Jorge Luis Borges

Jorge Luis Borges[1†]

Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet, and translator who is regarded as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature[1†]. His works, which include “Ficciones” and “El Aleph”, have become classics of 20th-century world literature[1†][2†][1†].

Early Years and Education

Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo was born on August 24, 1899, in Buenos Aires, Argentina[2†][3†]. He was raised in the then-shabby Palermo district of Buenos Aires, the setting of some of his works[2†][4†]. His family, which had been notable in Argentine history, included British ancestry, and he learned English before Spanish[2†]. The first books that he read included “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, the novels of H.G. Wells, “The Thousand and One Nights”, and “Don Quixote”, all in English[2†].

In 1914, on the eve of World War I, Borges was taken by his family to Geneva, where he learned French and German and received his B.A. from the Collège de Genève[2†]. Leaving there in 1919, the family spent a year on Majorca and a year in mainland Spain, where Borges joined the young writers of the Ultraist movement[2†]. This group rebelled against what it considered the decadence of the established writers of the Generation of 1898[2†].

Returning to Buenos Aires in 1921, Borges rediscovered his native city and began to sing of its beauty in poems that imaginatively reconstructed its past and present[2†].

Career Development and Achievements

Jorge Luis Borges began his literary career by publishing his poems and essays in surrealist literary journals after returning to Argentina in 1921[1†]. His works quickly gained recognition, and he became a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature[1†][2†][1†]. His best-known works, “Ficciones” and “El Aleph”, published in the 1940s, are collections of short stories that explore motifs such as dreams, labyrinths, infinity, archives, mirrors, fictional writers, and mythology[1†].

Borges also worked as a librarian and public lecturer[1†]. In 1955, he was appointed director of the National Public Library and professor of English Literature at the University of Buenos Aires[1†]. Despite becoming completely blind by the age of 55, Borges continued to create innovative literary symbols through his imagination[1†]. Scholars have suggested that his progressive blindness may have contributed to his unique literary style[1†].

By the 1960s, Borges’s work was translated and published widely in the United States and Europe[1†]. He was fluent in several languages, which allowed him to reach a broader audience[1†]. In 1961, he received international attention when he won the first Formentor Prize, which he shared with Samuel Beckett[1†]. In 1971, he won the Jerusalem Prize[1†]. His international reputation was consolidated in the 1960s, aided by the growing number of English translations, the Latin American Boom, and the success of Gabriel García Márquez’s "One Hundred Years of Solitude"[1†].

Borges’s final work, “The Conspirators”, was dedicated to the city of Geneva, Switzerland[1†]. His work has had a major influence on the magic realist movement in 20th-century Latin American literature[1†]. Writer and essayist J. M. Coetzee said of him: “He, more than anyone, renovated the language of fiction and thus opened the way to a remarkable generation of Spanish-American novelists”[1†] 1[1†].

First Publication of His Main Works

Jorge Luis Borges is renowned for his complex, intricate works that wove together themes of dreams, labyrinths, infinity, and mythology[1†]. His works have had a profound influence on the magic realist movement in 20th-century Latin American literature[1†]. Here are some of his notable works:

• “Ficciones” (1944): This collection of short stories is one of Borges’s most famous works. It explores a variety of complex themes such as infinity and labyrinths[1†].
• “El Aleph” (1949): Another collection of short stories, “El Aleph” continues Borges’s exploration of intricate themes[1†].
• “The Library of Babel”: This short story is one of Borges’s most iconic works, presenting a universe in the form of a vast library containing all possible 410-page books[1†][5†].
• “The Lottery in Babylon”: A story that depicts a society run by a system of lotteries[1†][5†].
• “The Gospel According to Mark”: This story presents a man reading the Gospel of Mark to illiterate workers, who then re-enact the Crucifixion[1†][5†].

Borges’s works are characterized by their innovative structure and themes, and his unique style has had a lasting impact on literature[1†]. His works have been translated into many languages and continue to be studied and admired for their profound philosophical insights[1†].

Analysis and Evaluation

Jorge Luis Borges’s works are renowned for their complexity and intricate themes. His primary contribution to literature is his recognition and exploitation of the fact that the genre is the quintessential model for pattern and plot in fiction[6†]. Borges was influential in showing that detective fiction is more fundamental, more complex, and thus more worthy of serious notice than critics in the past had thought it to be[6†].

Borges’s early poetry is of the ultraist school, an avant-garde brand of poetry influenced by expressionism and Dadaism and intended by its Latino practitioners as a reaction to Latino modernism[6†]. His essays, as readers familiar with his fiction might expect, are imaginative and witty and usually deal with topics in literature or philosophy[6†].

