J.K.罗琳：齐聚格兰芬多

2008年6月5日是哈佛大学的毕业典礼，请来的演讲嘉宾是《哈利波特》的作者J.K.罗琳女士。她的演讲题目是《失败的好处和想象的重要性》（The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination）

曾经，她婚姻失败、失业、穷困潦倒，早早做了单亲妈妈，她说：“我是我所见过的最大的失败者”。如今，她是英国仅次于女皇的最富有的女人。一起来听JK罗琳如何诠释“失败的益处和想象力的重要性”。

演讲的精彩在于逆境中的坚持及透过贫穷窘迫和失败，看到内在的价值，升华去伪存真的人生意义。以下将分为七个小节完整再现这一求索过程。

整理：2024年5月14日于北城家园

福斯特校长，哈佛集团以及哈佛监事委员会的各位成员，各位教职员工，众多自豪的家长，以及最为重要的——各位毕业生们：

我想要说的第一句话是“感谢你们”。

不仅要感谢哈佛赋予我如此殊荣，连日来为这个演讲所经受的恐惧和紧张，更令我减肥成功。

这就是“双赢”啊！

现在，我只需要深呼吸几下，瞄几眼红色横幅，装模作样让自己相信，我正身处世界上最大的格兰芬多（小哈利所在的魔法学院的名字）的聚会上。

在毕业典礼上致辞责任巨大，至少我在回忆自己当年的毕业典礼前是这么认为的。

那天发表演讲的是英国著名哲学家玛丽·沃诺克。

回忆她的演讲极大地帮助了我完成今天的演讲稿，因为，我完全想不起来她说了什么。

这个发现让我释然，无所畏惧地写下自己的致辞，因为我再也不必担心会在不经意间对你们造成影响，让你们为了变成一个快乐巫师，就放弃自己在商业、法律界或政界的远大前程。

看到了吧？就算若干年后你们只记得我这个“快乐巫师”的笑话，那就证明我超越了玛丽·沃诺克。建立可实现的目标是自我改提升的第一步。

事实上，我真是绞尽了脑汁在想今天应该对你们说些什么。

我问自己，在我自己的毕业典礼上，我曾期待知道什么？而自那天开始到现在的21年间，我又学到了什么教训？

我想到了两个答案。

在今天这个美妙的时刻，当我们齐聚一堂庆祝你们取得学业成功的时候，我决定跟你们谈谈失败带来的好处。

在你们正要一脚踏入所谓“真实的生活”的门槛的时候，我还要高声赞颂想象力的重大意义。

这两个话题看起来颇为荒诞而矛盾，但是啊，请听我慢慢道来。

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"Gryffindor Reunion"

By J.K. Rowling

President Faust, members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers, members of the faculty, proud parents, and, above all, graduates:

The first thing I would like to say is “thank you.”

Not only has Harvard given me an extraordinary honor, but the weeks of fear and nausea I have endured at the thought of giving this commencement address have made me lose weight.

A win-win 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 Gryffindor reunion.

Delivering a commencement address is a great responsibility; or so I thought until I cast my mind back to my own graduation.

The commencement speaker that day was the distinguished British philosopher Baroness Mary Warnock.

Reflecting on her speech has helped me enormously in writing this one, because it turns out that I can't remember a single word she said.

This liberating discovery enables me to proceed without any fear that I might inadvertently influence you to abandon promising careers in business, the law or politics for the giddy delights of becoming a gay wizard.

You see? If all you remember in years to come is the “gay wizard” joke, I've come out ahead of Baroness Mary Warnock. Achievable goals: the first step to self improvement.

Actually, I have wracked my mind and heart for what I ought to say to you today.

I 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 have expired between that day and this.

I have come up with two answers.

On this wonderful day when we are gathered together to celebrate your academic success, I have decided to talk to you about the benefits of failure.

And as you stand on the threshold of what is sometimes called ‘real life', I want to extol the crucial importance of imagination.

These may seem quixotic or paradoxical choices, but bear with me.