Borges on Writing
HarperCollins · Paperback · July 1, 1994
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- Who it’s for
- Informal seminars bring Borges’s thinking about prose, poetry, and translation into view.
- Themes
- Literary craft and method, Form and structure in poetry, Translation across cultures
- Pacing
- Reflective
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Start with this bookAbout this book
Borges On Writing In 1971, Jorge Luis Borges was invited to preside over a series of seminars on his writing at Columbia University. This book is a record of those seminars, which took the form of informal discussions between Borges, Norman Thomas di Giovanni--his editor and translator, Frank MacShane--then head of the writing program at Columbia, and the students. Borges's prose, poetry, and translations are handled separately and the book is divided accordingly.
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The prose seminar is based on a line-by-line discussion of one of Borges's most distinctive stories, "The End of the Duel." Borges explains how he wrote the story, his use of local knowledge, and his characteristic method of relating violent events in a precise and ironic way. This close analysis of his methods produces some illuminating observations on the role of the writer and the function of literature. The poetry section begins with some general remarks by Borges on the need for form and structure and moves into a revealing analysis of four of his poems. The final section, on translation, is an exciting discussion of how the art and culture of one country can be "translated" into the language of another. This book is a tribute to the brilliant craftsmanship of one of South America's--indeed, the world's--most distinguished writers and provides valuable insight into his inspiration and his method.
Craft in Conversation
Informal seminars bring Borges’s thinking about prose, poetry, and translation into view.
Come here for
- A close reading of a story, line by line
- Borges on poetic form and literary translation
Expect
- Discussions with students, an editor, and a writing-program director
- Separate sections on prose, poetry, and translation
Where it sits
| Caribbean & Latin American Criticism | 48% |
|---|---|
| Poetry Criticism | 39% |
| Writing as a Career | 22% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- American Art
- Writers' Lives
- Writing as a Career
- Creative Writing
Show all 8 publisher categories
- Fiction Writing
- Writing Nonfiction & Memoir
- American Lit Crit
- Poetry Criticism
- Authors
- Jorge Luis Borges
- Publisher
- HarperCollins
- Published
- July 1, 1994
- Format
- Paperback
- Theme
- Literary craft and method · Form and structure in poetry · Translation across cultures
- Reading lane
- American Art