Borges, between History and Eternity

That Borges is one of the key figures in 20th-century literature is beyond debate. The reasons behind this claim, however, are a matter of contention. In Latin America he is read as someone who reorganized the canon, questioned literary hierarchies, and redefined the role of marginal literatures. On the other hand, in the rest of the world, most readers (and dictionaries) tend to identify the adjective "Borgesian" with intricate metaphysical puzzles and labyrinthine speculations of universal reach, completely detached from particular traditions. One reading is context-saturated, while the other is context-deprived. Oddly enough, these "institutional" and "transcendental" approaches have not been pitched against each other in a critical way. Borges, between History and Eternity brings these perspectives together by considering key aspects of Borges's work-the reciprocal determinations of politics, philosophy and literature; the simultaneously confining and emancipating nature of language; and the incipient program for a literature of the Americas.

Author: Hernan Diaz
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Published: 08/02/2012
Pages: 208
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 8.60h x 5.60w x 0.70d
ISBN13: 9781441188113
ISBN10: 1441188118
BISAC Categories:
- Literary Criticism | General

About the Author
Hernan Diaz is Managing Editor of Revista Hispánica Moderna and Associate Director of the Hispanic Institute at Columbia University, USA. Formerly he has been a professor at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the State University of New York (Albany), USA.