Product Description
Escritos al azar de los viajes y los días. en el intervalo de las distinciones que le otorgaban universidades y gobiernos extranjeros. los libros reunidos en el tercer volumen de Obras Completas de Jorge Luis Borges abarcan los últimos veinte años de su vida. Salvo Nueve ensayos dantescos (1982). una precisa experiencia de lectura de La Divina Comedia. todas sus páginas reflejan esa circunstancia. La serie de relatos de El libro de arena (1975) incluye un cuento de amor. acaso el único de su obra; en cierto pasaje de La memoria de Skakespeare (1983) el autor imagina un encuentro entre el hombre que él mismo fue y el que será en la vejez; Atlas (1984) es una sensible crónica escrita junto con María Kodama sobre los países que ambos visitaron. Cinco libros de poesía articulan una suerte de progresivo testamento que concluye con Los conjurados . dedicado a Suiza. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

He lived in literature and literature lived in him
He lived in Literature and Literature lived in him. Books were for him his truest friends and the secret intimates of his soul. When he spoke to another he spoke always to himself and to the books within him. But because he knew books so well and loved them so much all his speaking too became a book .And in the end even his final words there were books talking to books and talking to more books.
So for those of us who also love books , his particular love of books taught us so somuch - but only in books.

A Good Read
This offers a series of interviews in chronlogical order (from 1966 until shortly before his death in '85) While he is good humored and self effacing he never lets you know more than he wants you to. There are also certain repetitons of ideas that occur, but anyone that has read Borges before will be used to that.To some extent it happans with most of the better writers in varying degrees anyways. Even with the repetitions it never comes across like he is doing memorized routines (which sometimes happans with William burroughs interviews)all in all important insight into the mind of an important writer.

Borges!
Borges is great in in his writings, and almost as good in conversation.Witty, urbane, stylish, Borges shows that conversation can be as exciting as literature.Buy now! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Borges Obras Completas 4
BORGES, OBRAS COMPLETAS, TOMO 4, incluye los siguientes libros:

Ensayos y Conferencias

Prólogos(1975) Incluye 39 prólogos/ensayos a libros de Almafuerte, Ascasubi, Bioy Casares, Ray Bradbury, Cervantes, Macedonio, Kafka, Lewis Carroll, Melville, Quevedo, Sarmiento, Schwob y otros.

Borges Oral (1980) (Conferencias)Cinco conferencias excelentes sobre: El Libro, La Inmortalidad, Emanuel Swedemborg, El Cuento Policial y El Tiempo.

Textos cautivos. Textos publicados en la revista El Hogar (1986)
250 páginas de ensayos y reseñas. Muy largo para detallar. Hay notas sobre Meyrink, Woolf, O'Neill, Juana de Arco, Frazer, Faulkner, Wells, Barbusse, Huxley, Rimbaud, Lulio, Doblin, Hemingway, Murasaki, Joyce, "Los escritores argentinos y Buenos Aires", "Las nuevas generaciones literarias, y más.

Biblioteca Personal. Prólogos (1988) Otra serie de 64 prólogos. Incluye libros de Cortázar, Buzzati, Kafka, Ibsen, Graves, Conrad, Marco Polo, Kierkegaard, Heródoto, Rulfo, Cocteau, Virgilio, Voltaire, Sturlusson, y otros. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Obras Completas 1
Para una idea más detallada de los libros incluidos es mejor que busque la información de cada uno por separado. Acá voy sólo a detallar qué libros se encuentran en este tomo:

BORGES, OBRAS COMPLETAS, TOMO 1:

Poesía
Fervor de Buenos Aires (1923)
Luna de enfrente (1925)
Cuaderno San Martín (1929)

Ensayo
Evaristo Carriego(1930)
Discusión (1932)
Historia de la eternidad (1936)

Relatos
Historia universal de la infamia(1935)
Ficciones (1944). (Incluye: El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan (1941) y Artificios (1944))
El Aleph (1949)

Borges, probably on of the Best Writers of the Twentieth Century
Borges, amid his metaphysical turmoils and speculations with time draws a magical infinite picture of the world in the most charming of ways, his first poems a little bit deceptive in their language and exceeding to much in rational thought do not reach the masterpiece status of his latter poems (volumes 2
through 3).
In his narrative style and prose, with great erudition, he investigates profoundly in the tought of the great thinkers of all time (known and unknown) to try to solve the puzzle of time, his endless question. Some fault can be found in his style as sometimes monotone, repeating the same questions.
One of his great books (History of Infamy) is a delighful antology of the most important aspects of famous criminals. Great reading!

