Borges Short Stories
DiscussãoSouth American Fiction-Argentine Writers
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1berthirsch
I have a friend who is into being spiritual in a "new age" fashion...he also likes literature and i wanted to introduce him to a Borges story...any suggestions which one might "speak" best to him?
I gave thought to send him either , Thor,Uqbar, Orbis Tertius or The Library of Babel. Any other suggestions.
Thanks.
I gave thought to send him either , Thor,Uqbar, Orbis Tertius or The Library of Babel. Any other suggestions.
Thanks.
2Lambkins Primeira Mensagem
I think that The Aleph and the Zahir are probably good places to begin. Understanding Borges requires an understanding of his history first, since they are all auto-biographical. However these stories offer a hook that draws people in to the story behind the story.
If he/she is still intersted, the Dead Man, the South and the Congress are good jumping off points for Borges' narrative.
If he/she is still intersted, the Dead Man, the South and the Congress are good jumping off points for Borges' narrative.
3Jargoneer
Where did get the idea that all Borges tales are autobiographical? I'd be interested to know, as I have vague recollections of an interview with Borges suggesting otherwise.
4berthirsch
Earlier this year I read a wonderful bio of Borges, A Life by Edwin Williamson...in it he has several citations connecting Borges' life to specific stories.
The book, though long, offers much insight into B's rather tragically unfulfilled life (until later in his life)...it also relates much of the political and historical themes of Argentina, all of which, were of utmost influence in his writings. Though he spent considerable time in Europe and requested he be buried there (in Geneva), it is clear he was Argentine through and through.
The book, though long, offers much insight into B's rather tragically unfulfilled life (until later in his life)...it also relates much of the political and historical themes of Argentina, all of which, were of utmost influence in his writings. Though he spent considerable time in Europe and requested he be buried there (in Geneva), it is clear he was Argentine through and through.
5berthirsch
THANK YOU FOR THE SUGGESTIONS!!!!!
6Lambkins
I also read the Williamson biography as I worked my way through the stories and the poems. There is no debating the autobiographical content of his stories. However, I can see how he would eschew that in interviews because he'd never want to be pegged as an autobiographical author per se.
7Existanai
I think Borges is no more autobiographical than any other literary writer. It's a bit restrictive to correlate his stories with biographical anecdotes, although of course biography-readers are looking for precisely that sort of thing. That's not a good approach from a critical point of view however, and I wouldn't say biographical knowledge is a prerequisite for enjoying Borges. Particularly since there is so much in there to defeat seekers of realism. May I also stir the pot and say there are never any particular 'good places to begin' with an author? Any point of entry is worthwhile, and everyone has different likes or dislikes; it is very hard to decide for others what will or won't make enjoyable reading. It's one of the aspects of popular criticism and reviews that I find annoying.
8berthirsch
Exis- points well taken- the most interesting take on the Borges biography is to learn about his life, his influences and the history and times he lived through.
9Randy_Hierodule
I like the idea of biography as vandalism - a means of distorting or refining (by deliberate fictions or unseemly/amusing facts) the accreted representation the public has received of the author-under-characterization (Samuel Beckett was plagued with boils, Borges an apparent "mamma's boy", Sam Johnson, hypochondriac, mortified of death, etc.) - whether in official biography or, more amusingly in Juan Rodolfo Wilcock's collection of semi-pseudo-bigiographiesTemple of the Iconoclasts.
10berthirsch
There is a fascinating critique of Borges entitled: Post or Past Borges?:The Writer as Literary Object by Pablo Brescia. It appeared in the Sep-Oct 2006 edition of World Literature Today and is easily accessed through the WLT website.
It is a fascinating take on the influence Borges has on Latino writers today.
It is a fascinating take on the influence Borges has on Latino writers today.
12NativeRoses
These aren't stories, but a fabulous work in which Borges shares some of his inner thoughts (poems, snippets, etc.) are in Dreamtigers. It's a short work that is manageable for a newbie in that it can be read in smaller pieces. Brilliant.
13Existanai
NativeRoses, if you like the prose works of Borges, then I strongly recommend The Total Library, a diverse collection of non-fiction writings by Jorge Luis Borges. One of the best books around, by any author.
14chrisharpe
Amongst the New Yorker fiction podcasts is an English reading and brief analysis by Paul Theroux of one of Borges' short stories:-
"Paul Theroux reads Jorge Luis Borges’s short story “The Gospel According to Mark” and discusses Borges with The New Yorker’s fiction editor, Deborah Treisman."
http://www.newyorker.com/online/2007/10/15/071015on_audio_theroux
"Paul Theroux reads Jorge Luis Borges’s short story “The Gospel According to Mark” and discusses Borges with The New Yorker’s fiction editor, Deborah Treisman."
http://www.newyorker.com/online/2007/10/15/071015on_audio_theroux
15berthirsch
interesting sidebar: news about Borges: from
www.argentinepost.com
New Efforts To Repatriate Borges’ Remains
March 4th, 2009 | 07:50 PM
By Dean Nicholas
Though tango may be the national dance, slow waltzes with the deceased remain a worrying trend in Argentina. Decades after the remains of Eva Peron were unceremoniously shunted around the globe, a row has erupted once again over the final resting place of the country’s most famous writer, Jorge Luis Borges.