The major contributions that Borges made to Latino narrative through his stories lie, first, in his use of imagination, second, in his focus on universal themes common to all human beings, and third, in the intellectual aspect of his works[6†][7†]. In the 1940s, Borges, unlike most who were writing so-called Latino fiction, treated fiction as fiction[6†][7†].

It is virtually impossible to overstate the importance of Jorge Luis Borges within the context of Latino fiction, for he is, quite simply, the single most important writer of short fiction in the history of Latino literature[6†]. This is true not only because of his stories themselves, but also, just as important, because of how his stories contributed to the evolution of Latino fiction, both short and long, in the latter half of the twentieth century[6†].

Personal Life

Jorge Luis Borges had a rather private personal life. In 1967, he married Elsa Astete Millán, an old friend of his[8†]. However, their marriage did not last[8†]. Borges spent most of his adult life living with his mother, who passed away in 1975 at the age of 99[8†]. In his later years, in 1986, Borges married his longtime assistant, Maria Kodama[8†].

Borges was raised in a bilingual family in Buenos Aires and was well out of childhood before he realized that English and Spanish were two separate languages[8†][4†]. He also studied French and German[8†][4†]. Borges’ younger sister, Norah, was the only friend he had as a child[8†][4†].

Conclusion and Legacy

Jorge Luis Borges’ legacy is vast and transformative. His intricate narratives, philosophical musings, and linguistic prowess have left an indelible mark on the literary world[9†]. He challenged literary norms, blurred the lines between reality and fiction, and explored the insufficiency of language to represent reality, ultimately expanding the bounds of serious fiction to explore philosophical, ethical, and historical issues[9†][10†].

Borges is credited with bringing Latin American literature out of academia and to a global audience[9†][2†]. His works, particularly his collections of poems and stories, are now considered classics of 20th-century literature[9†][2†]. He gave new life to the Western and much of the Eastern tradition by reading, experiencing, and re-writing the classics from Homer and the Anglo-Saxons onwards[9†][11†]. He made them come alive, making them into texts that seem to have been written yesterday, having us in mind as their readers[9†][11†].

Writer and essayist J. M. Coetzee said of him: "He, more than anyone, renovated the language of fiction and thus opened the way to a remarkable generation of Spanish-American novelists"[9†][1†]. His legacy as an Argentine writer and poet stands as a testament to the transformative power of literature and the boundless depths of human imagination[9†].

Key Information

• Also Known As: B. Lynch Davis, B. Suarez Lynch, H. Bustos Domecq, Honorio Bustos Domecq[2†].
• Born: August 24, 1899, Buenos Aires, Argentina[2†].
• Died: June 14, 1986, Geneva, Switzerland (aged 86)[2†].
• Nationality: Argentine[2†][1†].
• Occupation: Short-story writer, essayist, poet, translator[2†][1†].
• Notable Works: “Ficciones”, “El Aleph”, “A Universal History of Infamy”, “Doctor Brodie’s Report”, “Dreamtigers”, “Evaristo Carriego: A Book About Old-Time Buenos Aires”, “Fervor de Buenos Aires, poemas”, “Other Inquisitions, 1937–1952”, “Six Problems for Don Isidro Parodi”, “The Book of Imaginary Beings”, "The Book of Sand"[2†].
• Notable Achievements: Borges’ works have contributed to philosophical literature and the genre, and have had a major influence on the magic realist movement in 20th-century Latin American literature[2†][1†]. He received the first Formentor Prize in 1961, which he shared with Samuel Beckett[2†][1†]. In 1971, he won the Jerusalem Prize[2†][1†].

References and Citations:

1. Wikipedia (English) - Jorge Luis Borges [website] - link
2. Britannica - Jorge Luis Borges: Argentine author [website] - link
3. The Famous People - Jorge Luis Borges Biography [website] - link
4. eNotes - Jorge Luis Borges Biography [website] - link
5. eNotes - Works by Jorge Luis Borges [website] - link
6. eNotes - Jorge Luis Borges Analysis [website] - link
7. eNotes - Jorge Luis Borges Short Fiction Analysis [website] - link
8. ThoughtCo - Biography of Jorge Luis Borges, Argentina's Great Storyteller [website] - link
9. Medium - Amrita Menon - Jorge Luis Borges: Celebrating the Literary Mastery of a Literary Icon [website] - link
10. Eightify - Exploring the Literary Legacy of Jorge Luis Borges [website] - link
11. BBC News - Why Jorge Luis Borges matters 30 years after his death [website] - link