... Read more

Book Description
The Book of Imaginary Beings is Borges’s whimsical compendium of more than one hundred of the “strange creatures conceived down through history by the human imagination.” This unique contribution to fantasy literature ranges widely across the world’s mythologies and literatures to bring together the fantastical inventions drawn from the Kabbalah, Homer, Confucius, Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll, and Kafka, among others. Here readers will find the familiar and expected dragons, centaurs, and unicorns, as well as the less familiar and altogether unexpected Animals That Live in the Mirror, the Humbaba, the Simurgh, and other undeniably curious beasts. Throughout, Borges’s cunning and humorous commentary is sheer delight.

Andrew Hurley’s brilliant new translation is perfectly paired with original drawings from award-winning illustrator Peter Sís. The result is a wonderful gift book—an Alice Through the Looking Glass menagerie, which should appeal not only to Borges aficionados but also to fantasy fans of all stripes and ages. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Modern Day Bestiary
In addition to being a brilliant and talented author, Jorge Luis Borges also had a strong interest in mythology, fantasy and philosophy. It shines through in this book, a field guide, of sorts, to the imagination. While it may not be amongst his best works, it IS a fun read, and one gets the feeling it was really a labor of love for Borges. Spanning the realms of folklore, mythology, theology and literature, this volume winds up being perhaps one of the closest modern equivalents to a medieval bestiary. While not quite like Carol Rose's 'Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns and Goblins,' or Mack & Mack's 'Field Guide to Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angels and Other Subversive Spirits,' I thoroughly enjoyed reading through this little book. And, as Borges himself says in the introduction, this really is meant to be a book one flips through occaisonally as any good volume of miscellenea.

Lurking in the pages of this book, one finds such familiar beasts as dragons (of east and west), lamiae, harpies, the minotaur, satyrs, Valkyrie, manticores, golems, kami and the Lernaean hydra. Yet we also find more obscure and exotic things, like the Chinese ink monkey, Lamed Wufniks, creatures from American folklore (like the Hide-Behind and goofus bird) and a strange hairy beast seen in France. While werewolves and other shapeshifters were intentionally excluded, Borges also includes a great number of beasts from literature, ranging from the Behemoth of the Bible, Homer's scylla and the roc from the 1,001 Nights, to stranger things imagined by Poe, Kafka, H.G. Wells and C.S. Lewis. All in all we get well over a hundead beasts mentioned, each with a short story and description, and some with cute little cartoon illustrations.

The end result is quite a fun read. Like I said before, its not quite on par with Borges other works. But still, its well worth the purchase, especially if you share his interest in the strange, mythical creatures that haunt our thoughts and minds. Like the title says, its a zoology of our imagination, and a very unique adventure.

Fantastic reference book on Imaginary Beings
This book may not have all of the imaginary beings ever known, but it tries.A terrific book to read and use as a reference.

Bestiary of the imagination
"The Book of Imaginary Creatures" seems like kind of a flimsy book for a great author like Jorge Luis Borges -- a bestiary of creatures from myth, religion and literature. But the book becomes deeper and more intriguing as it goes on, tapping into philosophy and common imaginings around the world.

There are several religion-based creatures -- the Biblical Levithian, Swedenborg's angels and demons, Mohammed's heavenly steed Buraq, Judaical golems (which aren't quite the same as other creatures, since people have to make them), and supernatural versions of real animals, like the white elephant that appeared before the birth of Buddha or Chinese foxes.

But even more numerous are the mythic creatures, from the usual (centaurs, unicorns, hellhounds, gryphons) to the obscure (the A Bao A Qu, an insubstantial little thing that follows people up the stairs). These are a more colourful bunch, especially since many of them -- dragons, the hare in the moon, the basilisk -- recur in different countries, and Borges told readers of most of those.