Upon his death in 1986, Borges was interred in Plainpalais cemetery in Geneva, the city in which he passed away and one he visited countless times throughout his life.
Despite residing there peacefully for some 22 years, two weeks ago lawmaker Maria Beatriz Lenz opened a storm of controversy by declaring her intention to request that the writer’s earthly remains be repatriated to Buenos Aires, where they could be laid to rest in his family’s plot in Recoleta Cemetery. Borges’ widow Maria Kodama, a woman who some consider the Yoko Ono of Latin American intellectualism, has long claimed that the writer wished to be buried in Geneva, something that Borges’ biographer Alejandro Vaccaro, who supported Lenz’s move, strongly disagrees with.
The latest twist in this macabre tale came with the publication last week of a long-lost letter that Borges wrote during the weeks before his death from liver cancer. In the letter, Borges speaks of his joy at being an “invisble man” in Geneva, a city in which he confesses to feeling “mysteriously happy”. The letter confirmed that Borges himself wished to be laid to rest there, and Lenz has subsequently shelved her proposed request, but Vaccaro, who is also the president of the Argentine Society of Writers, will persist with the debate.
The motivation for this new polemic is a curiously Argentine cocktail of prestige, pesos, and patriotism. Though Borges’ love for his adopted European resting place is well-known, it is in Buenos Aires that he is adored. The simple fact is that Buenos Aires loves Borges as much as the writer did his birthplace, and for many, the absence of his earthly remains, in a city which glories in monuments to the dearly departed, is a cause of anguish, even humiliation. How could Borges have preferred that effete, cold European capital? Surely Kodama must have somehow tricked him into being buried there? Vaccaro nearly makes such an accusation, claiming recently that he has secret evidence indicating Borges himself wished to be buried in Recoleta, though he offered nothing to back this claim up beyond an interview with the writer that dates from the 1960s.
The public spat between Vaccaro and Kodama has rumbled along for years, though the involvement now of Lenz gives the story added weight. Neither party looks particularly clean: Vaccaro has long shown himself to be something of a Borges obsessive, despite never meeting the man in person, and allegedly released a series of fake texts ascribed to Borges into the public realm during the 1990s. Kodama, meanwhile, has repeatedly been accused of mis-management of the Fundación Internacional Jorge Luis Borges, and has never quite escaped the stigma of being the writer’s personal assistant for many years before their marriage. She was forced to fight a legal challenge over his estate in the early 1990s, and has claimed in the past that the question of transferring his remains has more to do with inheritance than tribute.
The irony is that Borges elected to remain in Geneva precisely to avoid just the political and media circus seen in recent weeks. For that reason alone, the poor man should be left to rest in peace and seclusion.
Link: Letter by Dying Borges Explained Fondness for Geneva
Link: Fascinating Color Borges Video Documentary
Borges photo courtesy of Popular Persons.
*Dean Nicholas is a British-born journalist, and a contributing editor for Londonist, one of London’s most popular websites. He is currently based in Buenos Aires.
www.argentinepost.com
New Efforts To Repatriate Borges’ Remains
March 4th, 2009 | 07:50 PM
By Dean Nicholas
Though tango may be the national dance, slow waltzes with the deceased remain a worrying trend in Argentina. Decades after the remains of Eva Peron were unceremoniously shunted around the globe, a row has erupted once again over the final resting place of the country’s most famous writer, Jorge Luis Borges.
Upon his death in 1986, Borges was interred in Plainpalais cemetery in Geneva, the city in which he passed away and one he visited countless times throughout his life.
Despite residing there peacefully for some 22 years, two weeks ago lawmaker Maria Beatriz Lenz opened a storm of controversy by declaring her intention to request that the writer’s earthly remains be repatriated to Buenos Aires, where they could be laid to rest in his family’s plot in Recoleta Cemetery. Borges’ widow Maria Kodama, a woman who some consider the Yoko Ono of Latin American intellectualism, has long claimed that the writer wished to be buried in Geneva, something that Borges’ biographer Alejandro Vaccaro, who supported Lenz’s move, strongly disagrees with.
