評論
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Obituary;
Keith Colquhoun;
Farewell to an old Asia hand and The Economist's previous Obituaries editor;
In the 20-odd years he worked for The Economist, from 1981 to 2004, Keith Colquhoun never raised his voice. He did not need to. His soft, courteous, slightly smiling delivery encouraged people to listen, as to a favourite uncle. But steel lay behind it. “I've just taken one or two liberties with your copy,” he would say, meaning that it had been completely rewritten into the best simple, accurate, sparely punctuated Colquhoun prose. “I would like to do X,” he would say gently, announcing the week's Obituary candidate, who was often a complete unknown; and neither wild horses, nor the deaths of great celebrities, could persuade him to change his mind.
1984年-2004年，在基斯·科爾克霍恩為《經濟學人》工作的這20多年里，他從不提高聲音說話。他不需要這樣。他輕柔、謙恭、略帶微笑的講話風格使人們愿意聆聽，就像聽一個可愛的叔叔講話一樣。但是話語背后透著堅決。他會說，“我把你的稿子做了一兩處處理”，意思是，稿子已經改成最簡潔、最準確、標點最少的科爾克霍恩風格。當他宣布當周的逝者人選時，他會輕輕說，“我想做某某人”，通常是一個完全不為人知的名字；無論是野馬，還是大明星的去世，都不能改變他的主意。
Keith came into journalism the old-fashioned way, through provincial papers and Fleet Street, but got as far as Hong Kong, where he worked for the Far Eastern Economic Review. He loved Asia, though his view of it was really that of a 19th-century colonial administrator. He had a soft spot for geishas. Of one correspondent, non-productive though enjoying a lavish retainer, he once remarked: “I think perhaps if we do not hear from him next year, we should send him a note.” Though no stripling, he would hunger to get to Siam, Sinkiang or Tartary. He developed a fondness for the Pacific islands, and actually found stories there.
基斯進入記者圈是那種很老套的方式，先在地方報紙做，然后進入倫敦報業(yè)街，但是他最遠到了香港，供職于《遠東經濟評論》。他熱愛亞洲，盡管他對亞洲的看法還像是一個19世紀的殖民地官員。他喜歡藝妓。他曾這樣評論一個不出活卻享受高價聘用金的記者：“我想也許這樣，假如我們明年收不到他的信的話，我們應該給他寄一封。” 他雖然不是小伙子，卻渴望去暹羅、新疆和韃靼。他還對太平洋諸島產生了興趣，而且真的在那里找到了故事。
When he took over the Obituaries in 1995, just after their launch, he kept the Asian flag flying. He also set an extraordinary standard for clear, dry, witty writing. The openings of his Obituaries were a particular delight. “One of Walter Lini's minor pleasures was to get the better of the French.” “The achievement of Karl Kehrle, a Benedictine monk, was to breed a very decent British bee.” Or this:
就在“逝者”誕生后不久的1995年，他接手了這個欄目，并且一直高舉亞洲大旗。他清晰、樸素、詼諧的寫作風格樹立了一個卓越的標準。他逝者文章的開頭能帶給讀者一種特別的愉悅。“沃爾特·里尼的一個小樂趣是蓋過法國人。” “本篤會修士卡爾·科赫爾的成就是培育一只品種非常優(yōu)良的英國蜜蜂。” 或是下面這個：
Hunting around for something not too brutal to say about Tiny Rowland now that he is dead, those who knew him have remarked on his charm. The English language is helpful with the evasive word.
認識泰尼·羅蘭的人在腦中搜尋他那些不是太過殘酷之處——因為他已經不在了，他們于是說起了他的魅力。英語這種語言很會描述這個含糊的詞。
It was an open secret, however, that Keith's dearest occupation was not The Economist. It was his own writing, at which he could be seen tapping eagerly for as long as he dared before boarding the homeward train to Mersea Island. He produced 11 blackly comic novels, the last of them (“Five Deadly Words”) this April. Those disarmed by his gentleness could never quite forget that in Keith's world guns would be suddenly drawn, blood spilt on the carpet and bullets lodged in a desk, “reducing its value a little should it ever come to auction.”
然而，基斯最鐘愛的職業(yè)不是他在《經濟學人》的工作——這是一個公開的秘密。他最愛的是為自己寫作。你能看見他在登上回家鄉(xiāng)莫西島的火車之前，熱切地敲著他自己的作品，直到該上車的最后一刻。他創(chuàng)作了11部黑色幽默小說，最后一部（《五個致命單詞》）在今年四月出爐。那些被他的溫和繳械的人從來不會忘記，在基斯的世界里，槍會突然被拔出，血會溢到地毯上，顆顆子彈會固著在桌子里，“假如哪天把這桌子拿去拍賣，價錢也就微折。”