And to round it off, Borges included creatures invented in literature -- Homer and Dante's mythic creatures, Poe's Antarctic creatures, Kafka, Lewis Carroll's version of a Cheshire cat,and C.S. Lewis's alien creatures from the "Space Trilogy." These authors all created creatures that were almost too weird, but which also seemed relatively likely (as invented animals go).

"The Book of Imaginary Beings" is actually very well-rounded, with lots of bizarre or relatively unknown creatures. You'd expect a bunch of typical mythic creatures just tossed together, but fortunately Borges goes way behind the call of duty, from the A Bao A Qu to the Zaratan (a carnivorous living island).

Borges obviously had great respect for these various legends, since he treats them as seriously as if they were scientifically proven. And he did his research, including duplicates and variations from across the world (not all of them, though), such as the Guardians of the four directions: for the Chinese, it was four tiger spirits, while it was four angelic beasts for the kabbalists.

Borges writes this in a solemn, scholarly manner, but it's still very easy to read ("It is a monster of form, inspired by the devil of symmetry in the imagination of sculptors, potters and ceramicists"). He also includes translations of the beings' names, and quite a few snippets of text and poetry that describe them. Even ancient nonfiction, such as Lucretius insisting that a creature like the centaur couldn't exist. Okay, whatever.

"The Book of Imaginary Beings" seems like a rather minor work for a legendary author. But taken on its own, this little mythic bestiary is a solid little read.

Great Addition to a Grand Tradition
Other reviewers have commented that Borges is too far removed here, or that it's a "minor work from a major author" -- all of which is true. If you're looking for serious *Borges*, this may not be of much interest. But if what you're looking for is a bestiary in the medieval tradition (with roots going back even further, to the 2nd Century Greek Physiologus), this is a great addition to the literature.

Wry and clever on some pages, deliciously ambiguous and foggy on others, Borges' compendium of curious creatures makes for enjoyable perusal. The only thing missing, of course, is more creatures. Borges himself begins the work with a disclaimer that any such undertaking can never be complete, yet there was plenty of room for more here. Some omissions are surprising. But in any case, for what it is (and not for what it's not), I can recommend the book without reservation.

I really wanted to love this book
I love monsters and myhthology.I love reading Borges.You put together you have.... a tedious reading experience.If you want to buy this books for kids, dont'.Honestly, they'd prefer something with cooler pictures and more reader-friendly dialouge.

If your buying this book for yourself as an adult:This is a compliation of several authors' writing on fantastical creatures.Mos to f the writing is thick and heavy handed; to say this isn't Borges at his best would be an understatement. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

fantastic collection
This book is more what a fantasy-reader friend of mine called "literary fantasy" dismissively, but I think it's a wonderful collection - all over the map in terms of stories, global in scope and style, and just great reading overall. ... Read more

Book Description
An essential study of Borges as a Latin American writer.

Jorge Luis Borges is generally acknowledged to be one of the twentieth century's most significant writers. Yet in all the critical debates on his work, the fact that he is Argentinian is rarely discussed, as if his international reputation had somehow cleansed him of nationality. In this brilliant introduction to his work, Sarlo challenges these "universalist" readings, arguing that they leave aside vital aspects of Borges' writing, including his powerful vision of Argentina's past and its traditions, which placed both the writer and his country at the intersection of European and Latin American culture. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

El canon argentino del siglo XX
Mi nombre es Guillermo y vivo en Buenos Aires, Argentina.Espero que este libro sea comprado por mucha gente porque para nosotros sería más que interesante que en el mundo sean leídos dos de nuestras figurasintelectuales más influyentes de nuestro siglo. ... Read more

Book Description
Available in cloth, paper, or audio CD

Through a twist of fate that the author of Labyrinths himself would have relished, these lost lectures given in English at Harvard in 1967-1968 by Jorge Luis Borges return to us now, a recovered tale of a life-long love affair with literature and the English language. Transcribed from tapes only recently discovered, This Craft of Verse captures the cadences, candor, wit, and remarkable erudition of one of the most extraordinary and enduring literary voices of the twentieth century. In its wide-ranging commentary and exquisite insights, the book stands as a deeply personal yet far-reaching introduction to the pleasures of the word, and as a first-hand testimony to the life of literature.

