
A Lecture on Johnson and Boswell by Jorge Luis Borges (1966) - benbreen
https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2013/07/28/lecture-johnson-and-boswell/
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narrator
Borges is such a pleasure to read. His writing is a continuous stream of wit
and unusual, but consistent ideas.

~~~
machello13
Where would you recommend starting with him? I've read The Library of Babel
short story (because of this cool website:
[https://libraryofbabel.info/](https://libraryofbabel.info/)), but not sure
where to go next.

~~~
mcguire
Alternatively, you could check out his non-fiction, say _Selected Non-
Fictions_ ([https://www.amazon.com/Borges-Selected-Non-Fictions-Jorge-
Lu...](https://www.amazon.com/Borges-Selected-Non-Fictions-Jorge-
Luis/dp/0140290117)). Checking the table of contents, I particularly like "A
New Refutation of Time" (Available from Gwern:
[https://www.gwern.net/docs/borges/1947-borges-
anewrefutation...](https://www.gwern.net/docs/borges/1947-borges-
anewrefutationoftime.pdf)), "Pascal's Sphere" (also available:
[https://www.gwern.net/docs/borges/1951-borges-
pascalssphere....](https://www.gwern.net/docs/borges/1951-borges-
pascalssphere.pdf)), and the lecture "Blindness"
([https://www.gwern.net/docs/borges/1977-borges-
blindness.pdf;](https://www.gwern.net/docs/borges/1977-borges-blindness.pdf;)
there may be some copyright issues here).

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vo2maxer
Here is the original: [https://borgestodoelanio.blogspot.com/2015/10/borges-
profeso...](https://borgestodoelanio.blogspot.com/2015/10/borges-profesor-
clase-9-samuel-johnson.html)

~~~
iron_ball
Thanks for that link! It's always nice to have access to the original
language.

~~~
vo2maxer
You’re welcome. I would also recommend these two volumes of his collected
works:

1\. [https://www.rae.es/obras-academicas/ediciones-
conmemorativas...](https://www.rae.es/obras-academicas/ediciones-
conmemorativas/borges-esencial)

2\. [https://librosdecibola.wordpress.com/2016/12/04/resena-
jorge...](https://librosdecibola.wordpress.com/2016/12/04/resena-jorge-luis-
borges-miscelanea-debolsillo/)

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dnchdnd
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSLV7t9DvN8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSLV7t9DvN8)
This is a fascinating series of lectures by Borges. Those who enjoy his
erudition and his infectious love for English poetry will no doubt enjoy the
investment of a few hours.

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dmix
> He then published his edition of Shakespeare, which he finished only because
> his publishers had received payments from subscribers, so it had to be done.

Thank god for deadlines and obligations, they’ve generated so much creative
work for the world.

You see a lot of successful people generate a lot less, especially older
people with a wide open timeline.

For ex Stanley Kubrick spent 10yrs working on a Napoleon film he never
released and only published when he perfected his films. Which is good and
bad.

I also read Schoolboy Q recently made 3 albums and deleted them all because he
wasn’t happy. The luxury of being successful without deadlines.

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rebuilder
This really makes me want to read Boswell's biography of Johnson -
contemporary accounts from past eras are, in my experience, fascinating and
often mind blowing, and by how Borges describes it, Boswell's account must be
a rare gem.

~~~
cafard
The biography puts me in mind of Johnson's own "No, sir--do _you_ read books
through?" I've read a fair bit, but never have sat down to read it front to
back.

Penguin has a very handy volume combining Johnson's _A Journey to the Western
Isles of Scotland_ and Boswell's _A Tour to the Hebrides_.

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denton-scratch
I love Borges. I wish I could read Spanish, just so I could read Borges (well
OK, I guess I'd also like to dip my foot into Cervantes).

I would like to read this bio; happily, my step-son works at Blackwells
bookshop in Oxford, so it shouldn't be too hard to get a copy.

~~~
mcguire
Be careful. IIRC, according to Borges, you can't just dip your foot into
Cervantes.

What bio are you talking about? _The Life of Samuel Johnson_ , by Boswell?
That should be reasonably easy to get anywhere. This article is from
_Professor Borges: A Course on English Literature_ , taken from a student's
notes for the class.

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mcdermott
Borges is the master of the short story, but I think that he may need to share
that title with Guy de Maupassant. I'm currently reading both of their
collected works of fiction, alternating between them with each story and
enjoying the experience.

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cryptonector
I find it impossible to put anything by Borges down. It's good that he only
wrote short stories, I think, and all the more amazing how packed with content
and imagery (without even remotely overdoing it) his writing is.

