DanaGioia在斯坦福大学07毕业典礼上的演讲.docVIP

Dana Gioia在斯坦福大学07毕业典礼上的演讲 Gioia to graduates: Trade easy pleasures for more complex and challenging onesGood morning. Thank you, President Hennessy. It is a great honor to be asked to give the Commencement address at my alma mater. Although I have two degrees from Stanford, I still feel a bit like an interloper on this exquisitely beautiful campus. A person never really escapes his or her childhood. At heart Im still a working-class kid—half Italian, half Mexican —from L.A., or more precisely from Hawthorne, a city that most of this audience knows only as the setting of Quentin Tarantinos Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown—two films that capture the ineffable charm of my hometown. Today is Fathers Day, so I hope you will indulge me for beginning on a personal note. I am the first person in my family ever to attend college, and I owe my education to my father, who sacrificed nearly everything to give his four children the best education possible. My dad had a fairly hard life. He never spoke English until he went to school. He barely survived a plane crash in World War II. He worked hard, but never had much success, except with his family. When I was about 12, my dad told me that he hoped I would go to Stanford, a place I had never heard of. For him, Stanford represented every success he had missed yet wanted for his children. He would be proud of me today—no matter how dull my speech. On the other hand, I may be fortunate that my mother isnt here. It isnt Mothers Day, so I can be honest. I loved her dearly, but she could be a challenge . For example, when she learned I had been nominated to be chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, she phoned and said, Dont think Im impressed. I know that there was a bit of controversy when my name was announced as the graduation speaker. A few students were especially concerned that I lacked celebrity status. It seemed I wasnt famous enough. I couldnt agree more. As I have often told my wife and children, Im simply not famo