The latest twist in this macabre tale came with the publication last week of a long-lost letter that Borges wrote during the weeks before his death from liver cancer. In the letter, Borges speaks of his joy at being an “invisble man” in Geneva, a city in which he confesses to feeling “mysteriously happy”. The letter confirmed that Borges himself wished to be laid to rest there, and Lenz has subsequently shelved her proposed request, but Vaccaro, who is also the president of the Argentine Society of Writers, will persist with the debate.
The motivation for this new polemic is a curiously Argentine cocktail of prestige, pesos, and patriotism. Though Borges’ love for his adopted European resting place is well-known, it is in Buenos Aires that he is adored. The simple fact is that Buenos Aires loves Borges as much as the writer did his birthplace, and for many, the absence of his earthly remains, in a city which glories in monuments to the dearly departed, is a cause of anguish, even humiliation. How could Borges have preferred that effete, cold European capital? Surely Kodama must have somehow tricked him into being buried there? Vaccaro nearly makes such an accusation, claiming recently that he has secret evidence indicating Borges himself wished to be buried in Recoleta, though he offered nothing to back this claim up beyond an interview with the writer that dates from the 1960s.
The public spat between Vaccaro and Kodama has rumbled along for years, though the involvement now of Lenz gives the story added weight. Neither party looks particularly clean: Vaccaro has long shown himself to be something of a Borges obsessive, despite never meeting the man in person, and allegedly released a series of fake texts ascribed to Borges into the public realm during the 1990s. Kodama, meanwhile, has repeatedly been accused of mis-management of the Fundación Internacional Jorge Luis Borges, and has never quite escaped the stigma of being the writer’s personal assistant for many years before their marriage. She was forced to fight a legal challenge over his estate in the early 1990s, and has claimed in the past that the question of transferring his remains has more to do with inheritance than tribute.
The irony is that Borges elected to remain in Geneva precisely to avoid just the political and media circus seen in recent weeks. For that reason alone, the poor man should be left to rest in peace and seclusion.
Link: Letter by Dying Borges Explained Fondness for Geneva
Link: Fascinating Color Borges Video Documentary
Borges photo courtesy of Popular Persons.
*Dean Nicholas is a British-born journalist, and a contributing editor for Londonist, one of London’s most popular websites. He is currently based in Buenos Aires.
16berthirsch
The Penguin Classics Borges Series
10 December 09 | Chad W. Post | Comments
One of my favorite parts of this job (aside from seeing our own books in print and on bookstore shelves) is opening the mail and seeing all the new books coming out. Especially when I receive things like the first two volumes of the new Borges series that Penguin Classics is bringing out next April.
These first two volumes—Poems of the Night and The Sonnets, pictured above and below—are coming out just in time for National Poetry Month, and by themselves are pretty amazing collections. Quoting from the jacket copy, Poems of the Night is “a moving collection of the great literary visionary’s poetic meditations on nighttime, darkness, and the crepuscular world of visions and dreams, themes that speak implicitly to the blindness that overtook him late in life.”
And The Sonnets contains, well, all of Borges’s sonnets, many of which are appearing in English for the first time.
Beyond the contents though, check this list of translators included in these volumes: Willis Barnstone, Robert Fitzgerald, Edith Grossman, Kenneth Krabbenhoft, Anthony Kerrigan, Stephen Kessler, John King, Suzanne Jill Levine (who is also the series editor, more below), Eric McHenry, Christopher Maurer, W. S. Merwin, Alastair Reid, Hoyt Rogers, Mark Strand, Charles Tomlinson, Alan S. Trueblood, and John Updike.
Now, about the series: I’d heard about this from John Siciliano and Jill Levine back some time ago, and thanks to the wonderful people at Penguin, I just got some additional info about all five volumes. These are based on the Collected Fiction, Selected Poetry, and Selected Nonfiction volumes that came out a few years ago, but each new volume includes new material as well. Kristen Scharold sent me this info about the next three volumes, which will come out in June of next year:
On Writing constitutes a guide to writing by one of the twentieth century’s most revered writers and literary thinkers. On Argentina constitutes a guide to Borges’s beloved Argentina and Buenos Aires—perfect for the literary traveler. On Mysticism, which is edited and introduced by Borges’s widow, Maria Kodama, is a collection of Borges’ essays, fiction, and poetry that explores the role of the mysterious and spiritual in Borges’ life and writing.
It’s always a good time to read Borges, and I have a feeling I’ll end up reading all five of these volumes over the next year . . . And speaking of Suzanne Jill Levine, here’s an interesting interview with her that recently appeared in Words Without Borders.
10 December 09 | Chad W. Post | Comments
One of my favorite parts of this job (aside from seeing our own books in print and on bookstore shelves) is opening the mail and seeing all the new books coming out. Especially when I receive things like the first two volumes of the new Borges series that Penguin Classics is bringing out next April.
