Jorge Luis Borges

[Stiffelio]

Here are some links to recent commemorative articles about JLB, for those who can read Spanish:

http://www.lanacion.com.ar/diario-de...s/adn-cultura/

http://www.elpais.com/articulo/cultu...lpepicul_1/Tes

http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1379981-s...xistido-borges

http://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/su...011-06-14.html

http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1381284-l...idad-de-borges


Borges labyrinth to be inaugurated in Venice to mark 25th anniversary of his death:

http://www.eldiario.com.ar/secciones...en-venecia.htm

[Heteronym]

Well, I celebrated the day by reading La moneda de hierro, a collection of poetry Borges published in 1976. His poetry deserves more attention, it's very readable and enjoyable.

[Daniel del Real]

Well, I celebrated the day by reading La moneda de hierro, a collection of poetry Borges published in 1976. His poetry deserves more attention, it's very readable and enjoyable.

You're so right, that's the genre of his works I have paid less attention to; I've been focusing more on his short stories and literary essay. Fortunately I've decided I'm going to read at least a book from him every month for a year, so I'll gain lost time.

[Eric]

What, pray, is a Google Doodle, and why does Jorge Luís merit one?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolog...le-Doodle.html

[Galatea92]

The Paris Review interview with Borges (posted here at Eric's request):

Paris Review - Jorge Luis Borges, The Art of Fiction No. 39

[Liam]

My only problem with Borges is that he was so in love with concepts and words, metaphors and allusions, he completely forgot about narrative. Reading his short stories or poems or even essays is like playing mindgames; you never do it simply to lose yourself in the story. Even Nabokov, who put beautiful sentences above everything else, managed to come up with semi-exciting plots that actually plodded forward from one chapter to the next; but Borges in his short fiction is out to show the world just how brilliant and well-read he is.

He's not so much a writer as a phenomenon and as such, yes, he absolutely deserves to be read. He's very natural at what he does, which is why so many Borges wannabes and imitators have come to grief: they just can't do it, period.

My mother bought a three-volume set of his complete writings (beautiful dustjackets, creame-wove paper, the whole nine yards) about ten years ago, and it's one of the best investments she ever made. I dip in, every now and again, and always come away breathless and amazed. But my one and only complaint still stands: I am never able to "lose" myself in his stories, because there is ultimately no narrative, just brilliant little lava-flows of words and ideas.

[Cleanthess]

Borges, on his seminal short story Pierre Menard, author of Don Quixote, writes about how much better the fictional French writer Pierre Menard's version (of the exact same words from Don Quixote) is than Cervantes':

'Those who have insinuated that Menard dedicated his life to writing a contemporary Quixote calumniate his shining memory.

He did not want to compose another Quixote -which is easy- but the Quixote. Needless to say, he never contemplated a mechanical transcription of the original, his goal was not a copy. His admirable intention was to produce a few pages which would coincide word for word and line by line with those of Miguel de Cervantes.

It is very revealing to compare Menard's Don Quixote with Cervantes'. This last one, for example, wrote (part one, chapter nine):

"... truth, whose mother is history, rival of time, depository of deeds, witness of the past, reference and adviser to the present, warning of things to come."

Concocted in the seventeenth century, written by the "lay genius" Cervantes, this enumeration is mere rhetoric praise of history. Menard, however, writes:

"... truth, whose mother is history, rival of time, depository of deeds, witness of the past, reference and adviser to the present, warning of things to come."

History, the mother of truth: the idea is astounding.'

I was reminded of this interesting concept while reading an article written by Camilo Bogoya about Pascal Quignard's Les Tablettes de buis d'Apronenia Avitia. In that book Quignard fabricates a fictitious late antiquity female diarist and attributes to her sentences written by an actual obscure Latin writer from about the same period, Quintus Aurelius Symmachus.

In any case, Bogoya points out how much better the private, erotic, intimate jottings of the fictitious Apronenia Avitia are than the exact same words written as an official, rhetoric exercise by the actual author, Symmachus: 'il y a une différence radicale dans le caractère presque public, officiel, rempli de formules de la Correspondance et l’intimité silencieuse, confessionnelle et érotique des Tablettes'.

Once again, Life imitates Art imitating Life imitating Art.

