The Enigmas of Borges, and the Enigma of Borges
Title | The Enigmas of Borges, and the Enigma of Borges PDF eBook |
Author | Peter Gyngell |
Publisher | |
Pages | |
Release | 2012 |
Genre | |
ISBN |
The 'enigmas' dealt with in Part 1 (Chapters 1-4) are illusory, arising largely from the apparent inability of many of his critics to understand much of Borges' work. However, the discussion of his widely appreciated wit in Chapter 1 shows that this is sometimes the fault of Borges himself. He once proclaimed his intention to conceal the true nature of some of his fictions so that only 'a very few' of his readers should understand them. Fortunately, his attempts at concealment were not always successful; but some of his critics seem to have been misled by them. Chapters 2-4 deal with characteristics that appear to be less widely appreciated. Chapter 2 discusses the importance of Borges' obsession with death; chapter 3 deals with what he called 'the most precious gift, doubt'; and chapter 4 illustrates Borges' humility and his aversion to arrogance; but all three chapters demonstrate that Borges' critics have often failed to acknowledge these characteristics. Chapters 2 and 3 show that many of his poems make clear the importance of some of these factors. Borges regarded himself primarily as a poet, and published many more books of poetry than prose; however, comparatively little attention has been paid to this aspect of his work. Part 2 of the thesis (chapters 5 and 6) deals with the enigma which Borges himself presents. This is no illusion. It stems mainly from some of his seminars, lectures and non-fictional pieces, which are shown to be rife with inaccuracies, contradictions, and poor preparation. They raise many questions about the depth of Borges' learning, and about his academic rigour. Part 1 suggests answers, while Part 2 despairs of answers. A number of the quoted texts were published originally in English; I have no Spanish, and the remaining texts are quoted in translation.
The Borges Enigma
Title | The Borges Enigma PDF eBook |
Author | Cynthia Lucy Stephens |
Publisher | Boydell & Brewer |
Pages | 315 |
Release | 2021 |
Genre | |
ISBN | 185566349X |
Borges once stated that he had never created a character: 'It's always me, subtly disguised'. This book focuses on the ways in which Borges uses events and experiences from his own life, in order to demonstrate how they become the principal structuring motifs of his work. It aims to show how these experiences, despite being 'heavily disguised', are crucial components of some of Borges's most canonical short stories, particularly from the famous collections Ficciones and El Aleph. Exploring the rich tapestry of symmetries, doubles and allusions and the roles played by translation and the figure of the creator, the book provides new readings of these stories, revealing their hidden personal, emotional and spiritual dimensions. These insights shed fresh light on Borges's supreme literary craftsmanship and the intimate puzzles of his fictions.
Borges
Title | Borges PDF eBook |
Author | Julio Premat |
Publisher | Vanderbilt University Press |
Pages | 195 |
Release | 2021-10-15 |
Genre | Literary Criticism |
ISBN | 082650227X |
This book, available for the first time in English, offers a thorough introductory reading of Jorge Luis Borges, one of the most remarkable and influential writers of the twentieth century. Julio Premat, a specialist in the field of Borges studies, presents the main questions posed by Borges's often paradoxical writing, and leads the novice through the complexity and breadth of Borges's vast literary production. Originally published in French by an Argentine ex-pat living in Paris, Borges includes the Argentine specificities of Borges’s work—specificities that are often unrecognized or glossed over in Anglophone readings. This book is a boon for university students of philosophy and literature, teachers and researchers in these fields who are looking to better understand this complex author, and anyone interested in the advanced study of literature. Somewhere between a guidebook and an exhaustive work of advanced research, Borges is the ultimate stepping-stone into the deeper Borgesian world.
Reading Borges after Benjamin
Title | Reading Borges after Benjamin PDF eBook |
Author | Kate Jenckes |
Publisher | State University of New York Press |
Pages | 188 |
Release | 2012-02-01 |
Genre | Philosophy |
ISBN | 0791480569 |
This book explores the relationship between time, life, and history in the work of Jorge Luis Borges and examines his work in relation to his contemporary, Walter Benjamin. By focusing on texts from the margins of the Borges canon—including the early poems on Buenos Aires, his biography of Argentina's minstrel poet Evaristo Carriego, the stories and translations from A Universal History of Infamy, as well as some of his renowned stories and essays—Kate Jenckes argues that Borges's writing performs an allegorical representation of history. Interspersed among the readings of Borges are careful and original readings of some of Benjamin's finest essays on the relationship between life, language, and history. Reading Borges in relationship to Benjamin draws out ethical and political implications from Borges's works that have been largely overlooked by his critics.
Borges, Second Edition
Title | Borges, Second Edition PDF eBook |
Author | Lisa Block de Behar |
Publisher | State University of New York Press |
Pages | 270 |
Release | 2014-03-11 |
Genre | Philosophy |
ISBN | 143845032X |
Borges cites innumerable authors in the pages making up his life's work, and innumerable authors have cited and continue to cite him. More than a figure, then, the quotation is an integral part of the fabric of his writing, a fabric made anew by each reading and each re-citation it undergoes, in the never-ending throes of a work-in-progress. Block de Behar makes of this reading a plea for the very art of communication; a practice that takes community not in the totalized and totalizable soil of pre-established definitions or essences, but on the ineluctable repetitions that constitute language as such, and that guarantee the expansiveness—through etymological coincidences of meaning, through historical contagions, through translinguistic sharings of particular experiences—of a certain index of universality. This edition includes a new introduction by the author and three entirely new chapters, as well as updated images and corrections to the original translation.
Borges and His Fiction
Title | Borges and His Fiction PDF eBook |
Author | Gene H. Bell-Villada |
Publisher | University of Texas Press |
Pages | 396 |
Release | 1999 |
Genre | Literary Criticism |
ISBN | 9780292708785 |
From reviews of the first edition: "A compulsively readable account of the life and works of our greatest...writer of fantasy. With a keen appreciation of Borges himself and a pleasant disregard for the critical clichés, Bell-Villada tells us all we really want to know about the modern master-from pronouncing his name to understanding the stories." —New York Daily News "Of the scores of Borges studies by now published in English, Bell-Villada's excellent book stands out as one of the freshest and most generally helpful.... Lay readers and specialists alike will find his book a valuable and highly readable companion to Ficciones and El Aleph." —Choice Since its first publication in 1981, Borges and His Fiction has introduced the life and works of this Argentinian master-writer to an entire generation of students, high school and college teachers, and general readers. Responding to a steady demand for an updated edition, Gene H. Bell-Villada has significantly revised and expanded the book to incorporate new information that has become available since Borges' death in 1986. In particular, he offers a more complete look at Borges and Peronism and Borges' personal experiences of love and mysticism, as well as revised interpretations of some of Borges' stories. As before, the book is divided into three sections that examine Borges' life, his stories in Ficciones and El Aleph, and his place in world literature.
Borges and Dante
Title | Borges and Dante PDF eBook |
Author | Humberto Núñez-Faraco |
Publisher | Peter Lang |
Pages | 240 |
Release | 2006 |
Genre | Foreign Language Study |
ISBN | 9783039105113 |
Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctorate--University College, London, 2001).