Though his avowed topic is poetry, Borges explores subjects ranging from prose forms (especially the novel), literary history, and translation theory to philosophical aspects of literature in particular and communication in general. Probably the best-read citizen of the globe in his day, he draws on a wealth of examples from literature in modern and medieval English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Greek, Latin, Arabic, Hebrew, and Chinese, speaking with characteristic eloquence on Plato, the Norse kenningar, Byron, Poe, Chesterton, Joyce, and Frost, as well as on translations of Homer, the Bible, and the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám.

Whether discussing metaphor, epic poetry, the origins of verse, poetic meaning, or his own "poetic creed," Borges gives a performance as entertaining as it is intellectually engaging. A lesson in the love of literature and in the making of a unique literary sensibility, this is a sustained encounter with one of the writers by whom the twentieth century will be long remembered.

Customer Reviews (10)

The supreme lover of literature
Borges writes in this work, " I think of myself as essentially being a reader. As you are aware, I have ventured into writing;but I think that what I have read is far more important than what I have written. For one reads what one likes- yet one writes not one would like to write, but what one is able to write." pp.98
This is not to contradict Borges but it seems to me that his writing is what it is essentially because he is such a reader. And as others have often remarked the most remarkable reader .For he reads from so many different linguistic and literary traditions- and he reads with his own imagination, in effect rewriting and combining all he reads into what he enables us to read- his writing.
In all this one feels that Borges so loves literature that he is making it live more by writing to us about what he reads. He is the writer perhaps more than any other for whom books are the first and primary experience. They are the world before the world is the world. Borges reads and rereads them and presents his rereadings to us.
They often amaze us with their startling perceptions and beauty.
This work is ostensibly about the craft of verse but is really Borges talking about various aspects of his reading, and his writing. And he talks with such wisdom and insight, such original poetry that it is impossible not to take pleasure in this work.
Borges writes of the music of poetry and of the meaning of metaphor and how real literature like Louis Armstrong's 'jazz' must be sensed and felt as its first definition. For people who love poetry and people who love books there is no other writer who more strengthens their faith in what they are doing, than this very great writer and reader, this supreme lover of literature.

The joy of living in literature
I am not sure whether we learn much about the CRAFT of verse from these lectures. But one thing that we do learn from Borges is what a pleasure it is to be able to find beauty in poetry (and prose). Borges was an amazing man - he was almost seventy when he delivered these six lectures, and he did it without the help of notes since his poor eyesight made it impossible for him to read.

For Borges, poetry is essentially undefinable. It flows like Heraklit's river - the meaning of words shifts with time, and readers' appreciation changes over the years. Poetry as he understands it is a riddle because it is beyond rational understanding; it is 'true' in a higher (magical) sense. And what is true in a higher sense remains unfathomable, a riddle: "we KNOW what poetry is. We know it so well that we cannot define it in other words, even as we cannot define the taste of coffee, the color red or yellow, or the meaning of anger, of love, of hatred, of the sunrise, of the sunset, or of our love for our country. These things are so deep in us that they can be expressed only by those common symbols that we share. So why should we need other words [to define what poetry is]?"(18)

Metaphors, according to Borges, are the core of poetry, closer to the magic source of words than any other artistic means of expression. Metaphors are so powerful because for him "anything suggested is far more effective than anything laid down. Perhaps the human mind has a tendency to deny a statement. Remember what Emerson said: arguments convince nobody. They convince nobody because they are presented as arguments."(31)

My favorite lecture is the fourth, 'Word-Music and Translation.' It is a real gem. I will not quote Borges on how word-music can be rendered in translation; just a short quote to illustrate how magnificently language can be translated by an inspired translator of genius. When Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century translated 'ars longa, vita brevis,' (art is long, life is short) he chose a stunning interpretation with 'the lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne.' Borges comments that here we get "not only the statement but also the very music of wistfulness. We can see that the poet is not merely thinking of the arduous art and of the brevity of life; he is also feeling it. This is given by the apparently invisible, inaudible keyword - the word 'so.' 'The lyf SO short, the craft SO long to lerne.'"(62) One small word, and it makes all the difference.