[JCamilo]

I just have to disagree Borges have no narrative or does not make one get lost in his works. Some of his works do have just the idea, because they adhere the modernist poetic in prose, but Borges is a short story writer, also with poe blood on his vein. His first works for example, the biographies of villains in History of Infamy are narrative, even if in form of encyclopedia. Then you have imitations of 1001 Nights or detective tales like Death and Compass. You have gaucho duels, Lovecraft, Kipling, Stevenson and Kafka imitations or even metaphyscal jewells like Funes or The Aleph that are basically narratives.

Also, it is not necessary a narrative to make someone lose into someone works, otherwise it would be impossible to get lost in lyrical poetry. He is not showing how brilliant he was, he showing how rich literature is. It is a rich, medieval, Elegy.

[Cleanthess]

Last weekend, I had a conversation with a friend about the strangeness of modern day nations mummifying leaders like Mao, Ho Chi Min, Eva Peron and now Chavez. I mentioned that the only reason I could think of was the possibility of those late leader's followers somehow agreeing with the Ancient Egyptians about the five parts of a human being: the body, the shadow, the name, the ka (or spiritual double) and the ba (or the bird soul), and the belief that if the body is not preserved (mummified) the ba will fly away and never meet with the ka in the other world.

So I was surprised to see Borges also trying to pull a similar Egyptian fast one on the great Brazilian Concrete poet Augusto Campos (brother of that genius Haroldo):

http://oglobo.globo.com/blogs/prosa/...ges-489060.asp

"I've heard about this poet, Pessoa" Borges said at one point. Campos explanation about Pessoa and his many heteronyms intrigued Borges: "The Egyptian pharaohs also changed their names, every ten years," Borges said.

The article is a bit unfair to Borges and his ignorance of Pessoa, since the first good, representative translation of Pessoa's work into Spanish was published by Octavio Paz in 1962 and, by that point in time, Borges was already blind and entering his mid-sixties.

You can find the whole details of that meeting on Campos' new book, "Almost Borges" along with translations into Portuguese of some Borges' poems described by Campos as neo-Saxon literature, standing out in the middle of a Latin-American continent of French-wannabes.

Some further Campos remarks:

- As always with Borges, for all his encyclopedic knowledge, he knew everything and he knew nothing. I spoke to him about the suicide of Mayakovsky and he said "I did not know that..."

- Borges poetry became a kind of synthesis of the synthesis of his short stories and essays, which were already summaries of the alleged or possible novels and treatise books that Borges' conciseness (or lazyness) stopped him from writing.

Campos, comparing a Borges' sonnet in honor of John Keats with a book of 675 pages of Julio Cortázar on the same topic, says that he tried to read the Cortazar's while he was engaged in translating the English poet. - He could not read beyond the first third of the book. On the other hand, "Borges told me everything I wanted to know about Keats in 14 lines".

[Heteronym]

Wow, what was that 675-page book Cortázar wrote on Keats?

[Cleanthess]

Wow, what was that 675-page book Cortázar wrote on Keats?

My best guess is : Imagen de John Keats (obra póstuma, escrita entre 1951 y 1952).
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julio_Cortázar#Obras

[JCamilo]

Cortazar wrote 600 pages probally just because Borges wrote only 14 lines

[Cleanthess]

It's always surprising, to me at least, how big a difference there is between the great writers and the merely good writers. As a matter of fact, this could be a good test when evaluating a writer's worth: compare one of her works with a work on a similar subject by another good writer.

Let's compare Borges' Dr. Brodie's Report with George P. Elliott's Among the Dangs. Elliot, 'who died in 1980, is remembered both as a "writer's writer"--a master craftsman with an equal command of poetry and prose, fiction and essay'. He was runner up for the National Book Award in 1962 for his novella Among the Dangs. Elliot had a talent for the fantastic tale, his The N.R.A.C.P imagines an alternate America where the final solution to the Colored Question is being implemented. His Sandra imagines what would happen to the romantic relations between men and women in a modern world where slavery, selling yourself into slavery and manumission are legal.

Among the Dangs narrates two trips undertaken by a young college graduate to expend time among a primitive tribe, the Dangs and what happened to him there. The plot meanders here and there, not much happens and the story would read like a good imitation of an actual anthropological report, were it not for some false notes on the plot which weaken the overall effect.

Now consider Borges late and minor story Dr. Brodie's Report. Borges imagines a primitive society where the Termite is worshiped as a blind, subterranean, consuming god; where they geld and feed their king to resemble a termite queen; where their actual queen displays favor by pricking people with a needle. Borges then proceeds to give the plot his usual ironic and metaphysical treatment.

