【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 s Tercentenary Theatre, June 5, 2008 失敗的好處和想象力的重要性 with failure and the power of the imagination to 哈佛大學畢業(yè)典禮 allow us to empathize with 2008年6月5日President Faust, members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers，members of the faculty, proud parents, and, above all, graduates，福斯特主席，哈佛公司和監(jiān)察委員會的各位成員，各位老師、家長、全體畢業(yè)生們：The first thing I would like to say is “thank you.” Not only has Harvard given me an extraordinary honour, but the weeks of fear and nausea I’ve endured at the thought of giving this mencement address have made me lose winwin situation!Now all I have to do is take deep breaths, squint at the red banners and convince myself that I am at the world’s largest Gryffindors39。 。哈佛不僅給了我無上的榮譽，連日來為這個演講經(jīng)受的恐懼和緊張，更令我減肥成功。這真是一個雙贏的局面?，F(xiàn)在我要做的就是深呼吸幾下，瞇著眼睛看看前面的大紅橫幅，安慰自己正在世界上最大的魔法學院聚會上。Delivering a mencement address is a great responsibility。or so I thought until I cast my mind back to my own mencement speaker that day was the distinguished British philosopher Baroness Mary on her speech has helped me enormously in writing this one, because it turns out that I can39。t remember a single word she liberating discovery enables me to proceed without any fear that I might inadvertently influence you to abandon promising careers in business, law or politics for the giddy delights of being a gay ，至少在我回憶自己當年的畢業(yè)典禮前是這么認為的。那天做演講的是英國著名的哲學家Baroness Mary Warnock，對她演講的回憶，對我寫今天的演講稿，產(chǎn)生了極大的幫助，因為我不記得她說過的任何一句話了。這個發(fā)現(xiàn)讓我釋然，讓我不再擔心我可能會無意中影響你放棄在商業(yè)，法律或政治上的大好前途，轉(zhuǎn)而醉心于成為一個快樂的魔法師。You see? If all you remember in years to e is the 39。gay wizard39。 joke, I39。ve still e out ahead of Baroness Mary goalsthe first step to ，如果在若干年后你們還記得“快樂的魔法師”這個笑話，那就證明我已經(jīng)超越了Baroness Mary Warnock。建立可實現(xiàn)的目標——這是提高自我的第一步。Actually, I have wracked my mind and heart for what I ought to say to you have asked myself what I wish I had known at my own graduation, and what important lessons I have learned in the 21 years that has expired between that day and ，我為今天應(yīng)該和大家談些什么絞盡了腦汁。我問自己什么是我希望早在畢業(yè)典禮上就該了解的，而從那時起到現(xiàn)在的21年間，我又得到了什么重要的啟示。I have e up with two this wonderful day when we are gathered together to celebrate your academic success, I have decided to talk to you about the benefits of as you stand on the threshold of what is sometimes called 39。real life39。, I want to extol the crucial importance of 。在這美好的一天，當我們一起慶祝你們?nèi)〉脤W業(yè)成就的時刻，我希望告訴你們失敗有什么樣的益處；在你們即將邁向“現(xiàn)實生活”的道路之際，我還要褒揚想象力的重要性。These may seem quixotic or paradoxical choices, but bear with ，但請先容我講完。Looking back at the 21yearold that I was at graduation, is a slightly unfortable experience for the 42yearold that she has my lifetime ago, I was striking an uneasy balance between the ambition I had for myself, and what those closest to me expected of ，對于今天42歲的我來說，是一個稍微不太舒服的經(jīng)歷?？梢哉f，我人生的前一部分，一直掙扎在自己的雄心和身邊的人對我的期望之間。I was convinced that the only thing I wanted to do, ever, was to write , my parents, both of whom came from impoverished backgrounds and neither of whom had been to college, took the view that my overactive imaginationThe Benefits of JK Rowling at Harvard 2 was an amusing personal quirk that could never pay a mortgage, or secure a ，自己唯一想做的事情，就是寫小說。不過，我的父母，他們都來自貧窮的背景，沒有任何一人上過大學，堅持認為我過度的想象力是一個令人驚訝的