[I meant to publish this a while ago with more discussion. Now it is Part 1 to be followed up later.)
Have you heard of Jorge Luis Borges? If not, maybe you should.
By some he is considered one of the best writers of all time. Whether that is true or not, he certainly is one of the most imaginative writers of all time.
In and around Latin America, which may be under-populated compared to other parts of the planet, (like Asia, Europe, Africa), he is definitely considered a high power of literature and thought.
I first read him in high school in the 1980s. In both English and Spanish, I think. My high school Spanish teacher was smart, and it would be a crime to get that far in Spanish (3rd and 4th years) to not be exposed to Borges. The Borges. It is pronounced in English like BOAR- HASE. With emphasis on the BOAR.
I may have even read him as a sophomore with the same smart teacher in Gifted and Talented Humanities. Ahh, "Gifted and Talented". Once you think you are in that club, you might be marked and cursed for life. Borges was "cursed" with blindness, but perhaps that ended up blessing his imagination and writing abilities. Or his desires and efforts to compensate for a lacking gift.
Sight is a gift, and Borges had an extra endowment of it, beyond his physical eyes.
Living in the neighboring country of Chile in the early 90s was a part of me understanding the realm, the world, the universe and the cultures of this intellectual giant.
Was he a giant? I think so. Read him. Maybe he is more a giant psycho than an intellectual; maybe the line is thin...
Argentina is a close country to Chile for many reasons...culture blends through geography, and obviously language.
So, I think that living in, breathing in the Latino airs of the southern cone helped me understand a bit more of the magic, the mystery, the poetry, the flair, or elan. Is that a word? Yes, it has so many more synonyms. We looked it up.
Yes, Borges has flair.
Talking and reading and joking and eating and sleeping around, rubbing shoulders with real live people named Miguel, Manuel, Andres, Pablo, Patricio, and yes, Jorge, helped me see a different world. Which is what reading Borges does for his readers. You explore other universes, alternate realities.
Prepare to take some trips, some fancies of the mind and imagination with this Jorge.
Get ready.
When I read him for a class in Chile in 1994 with esteemed Profesora Hilda Rojas, I explained to her and my class that reading one of his works "lefted me different". It changed me somehow.
His reading may alter you, be warned.
But then again, talking and reading and joking and eating and sleeping around and rubbing shoulders with real live people named Hilda and Paula and Eduvigis and Miriam and a host of others may do that to you. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Have you heard of Jorge Luis Borges? If not, maybe you should.
By some he is considered one of the best writers of all time. Whether that is true or not, he certainly is one of the most imaginative writers of all time.
In and around Latin America, which may be under-populated compared to other parts of the planet, (like Asia, Europe, Africa), he is definitely considered a high power of literature and thought.
I first read him in high school in the 1980s. In both English and Spanish, I think. My high school Spanish teacher was smart, and it would be a crime to get that far in Spanish (3rd and 4th years) to not be exposed to Borges. The Borges. It is pronounced in English like BOAR- HASE. With emphasis on the BOAR.
I may have even read him as a sophomore with the same smart teacher in Gifted and Talented Humanities. Ahh, "Gifted and Talented". Once you think you are in that club, you might be marked and cursed for life. Borges was "cursed" with blindness, but perhaps that ended up blessing his imagination and writing abilities. Or his desires and efforts to compensate for a lacking gift.
Sight is a gift, and Borges had an extra endowment of it, beyond his physical eyes.
Living in the neighboring country of Chile in the early 90s was a part of me understanding the realm, the world, the universe and the cultures of this intellectual giant.
Was he a giant? I think so. Read him. Maybe he is more a giant psycho than an intellectual; maybe the line is thin...
Argentina is a close country to Chile for many reasons...culture blends through geography, and obviously language.
So, I think that living in, breathing in the Latino airs of the southern cone helped me understand a bit more of the magic, the mystery, the poetry, the flair, or elan. Is that a word? Yes, it has so many more synonyms. We looked it up.
Yes, Borges has flair.
Talking and reading and joking and eating and sleeping around, rubbing shoulders with real live people named Miguel, Manuel, Andres, Pablo, Patricio, and yes, Jorge, helped me see a different world. Which is what reading Borges does for his readers. You explore other universes, alternate realities.
Prepare to take some trips, some fancies of the mind and imagination with this Jorge.
Get ready.
When I read him for a class in Chile in 1994 with esteemed Profesora Hilda Rojas, I explained to her and my class that reading one of his works "lefted me different". It changed me somehow.
His reading may alter you, be warned.
But then again, talking and reading and joking and eating and sleeping around and rubbing shoulders with real live people named Hilda and Paula and Eduvigis and Miriam and a host of others may do that to you. Don't say I didn't warn you.
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