Even lesser work from a master past his prime blows away the best work from the merely good writers. Sadly, to last as a writer and not be quickly forgotten after your death, being good, or even very good, is not enough.

[Gregg H.]

Ah, "Doctor Brodie's Report." I particularly like the detail that the tribe has no memory, another variation on a Borgesian theme. Then there is the description of the king: "Immediately upon his elevation he is gelded, blinded, with a fiery stick, and his hands and feet are cut off, so that the world will not distract him from wisdom." A pithy piece of satire. But as soon as I read the passage I am reminded of a common negative criticism of Borges' work, that he was not engaged with the world around him. I've never come to any conclusions on that charge. Certainly this story plays with (satirizes?) notions of "history" and "civilization," and I have always been amazed at how Borges embraces so many different cultures in his writing; so I tend to find the criticism short-sighted. Yet, has anyone found any of his stories emotionally engaging?

[Cleanthess]

Ah, "Doctor Brodie's Report." I particularly like the detail that the tribe has no memory, another variation on a Borgesian theme. Then there is the description of the king: "Immediately upon his elevation he is gelded, blinded, with a fiery stick, and his hands and feet are cut off, so that the world will not distract him from wisdom." A pithy piece of satire. But as soon as I read the passage I am reminded of a common negative criticism of Borges' work, that he was not engaged with the world around him. I've never come to any conclusions on that charge. Certainly this story plays with (satirizes?) notions of "history" and "civilization," and I have always been amazed at how Borges embraces so many different cultures in his writing; so I tend to find the criticism short-sighted. Yet, has anyone found any of his stories emotionally engaging?

Gregg H, excellent points. The most emotionally engaging story of Borges, IMHO, is Emma Zunz. A masterpiece that rings emotionally true; the only false things about that tale are 'the circumstances, the time and one or two proper names'.

[Gregg H.]

The most emotionally engaging story of Borges, IMHO, is Emma Zunz. A masterpiece that rings emotionally true; the only false things about that tale are 'the circumstances, the time and one or two proper names'.

Good suggestion, Cleanthess, "Emma Zunz" packs quite an emotional wallop at the end. In looking at some of the previous posts I was reminded that "The South" also resonates emotionally. Beneath all the inventiveness and literary allusions are basic human emotions. It reminded me of why I turned to reading literature in the first place, to have someone express in a sophisticated way what I was experiencing or observing in the lives of others.

[Daniel del Real]

Gregg H, excellent points. The most emotionally engaging story of Borges, IMHO, is Emma Zunz. A masterpiece that rings emotionally true; the only false things about that tale are 'the circumstances, the time and one or two proper names'.

If you're looking for a more emotional Borges I'd recommend his poetry, specially his first books, Fervor de Buenos Aires for example.

[JCamilo]

The lack of engagement of JLB with the world around is his lack of engagement with current affairs, he has no problem to conect with all cultures and influences. This criticism is not far from the target, Borges aesthetics is about systems not events. However, according to Bioy Casares, Borges was a passionate politic in his private life, just choose to keep it hidden.

[PhillipAEllis]

Borges did interact with the world around him, but rather than focus on the social and political landscapes that tend to characterise more realist-orientated literature, he dealt with the Argentina of the gauchos and tango cultures alongside the worlds of literature and ideas. The world is more than a collection of physical objects, after all, and it encompasses the pseudo-Platonic world of human thought as well.

You may like to consider the range of his poetry, which displays the range of his interests and concerns, particularly after the development of his blindness. If possible, be wary of the translations into English, as they tend towards a flatness of diction, and towards the staleness that affects so much of modernist and postmodernist verse translations.

[Gregg H.]

You may like to consider the range of his poetry, which displays the range of his interests and concerns, particularly after the development of his blindness. If possible, be wary of the translations into English, as they tend towards a flatness of diction, and towards the staleness that affects so much of modernist and postmodernist verse translations.

I have been reading and loving Borges' poetry in English for over a decade now. While I can't read Spanish, I can say that the translations I've read are enjoyable. They communicate very well. My only regret (aside from not being able to read the originals) is that in English we only get selections. I want it all!

And don't misunderstand me, I love the play of ideas, philosophical and literary, in Borges' writings. That is what attracted me to his writing in the first place. But recently I've noted that few authors or critics ever write about emotional reactions to the stories. When I reread "The South" I found a melancholy not unworthy of Henry James's "The Jolly Corner." So I'm wondering what other stories might contain an emotional element?