"A probing, engaging examination of the work of Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) in the context of Argentinian, Latin American, and world literature, from his beginnings as an avant-gardist to his consecration as one of the most influential literary figuresof the twentieth century. In essays, stories, and poems, Borges developed a unique voice that allowed him to explore favorite intellectual motifs: labyrinths, the infinite, the universe as a book, memory, and storytelling as fate. Just as he renewed the Spanish language by means of a tight, almost mathematical style, he redefined Argentine literature by inviting its practitioners to tackle universal themes, and he embraced translation as a strategy for reconceptualizing the original text. Ilan Stavans, aworld authority on Borges and an internationally celebrated essayist and translator, reflects on what the term Borgesian means in an age of instant information, consumerism, and apathy toward reading"--
Jorge Luis Borges (1899--1986) is one of the most influential literary figures of the twentieth century. His short stories, poems, essays, and translations explore Argentine mythology, mysticism, philosophical ideas, and myriad other topics. This Very Short Introduction gives an engaging overview of Borges's life and the major themes of his oeuvre.
Ilan Stavans places Borges in the context of tango and gaucho literature and follows his transformation into an explorer of time and metaphysical dimensions across cultures. As an inveterate reader of Cervantes, Shakespeare, Flaubert, Coleridge, and The Arabian Nights, Borges has become closely associated with the book as an object of knowledge and of the imagination. Stavans demonstrates how Borges's evolution as a writer allowed him to revolutionize contemporary literature and thought in fundamental ways through such works as Ficciones, Other Inquisitions, and Labyrinths, and shows how his career redefined Latin American as well as global literature.
A celebration of the life and works of one of the most influential world literary figures of the twentieth century, this Very Short Introduction traces Jorge Luis Borges's trajectory from his beginnings in Buenos Aires through the Dirty War in Argentina. It gives an engaging overview of his writings and their themes and shows how his career redefined Latin American as well as global literature.