And since I prefer translations true to the spirit over translations true to the letter, I was pleased to learn from Borges that all through the Middle Ages, people thought of translation not in terms of a literal rendering but in terms of something being re-created.

I do believe that these lectures speak of the wisdom of Borges; not in spite of, but because of the contradictions in the text. Here we meet a man in full; a man who stresses the irrational in poetry and the immediacy of experiencing it, yet proves by his own example how the experience of poetry grows with the plain, rational knowledge about poetry that we gather over the years. Borges is also a man who lives in literature. He finds new beauty in poetry because he continues to change every day. And this is perhaps the most inspiring message of his lectures: people who continue to enjoy changing with the new things they learn 'turn not older with years, but newer every day,' as Emily Dickinson phrased it.

Wonderful insights on beauty
Ladies and gentleman... Borges is one of my favorite writers, so you can imagine the joy I had when I could finally listen to these lectures.

I tend to find that, when an artist says something great on art, it tends to be more useful than what most specialists have to say.

Borges has many important things to say about art and philosophy, or should I say, on beauty in general. And he says them in the most beautiful way.

Master Borges
I don't believe that any one person in the history of letters has lived more fully in books, around books, with books, and through books than has Jorge Luis Borges.Thus I give him the title of Master Borges.It is a title I, myself, do not give him but one that he already bears simply by the person he is, was, and continues to be through his legacy.I'm sure he would modestly disapprove.But Kafka thought himself (at least on some level) a hack, so it would not surprise that one who has inspired me with such a sense of wonder in words, as has Borges, would think that he has not really done anything special at all.And there is the rub.Borges is telling his personal feelings about verse and prose (the same thing according to him) but never onces considers he is giving us the beauty of words merely by remembering them.In his recollections and meditations lie a wisdom that is almost preternatural.I give as example these few quotes:

"What is important, what is all-meaning is the fact that poetry should be living or dead, not that the style should be plain or elaborate."

"There are, of course, verses that are beautiful and meaningless.Yet they still have a meaning - not to the reason but to the imagination."

"Remember that the Gnostics said the only way to be rid of a sin is to commit it, because afterwards you repent it.In regard to literature, they were essentially right.If I have attained the happiness of writing four of five tolerable pages, after writing fifteen intolerable volumes, I have come to that feat not only through many years but also through the method of trial and error."

There are more pearls, many more, and it will take many rereadings to find them all, if such a thing is possible.It makes one desperately wish that they could have had the opportunity to sit and hear the master speak.If (no, when) you read this book, do so slowly.And read as if you were hearing the man face to face.Just as Borges heard Casinos-Assens, Fernandez, and his father speak to him when in search of knowledge and wisdom, I hear, at least I would like to think that I hear, Borges speak, for I have heard him speak from the living breathing pages of this book.Read.Please.See if you can hear the music of his voice.

You ARE Borges.
Words by Borges are your words. Within those words, that W-O-R-D-S, you will find an enclosed space of infinity (Oh, to be lost in that infinity and surround myself with words). His library of words is your library.

Don't forget to lose yourself in these words. You will soon become someone else. Maybe Borges or Stevenson. Maybe Poe, maybe Schopenhauer. You even might just rediscover (rewrite) yourself into a new eternity...

Enjoy these words... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

More than a biography
First of all, I was surprised with this robust hardcover. More than 1600 pages, making it uneasy to read it as we do with most of the books. But it is an extraordinary portrait of the Argentine cultural life in almost forty years of friendship between two great intellectuals . Reading through pages we can meet Borges, family and friends as they really are, in daily conversations about almost everything. I was admired with Bioy capacity of registering detailed discussions, and document Borges perspective on poetry, prose, writers and polititians. A wonderful book.

