Tag Archive | Jorge Luis Borges
Borges’ Manual de zoología fantástica Reviewed at La Jornada
La Jornada has an all too brief review of a Borges curiosity, Manual de zoología fantástica (The Manual of the Fantastical Zoology). It is a mix of his writings about famous characters like the phoenix and those of his own invention. It sounds like an interesting mix. El jardín zoológico borgiano es una recopilación extensa, [...]
When Borges Lost the Premio Nacional Because of Politics
The Nobel wasn’t the only prize Borges lost because of politics. He also lost the Premio Nacional in 1941, the year of El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan. Revista Ñ has an article about the ins and outs of his loss. Mostly, though Borges was ahead of his time. La pérdida del premio acaso [...]
Borge’s Wife Demands Agustín Fernández Mallo’s “The Maker Remake” Be Taken Off The Shelves
Moleskine Literario pointed me to this ridiculous bit literary guardianship. María Kodama, Borges widow, is demanding the Agustín Fernández Mallo’s El Hacedor (de Borges). Remake (The Maker by Borges. Remake), be taken off the shelves. It is an ironic position since Borges is well known for postulating that works can be expanded by others and reworked. [...]
In Praise of the Late Works of Borges – Jorge Fernandez Diaz in El Pais
El Pais has an article praising the late works of Borges. I’m less a fan of these than his earlier works, especially Ficiones and El Aleph. In those earlier works Borges paid a bit more attention to the feel of the story, not just his famous paradoxes. I find it makes them more intriguing as stories not [...]
An Interview with Borges Widow at El Pais
El Pais has an interview with the widow of Borges. It is interesting, although not particularly controversial as the introduction of the article might lead you to believe. PREGUNTA. Veinticinco años desde que acabó el viaje físico, la cercanía con Borges. ¿Qué supone para usted este viaje? RESPUESTA. Borges entró en el gran mar, como [...]
Javier Cercas Talking His Writing and Borges on Nostromo
For all of you Javier Cercas fans out there who speak Spanish, Nostromo has an hour long interview with the author. It is an excellent interview where they cover in depth 3 of his books, Anatomy of a Moment, Soldiers of Salamina, and a third one I can’t remember. Cercas and the interviewer also have [...]
Reworking Borges, What Could be More Borges – Agustín Fernández Mallo
Canal-L has an interview with Agustín Fernández Mallo about his new book El hacedor (de Borges), Remake {The Maker (by Borges), Remake}. It is a work that takes its inspiration from Borges. If it was anyone else besides Borges, I would be doubtful, but following from Borges seems to make sense. “Crear no es más que ver la realidad [...]
Kafka and Adolfo Bioy Casares – at the Quarterly Conversation
Scott Esposito has a fascinating article about the literary cross currents in the work of Adolfo Bioy Casares and Franz Kafka. If you are familiar with one and not the other (or Borges for that matter) you should definitely read the article. I like realism in my works, but I also love the approaches fashioned by Casares, Kafka, and [...]
Interview Cesar Arias and Review of Newest Book El error at El Pais
El Pais has a long interview with Cesar Arias which is worth reading (and running through Google translate if need be). One of the things I found most interesting is that although he publishes something every year, his total lifetime out put is less than a 1000 pages. (via Moleskine Literario) P. ¿Forma parte de [...]
Tomás Eloy Martínez’s Peron Books Reviewed at Book Slut
Jesse Tangen-Mills has a review of three of Tomás Eloy Martínez’s books, Saint Evita, The Novel of Peron, and the Tango Singer at Book Slut. He gives a good overview of the books, ones I should have read some time ago, especially since I own a copy of the Novel of Peron in Spanish. Both [...]
Interview with Borges Translator Suzanne Jill Levine
3 Quarks Daily has the transcript of an interview with Suzanne Jill Levine about Jorge Luis Borges. It is a lengthy interview and worth a look. It goes beyond his stories and talks about his non fiction works, something that he is not necessarily well known for in the US. You can also listen to [...]
How Not To Write a Borges Article
I shouldn’t even bother with this, but when you write about Borges in the NY Times and make it so boring, what is the point? I love Borges, though not later Borges, and can’t seem to soak up enough articles about him. Still, I want something new and interesting. The article starts out badly, telling [...]
Perhaps Not Borges – Alex Epstein and Israeli Flash Fiction
PEN and the Jewish Daily Forward have an interview and excerpts from the Israeli writer Alex Epstein’s new book of flash fictions. They are sometimes metaphysical, sometimes meta-fiction, often cryptic, but play with simple images and frozen moments to capture the essence of a thought, an idea, or a impression. I didn’t like them all, [...]
Review at TQC on Borges’ Lectures from the Argentine Master
Daniel Pritchard has written an interesting review at the Quarterly Conversation of Borges’ Lectures from the Argentine Master: Seven Nights. I’d been curious if the book was worth reading. Although it has his similar themes, they sound perceptive and erudite in a way that I find his late fiction isn’t. His latter stories, while continuing [...]
Borges Lost Translations at the Guradian
The Guardian UK (via Words Without Borders) has a short bog post about some translations Borges put together with Norman Thomas di Giovanni of some of his works. It sounds like a true Borges-like project. Nonetheless, what they produced during this period were not simple translations. Some of their time was given to the collaborative [...]
New Borges in May from New Directions
New Directions is going to publish a new book of Borges. It is unclear weather it has new material in English or is just a different approach at compiling his work. Everything and Nothing collects Borges’ highly influential work – written in the 1930s and ’40s – that forsaw the internet, quantum mechanics, and cloning. [...]
Borges and His Precursors
Letras Libres‘ August issue included three stories that influenced some of Borges’ most famous stories in Fictiones. The stories are a fascinating look into Borges process of thought and creation and worth a look for any fan of Borges. While the stories are available on-line in Spanish, they are not on-line in English. However, two [...]
