What do you think?
Rate this book
Jorge Luis Borges: Werke in 20 Bänden (Werkausgabe)
Von Büchern und Autoren. Rezensionen 1936-1939
Der große Erzähler und Dichter Borges war zugleich einer der hellsichtigsten Kritiker seiner Zeit. Von 1936 bis1939 betreute er in Buenos Aires den Literaturteil der Zeitung »El Hogar« und verfasste dazu zahllose Autorenporträts, Rezensionen und Polemiken. Von Thomas Mann zu Kafka und Döblin, von Edgar Allen Poe bis T. S. Eliot und Virginia Woolf, von H. G. Wells zu James Joyce und Ernest Hemingway ist ihm in der Ferne von Buenos Aires scheinbar nichts entgangen. Und gleichzeitig begegnet uns in seinen Essays immer wieder die Signatur seines Werks: der Mensch, das Labyrinth, die Zeit.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
About the author
Jorge Luis Borges
1,615 books14.7k followersJorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator regarded as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known works, Ficciones (transl. Fictions) and El Aleph (transl. The Aleph), published in the 1940s, are collections of short stories exploring motifs such as dreams, labyrinths, chance, infinity, archives, mirrors, fictional writers and mythology. Borges's works have contributed to philosophical literature and the fantasy genre, and have had a major influence on the magic realist movement in 20th century Latin American literature.
Born in Buenos Aires, Borges later moved with his family to Switzerland in 1914, where he studied at the Collège de Genève. The family travelled widely in Europe, including Spain. On his return to Argentina in 1921, Borges began publishing his poems and essays in surrealist literary journals. He also worked as a librarian and public lecturer. In 1955, he was appointed director of the National Public Library and professor of English Literature at the University of Buenos Aires. He became completely blind by the age of 55. Scholars have suggested that his progressive blindness helped him to create innovative literary symbols through imagination. By the 1960s, his work was translated and published widely in the United States and Europe. Borges himself was fluent in several languages.
In 1961, he came to international attention when he received the first Formentor Prize, which he shared with Samuel Beckett. In 1971, he won the Jerusalem Prize. His international reputation was consolidated in the 1960s, aided by the growing number of English translations, the Latin American Boom, and by the success of Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude. He dedicated his final work, The Conspirators, to the city of Geneva, Switzerland. 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."
Born in Buenos Aires, Borges later moved with his family to Switzerland in 1914, where he studied at the Collège de Genève. The family travelled widely in Europe, including Spain. On his return to Argentina in 1921, Borges began publishing his poems and essays in surrealist literary journals. He also worked as a librarian and public lecturer. In 1955, he was appointed director of the National Public Library and professor of English Literature at the University of Buenos Aires. He became completely blind by the age of 55. Scholars have suggested that his progressive blindness helped him to create innovative literary symbols through imagination. By the 1960s, his work was translated and published widely in the United States and Europe. Borges himself was fluent in several languages.
In 1961, he came to international attention when he received the first Formentor Prize, which he shared with Samuel Beckett. In 1971, he won the Jerusalem Prize. His international reputation was consolidated in the 1960s, aided by the growing number of English translations, the Latin American Boom, and by the success of Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude. He dedicated his final work, The Conspirators, to the city of Geneva, Switzerland. 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."
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 5, 2018
Buchbesprechungen und Biogramme des Meisters. Genial. Interessant, daß nach einer Weile die scheinbar universelle Bildung sich immer deutlicher auf eine Hand voll Themen konzentriert.
Auch die Wortwahl, obwohl sie immer wieder verblüfft, strahlt doch eine Vertrautheit aus, die beinahe zur Parodie reizt. So benutzt er unendlich oft die Floskel. Es ist nicht unmöglich, daß... Bestimmte Lieblingswörter wie Phantasmagorisch, Häresiarch etc.
Köstlich die Epitheota, der beklagenswerte S.S. van Dine.
“Der Begriff der Perfektion ist negativ: Ihn definiert der Mangel an eindeutigen Fehlern, nicht die Anwesenheit von Tugenden.” 292
Bemerkenswert auch die Andeutungen seiner Lesegeschwindigkeit. So liest er angeblich einen ganzen Tag an einem 300 Seiten Buch, andererseits scheint er die gesammelten Werke noch der obskursten Schreiber zu kennen. Außerdem behauptet er, daß Bovary und Karamasow für ihn unlesbar seien.
Auch die Wortwahl, obwohl sie immer wieder verblüfft, strahlt doch eine Vertrautheit aus, die beinahe zur Parodie reizt. So benutzt er unendlich oft die Floskel. Es ist nicht unmöglich, daß... Bestimmte Lieblingswörter wie Phantasmagorisch, Häresiarch etc.
Köstlich die Epitheota, der beklagenswerte S.S. van Dine.
“Der Begriff der Perfektion ist negativ: Ihn definiert der Mangel an eindeutigen Fehlern, nicht die Anwesenheit von Tugenden.” 292
Bemerkenswert auch die Andeutungen seiner Lesegeschwindigkeit. So liest er angeblich einen ganzen Tag an einem 300 Seiten Buch, andererseits scheint er die gesammelten Werke noch der obskursten Schreiber zu kennen. Außerdem behauptet er, daß Bovary und Karamasow für ihn unlesbar seien.
Displaying 1 of 1 review