世界最差诗人”诗集拍卖 卖价超《哈利•波特》

A collection of 35 poems by William Topaz McGonagall, often referred to as the "world's worst poet" in the English language, has sold for $12,900 at an auction in Edinburgh.

The collection, self-published by McGonagall, was sold by Lyon & Turnbull auctioneers Friday, with the buyer choosing to remain anonymous.

The works, described as having poor vocabulary and bad rhyming, tackle topics from a theatre fire to Britain's imperial wars to women's suffrage.

In fact, the selling price outpaced that of a set of inscribed Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling, which fetched about $12,100 at the same event.

McGonagall was a weaver in Dundee, Scotland who often recited his works on the street and tried to sell them. He was ridiculed during his lifetime, keeping an umbrella nearby for protection against hurled eggs and vegetables.

One of his poems attests to the routine derision he experienced:

"Every morning when I go out/The ignorant rabble they do shout/There goes Mad McGonagall!"

"Everyone knows him as the world's worst poet, but we are still talking about him today and he's attracted an international audience," said Alex Dove, books specialist at Lyon & Turnbull.

"He's appreciated because he's comedic."

McGonagall, who died in 1902, was always proud of his work, despite the bad reception. He even produced a short autobiography, two copies of which were created and are inscribed with this tribute: "dedicated to himself, knowing none greater."

His most infamous poem is called The Tay Bridge Disaster (1879), which recalled the tragedy in which 75 people died.

"So the train mov'd slowly along the Bridge of Tay/Until it was about midway/Then the central girders with a crash gave way/And down went the train and passengers into the Tay."

一本收有威廉•托帕兹•麦戈纳格尔35首诗作的诗集日前在爱丁堡以12900美元被拍卖。麦戈纳格尔常被称作“世界最差英语诗人”。

这本由麦戈纳格尔自己出版的诗集于上周五在“里昂和特恩布尔”拍卖行被一位不愿透露姓名的买主拍下。

麦戈纳格尔的作品主要以一次剧院大火、英国帝国战争和妇女选举权为创作题材，但他的诗作被认为词汇贫乏，缺乏韵律。

而如今这本诗集的拍卖价超过了有JK•罗琳亲笔签名的一套《哈利•波特》系列丛书，这套《哈利•波特》丛书在此次拍卖中以12100万美元的价格售出。

麦戈纳格尔曾是苏格兰敦提市的一名纺织工人。他常在大街上朗诵并推销自己的诗作。但他一生都遭到人们的嘲笑，为了挡住人们砸向他的鸡蛋和蔬菜，他在住处附近撑了把伞。

他诗集中的一首作品真实反映了他当时的处境：

“每天清晨我走出家门/迎接我的就是那些无知的嘲笑/麦戈纳格尔，他要疯了。”

“里昂和特恩布尔”拍卖行的图书专家亚历克斯•多弗说：“人人都知道他是世界上最糟糕的诗人，但今天我们仍在谈论他，他引起了很多国外读者的兴趣。”

“他之所以受到关注是因为他的诗作具有喜剧效果。”

麦戈纳格尔于1902年去世。尽管他一生备受抨击和嘲笑，但他一直以自己的作品为自豪。他还创作了一本短篇自传，其中两册上的题词为：“献给他自己，一个伟大的诗人。”

麦戈纳格尔最糟糕的一首诗作名为《泰桥的灾难》，这首诗歌回顾了1879年发生在泰桥上的一次灾难，当时共有75人丧生。

（以下是这首诗的节选）

"So the train mov'd slowly along the Bridge of Tay/Until it was about midway/Then the central girders with a crash gave way/And down went the train and passengers into the Tay."