一个能用诗来书写化学的诺贝尔奖得主——R. 霍夫曼
撰文:DJ 编辑:DJ&ZSH
A. 诺奖得主霍夫曼
1965年,美国有机化学家R.B.伍德沃德与R.霍夫曼合作提出分子轨道对称守恒原理(伍德沃德-霍夫曼规则),并凭借这个杰出的工作和日本科学家福井谦一一同分享了1981年诺贝尔化学奖。其中的R. 霍夫曼不仅仅是一位杰出的化学家,他还在诗歌领域挥洒才华。
B. 诗人霍夫曼
R. 霍夫曼通晓六种语言,同时也爱好文学与诗歌创作。他在本科阶段就表现出对文学尤其是诗的浓厚兴趣,并选修了相关课程。不过直到1977年,霍夫曼在他四十岁的时候才开始发表作品(霍夫曼44岁获得了诺贝尔化学奖)。为了进一步提高写作水平,他还专门去麻省理工学院“补课”。这之后他陆续出版了一些诗集,这些诗歌作品中有很多与自然科学尤其是化学相关。
当问及他为什么要开始写诗的时候,霍夫曼说:“诗是一种不同于科学研究的自我表达方式,它更多的是一种主观情绪。不过它也是一种跟其他人进行交流的工具。我有时会写一些有关科学隐喻作品。其他诗人会对于科学家写的诗歌也很感兴趣。不过,我也会写一些有关于童年记忆的诗歌。” 其创作灵感来源于生活的体验,或者一些比较有深意的短语。不过,他说写诗的时候往往需要修改很多遍,比平时科学论文的写作修改的次数还要多。他觉得诗于他来说就像生活中的一份礼物。不过,一开始往往是灵感一触即发,但是随后我却挣扎于诗的反复打磨和修改。
C. 诗人的诗
怎样用诗来书写化学?且看这一首:
THEORETICAL CHEMISTRY
I would sit just there, in the quiet shade of
the live oaks. It was a scholar's dream,
but I, intent to find the way across
the ravine, wasn't there to write poetry.
You see, that thick lush growth stopped progress
here, but I could spot a road gathering
on the other side. That's where we had to go.
I brought my field glasses, a topographic
map. From above, the gully looked much like
a low-growing jungle hugging the land;
the cows had gotten across, I saw tracks
in and tried to follow them. But it didn't
work, bushes closed in, there was poison oak,
vines with rows of sharp red thorns. I came back
day after day, trying, tracing paths back
from the other side. For I knew a pattern,
the right way, had to be there. In the end
I found one, but what's bothered me since
is that I didn't follow the paths that
are hidden there, the way I should have, but
I hacked a rough piece of a new one through.
The other day I met a friend who's run
into the same wild terrain. Starting out
from a hill nearby, he found a different way.
But I told you there was only one.
参考文献:
1. 化学诗歌总相宜——记诺贝尔化学奖得主、诗人霍夫曼教授,作者:黎健
2. Roald Hoffmann:Winner of 1981 Nobel Prize in Chemistry,
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