“Poets, like the blind, can see in the dark.” Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Luis Borges was an Argentine poet and writer. Born in 1899 in Buenos Aires, he soon moved with his family to Switzerland and later travelled around Europe, particularly Spain before returning to his native country. Once back in Argentina in 1921 he began to publish his writing, mainly essays and poems in surrealist literary journals. Much of his work can be classed as within the genre of Magical Realism. He worked for some time as a librarian and public lecturer and was initially a supporter of the military juntas that overthrew the Peron regime, he was anti-communist and anti-fascist. In the late fifties Borges became blind due to a hereditary condition, although continued to write and became the professor of Literature at the University of Buenos Aires in the 1960s. He was also fluent in a number of European languages.
In was only in the 1960s that Borges work gained worldwide attention, mainly due to translations into English. His surrealist work has a large impact of philosophical literature as well as the fantasy genre. His most famous work Ficciones published in 1944 is compilation of short stories woven together with a common theme. Philosophy, labyrinths, religion and god were all common subjects in his work. Borges’ work has paved the way for a new generation of Spanish American writers.
The video is homage to his work by Ian Ruschel.
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