Jorge Luis Borges

Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986), Argentine writer, whose challenging avant-garde poems and tales made him one of the foremost figures in Latin American and world literature.

Born on August 24, 1899, in Buenos Aires, the son of a teacher, Borges was educated in Geneva and lived briefly in Spain. In 1921 he returned to Argentina, where he helped found several literary and philosophical periodicals and wrote lyrical poetry on historical Argentine themes, as expressed in such collections as Fervor de Buenos Aires (1923), Luna de enfrente (1925, The Moon Opposite), and Cuarderno San Martín (1929, San Martin Notebook).

In the 1930s Borges's health failed as a result of a head wound, and he became progressively blind. Nevertheless, he worked at the National Library (1938-1947) and eventually became its director (1955-1973). Beginning in 1955, he also taught English at the University of Buenos Aires. During these years Borges turned from poetry to the short narrative fiction for which he is now famous. Ficciones (1945; trans. 1962) is perhaps his most important collection of short stories. Others are Extraordinary Tales (1955; trans. 1971), Dream Tigers (1960; trans. 1964), and The Book of Imaginary Beings (1967; trans. 1969). The Aleph and Other Stories 1933-1969) (1970) is a translation of 20 short stories. Labyrinths (1962) is a collection of stories and other writings. Borges also wrote philosophical and literary essays such as those in Other Inquisitions (1952; trans. 1964). Personal Anthology (1961; trans. 1962) contains selections from his works that Borges valued most highly. He died in Geneva, on June 14, 1986.

In his writing Borges created a fantastic, totally subjective, and deeply metaphysical world. His work is demanding and difficult to comprehend because Borges created his own symbolism; it is, however, greatly admired by other writers and scholars. Describing his work, Borges wrote: “I am neither a thinker nor a moralist, but simply a man of letters who turns his own perplexities and that respected system of perplexities we call philosophy into the forms of literature”.