Deflating the master while providing much new incident and anecdote regarding him
This brief review is based on the information and analysis given in the review of David Gallagher which appeared in the Times Literary Supplement.
In this massive diary Borges is revealed to be a systematic debunker of many of the greats of world- literature. This is in total contradiction to the generally admiring way he writes about Literary figures in his own stories, and poems. And it in a sense works to undermine the 'image' most readers have of him as reader and lover of Literature.
Secondly, Bioy reveals in this work Borges' awkwardness and lack of success with women. Borges is shown in this regard as a ridiculous figure. He is also revealed to be a bit of a misogynist as he speaks of women as 'incapable of abstract thought'.
Thirdly , we are always eager to know more about the great geniuses. Borges is unquestionably one of the great literary geniuses of the twentieth century. His way of writing and perceiving the world, and of understanding literature and life changes , or may change the way we read the whole tradition of world- literature. Thus there is a tremendous amount of material here which will be gobbled up by Borges' many fans.
However Gallagher says that there are no real insights into Borges work. This has to be viewed as a major shortcoming.
Gossip can be fun, and this diary is full of literary gossip. But the work in making Borges seem an ungenerous ingrate to many writers also diminishes him.
Perhaps part of this is Bioy's own hidden rivalry with his best friend, collaborator,who nonetheless was on another level entirely when it came to literary creation.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

El mejor volumen de la colección
Poesía, narrativa y ensayo: este volumen lo tiene todo desde 1952 hasta 1972: "Otras inquisiciones", "El hacedor", "El otro, el mismo", "Para las seis cuerdas", "Elogio de la sombra", "El informe Brodie" y "El otro de los tigres". Si sólo pudiera comprar uno de los cuatro tomos; escogería este. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Borges Obras Completas 3
Para una idea más detallada de los libros incluidos es mejor que busquen la información de cada uno por separado.

BORGES, OBRAS COMPLETAS, TOMO 3:

Poesía
La rosa profunda (1975)
La moneda de hierro (1975)
Historia de la noche (1977)
La cifra (1981)
Los conjurados (1985)

Ensayo
Atlas(1985) (Ensayo, prosa y verso)
Siete noches (1980) (Conferencias)
Nueve ensayos dantescos (1982)

Cuentos
El libro de arena(1975)
La memoria de Shakespeare (1983) ... Read more

Book Description

This remarkable book by one of the great writers of our time includes essays on a proposed universal language, a justification of suicide, a refutation of time, the nature of dreams, and the intricacies of linguistic forms.Borges comments on such literary figures as Pascal, Coleridge, Cervantes, Hawthorne, Whitman, Valéry, Wilde, Shaw, and Kafka.With extraordinarygrace and erudition, he ranges in time, place, and subject from Omar Khayyam to Joseph Conrad, from ancient China to modern England, from world revolution to contemporary slang.

Customer Reviews (1)

Borges!
Borges is at his best in this stunning collection of essays." A meeting in a dream" is a masterpiece, a beautiful essay on love by one known more for being metaphysical than romantic.The rest of the essayssparkle as well.WOnderful! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Beautiful
I first saw this in a CommArts Magazine and couldn't beleive the images. This was also my introduction to Jorge Luis Borges who is now one of my favorite authors.

wonderful artifact of the mystery of books
interwoven with poems and stories by borges are these stunning, surreal representations of books as objects of art and mystery. while none of them "illustrate" the text, they follow a parallel theme.

theimagination behind these compositions is both uplifting and a little scary.the notion of a text composed completely of small beetles opens all sortsof interesting possibilities. my only complaint is the binding- thiswould have made a beautiful hardcover.

Original Vision
As with Borges' writing, there is nothing quite like this stunningly original, evocative collection of photographs. The images contain all the elements for which the writer was so admired: paradox, beauty, andelemental simplicity. If you have any reverence for books as objects, or asvessels for meaning, then you should possess this "secret" book.

Fun for any Borgesian or fan of the apocryphal written word
Featured in the photographer's epilogue is the claim that he began juxtaposing items such as snakes, skulls, and hands with mysterious books in Latin, Greek, Spanish and other languagesbefore connecting hisphotographic inspiration with the literary inspiration of Borges.Once heunderstood the connection, however, it seems the influence of Borgescontaminated him; several photographs not only capture Borges's enthusiasmfor the enigmas within books and words, they quote the Argentine masterwithin them. Therein lies my favorite aspect of this wonderful book: thephotographer's particular fascination with secret books overlaps with yetremains distinct from Borges's particular fascination with the samesubject, creating--as with Edward Fitzgerald and Omar Khayyam--a dialoguethat is more beautiful and valuable together than apart. ... Read more