These first two volumes—Poems of the Night and The Sonnets, pictured above and below—are coming out just in time for National Poetry Month, and by themselves are pretty amazing collections. Quoting from the jacket copy, Poems of the Night is “a moving collection of the great literary visionary’s poetic meditations on nighttime, darkness, and the crepuscular world of visions and dreams, themes that speak implicitly to the blindness that overtook him late in life.”
And The Sonnets contains, well, all of Borges’s sonnets, many of which are appearing in English for the first time.
Beyond the contents though, check this list of translators included in these volumes: Willis Barnstone, Robert Fitzgerald, Edith Grossman, Kenneth Krabbenhoft, Anthony Kerrigan, Stephen Kessler, John King, Suzanne Jill Levine (who is also the series editor, more below), Eric McHenry, Christopher Maurer, W. S. Merwin, Alastair Reid, Hoyt Rogers, Mark Strand, Charles Tomlinson, Alan S. Trueblood, and John Updike.
Now, about the series: I’d heard about this from John Siciliano and Jill Levine back some time ago, and thanks to the wonderful people at Penguin, I just got some additional info about all five volumes. These are based on the Collected Fiction, Selected Poetry, and Selected Nonfiction volumes that came out a few years ago, but each new volume includes new material as well. Kristen Scharold sent me this info about the next three volumes, which will come out in June of next year:
On Writing constitutes a guide to writing by one of the twentieth century’s most revered writers and literary thinkers. On Argentina constitutes a guide to Borges’s beloved Argentina and Buenos Aires—perfect for the literary traveler. On Mysticism, which is edited and introduced by Borges’s widow, Maria Kodama, is a collection of Borges’ essays, fiction, and poetry that explores the role of the mysterious and spiritual in Borges’ life and writing.
It’s always a good time to read Borges, and I have a feeling I’ll end up reading all five of these volumes over the next year . . . And speaking of Suzanne Jill Levine, here’s an interesting interview with her that recently appeared in Words Without Borders.
17berthirsch
I recently read Zakhor by Yosef Yerushalmi, a meditation on the role memory and history plays with the Jewish people. An interesting book, made more so, by his siting Borges' short story:Funes the Memorious stating that:
"it haunts me largely because, though Borges did not intend it so (he called it a 'metaphor of insomnia'), it looms as a possibly demonic denouement to modern historiography as a whole."
"though not conscious of it when i first wrote these lines, I have subsequently realized that Nietzsche had alraedy pointed to insomnia as a metaphor for obsession with history when he declared: 'thus even a happy life is possible without remembrance, as the beast shows; but life in any sense is absolutely impossible without forgetfulness. Or, to put my conclusion even better, there is a degree of sleeplessness, of rumination, of historical sense, that injures and finally destroys the living thing, be it a man or a people or a system or a culture'."
i immediately picked up my collection and read the Funes story, a fascinating and maddening piece that envelops many of Borges' creations.
"it haunts me largely because, though Borges did not intend it so (he called it a 'metaphor of insomnia'), it looms as a possibly demonic denouement to modern historiography as a whole."
"though not conscious of it when i first wrote these lines, I have subsequently realized that Nietzsche had alraedy pointed to insomnia as a metaphor for obsession with history when he declared: 'thus even a happy life is possible without remembrance, as the beast shows; but life in any sense is absolutely impossible without forgetfulness. Or, to put my conclusion even better, there is a degree of sleeplessness, of rumination, of historical sense, that injures and finally destroys the living thing, be it a man or a people or a system or a culture'."
i immediately picked up my collection and read the Funes story, a fascinating and maddening piece that envelops many of Borges' creations.
18berthirsch
"Borges and the Jews" by Ilan Stavans. This is a fasciinating study written by an expert on the latin american jewish experience. now available on a PDF file i happened across on line. If you are a Borges fan you will enjoy:
http://www.raoulwallenberg.net/wp-content/files_flutter/6173.pdf
http://www.raoulwallenberg.net/wp-content/files_flutter/6173.pdf
19berthirsch
an exciting theater piece based on Borges's story, Footnote for the End of Time:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/30/theater/review-footnote-for-the-end-of-time.h...
can be viewed on You Tube
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/30/theater/review-footnote-for-the-end-of-time.h...
can be viewed on You Tube
20Rise
From "A Profession of Literary Faith" (1926), trans. Suzanne Jill Levine, in Selected Non-Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges, ed. Eliot Weinberger.
"My postulate is that all literature, in the end, is autobiographical. Everything is poetic that confesses, that gives us a glimpse of a destiny."
"Sometimes the autobiographical, personal substance, like a heart beating deep, disappears behind the accidents that incarnate it."
"My postulate is that all literature, in the end, is autobiographical. Everything is poetic that confesses, that gives us a glimpse of a destiny."
"Sometimes the autobiographical, personal substance, like a heart beating deep, disappears behind the accidents that incarnate it."
