置疑.

我已經講話講了一整天了, 包括和出版商, 經銷商, 和我的好友們通了電話, 他們都非常開心. 過去很長的時間裡很多人都希望我得到這個獎項, 如今我得到了, 我很高興能擁有它. 到目前為止, 我真是有點精疲力盡, 我得要出門去買瓶香檳好好慶祝慶祝, 並睡個好覺. "


這是今年諾貝爾文學講得主的聲明稿, 今年八十七遂高齡的多麗絲 萊辛(1919--)滿頭白髮, 藍格子襯衫搭配牛仔裙, 沒有過分打扮, 怡然自得的起居模樣, 就這樣出現在今天衛報的封面上. 衛報稱讚它獲獎的作品"金色筆記“是一部“後現代女性主義大作“, 很遺憾並未閱讀過. 所以無法得知記者是否言過其實. 但我喜歡她那種自然不做作的態度, 沒有學究感. 她從小生長在國外,出生在伊朗, 六歲搬到南羅得西亞(1923-65年間 Zinbabwe 的名稱), 十五歲停止學業, 兩次失敗婚姻, 三十歲才回到倫敦創作第一本小說.

也許女性書寫和殖名地反省, 是她獲獎的潛在主因, 但我欣賞她那種謙虛的姿態和怡然的神情, 面對人生, 她的眼神, 有一種通透的悟性.

請連結到她受訪的短片: http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2189458,00.html