I’ve only recently begun exploring the world of Jorge Luis Borges. What I’ve encountered so far has been wonderful. I went in search of Borges interviews on YouTube and found the one posted below. I’ve excerpted a few passages from the video that touched me:
The task of art is to transform what is continuously happening to us, to transform all these things into symbols, into music, into something which can last in a man’s memory. This is our duty. If we don’t fulfill it, we feel unhappy. A writer or artist has the sometimes joyful duty to transform all that into symbols.
The part that I bolded rings particularly true, it taps into one of my motivations for writing. I want my stories to resonate with the reader long after they have finished. That resonance is how I measure a book’s worth. If I find myself slipping off into thought, mulling over what I read days, weeks, months or years ago, that book is all the more valuable to me.
That desire to resonate, to be remembered through our writing, walks hand in hand with our desire to avoid being forgotten. But there is also the desire to return the gift as a writer that we enjoy as readers. And maybe, just maybe, if you are able to return that gift you will be rewarded:
You think you are alone and as the years go by, if the stars are on your side, you may discover that you are at the center of a vast circle of invisible friends whom you will never get to know but who love you. And that is an immense reward.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo2Eo-G-1sE]
I’m going to be honest and say I’ve never gotten “into” Borges. Double shame on me as my dad is from Argentina. There’s something remote about his writing; I find myself flailing to make a connection to the words and the writer. But your post inspires me to give it another go. Maybe I’ll try him in the original Spanish (?) 🙂
I’m not too deep yet. I’ve only perused his Book of Imaginary Beings and read some of his lectures from Seven Nights. Oh yeah, and a short story that had the final pages ripped from the book so I have no idea how it ended. I liked what I read though. I am envious that you can try him in Spanish. Translations are great and all, but I always have the feeling I’m missing some of the nuance and original intent. Thanks for stopping by!
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I love Borges. In fact, I have a tendency towards many Latin American and Spanish writers. I just wish I could read them in his language.
I would love to be able to read Borges in his native language. I worry that I’m missing something when I read the translations, some translations are considered better than others, etc. I guess I’ll have to be happy with the translations unless I can muster the perseverance to learn the language.