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Borges profesor: Curso de literatura inglesa en la Universidad de Buenos Aires by Jorge Luis Borges
zachlittrell's review against another edition
5.0
We should all be lucky enough to be loved by someone -- as much as that old, blind Argentinian loved English literature. I feel pretty darn jealous of Borges's students at the University of Buenos Aires (while also feeling a little bit of pity for them, too), because he was clearly a wonderful, enthusiastic, funny, and frustrating professor.
It sure doesn't resemble any literature survey I've sat through, and that's probably for the best. Borges gleefully chucks canon to curb and walks his class through a very idiosyncratic collection of writers. I had never even heard of Dante Rossetti before, but I painfully wish I was in the classroom that day while Borges rattled off Rossetti's sad life from memory and then sang him praises. Full of bias and affection for these writers, you feel like every obscure line of poetry that Borges recites must be the most important line in history.
Admittedly, Borges can be a little...circuitous. He's the living embodiment of the phrase "He's forgotten more than I'll ever know." Consequently, he'll rattle off fact after fact (most of them even true!), and it can be hard to see how it all connects. He interrupts his discussion of Samuel Taylor Coleridge to explain the plot of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, and I still haven't the foggiest what on earth was the point of all that. But, it's hard to be mad at Borges, as he chuckles at his own digressions and mistakes, and carefully shepherds his students on to the next fascinating class.
(Small note: the translation is mostly brilliant and flawlessly captures Borges's voice. But the translator keeps using the word 'pathetic' in the sense of compassion or sympathy, and that is really jarring given its negative connotation. It took me a while to realize Borges wasn't ragging on every book each time he called it pathetic)
It sure doesn't resemble any literature survey I've sat through, and that's probably for the best. Borges gleefully chucks canon to curb and walks his class through a very idiosyncratic collection of writers. I had never even heard of Dante Rossetti before, but I painfully wish I was in the classroom that day while Borges rattled off Rossetti's sad life from memory and then sang him praises. Full of bias and affection for these writers, you feel like every obscure line of poetry that Borges recites must be the most important line in history.
Admittedly, Borges can be a little...circuitous. He's the living embodiment of the phrase "He's forgotten more than I'll ever know." Consequently, he'll rattle off fact after fact (most of them even true!), and it can be hard to see how it all connects. He interrupts his discussion of Samuel Taylor Coleridge to explain the plot of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, and I still haven't the foggiest what on earth was the point of all that. But, it's hard to be mad at Borges, as he chuckles at his own digressions and mistakes, and carefully shepherds his students on to the next fascinating class.
(Small note: the translation is mostly brilliant and flawlessly captures Borges's voice. But the translator keeps using the word 'pathetic' in the sense of compassion or sympathy, and that is really jarring given its negative connotation. It took me a while to realize Borges wasn't ragging on every book each time he called it pathetic)
kaisadaughterofthevoid's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
As a long-time fan of Borges, stumbling across this lecture series was an absolute delight, and is a must read for anyone who enjoys Borges. Here is Borges the professor, wry, intelligent and passionate about his chosen subject.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given his disdain for arbitrary categorization, Borges takes a very idiosyncratic approach to teaching English literature. He starts normally enough with Old English stalwarts of poetry such as Beowulf and continues through medieval poetry, but soon enough veers into his own personal taste. He skips a good four hundred years (including Chaucer, Shakespeare and Milton) from the end of the Medieval era to Johnson and Boswell, and from there continues to skip merrily through various writers, elevating his personal favorites over more traditional picks from the Anglo canon. The result is not so much a lecture on the history and significance of English literature, but rather a conversation Borges is having with his students to get them interested in the subject. It is Borges sharing his love of his favorite authors with the class, and for that reason it is invaluable to anyone looking to gain insight into Borges as a writer and (I suspect more importantly to him) a reader)
While the translators do an admirable job with footnotes providing necessary context, I do have to knock them down one start for the (frankly inexcusable) lack of a reading list or bibliography of the works Borges cites and discusses in the course. Given the scope of the class Borges understandably makes references to a wide range of books and poems, and it’s incredibly annoying to not have a handing list of them to refer to and look up at the end. It’s surprising such an obvious inclusion wasn’t made, but oh well.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given his disdain for arbitrary categorization, Borges takes a very idiosyncratic approach to teaching English literature. He starts normally enough with Old English stalwarts of poetry such as Beowulf and continues through medieval poetry, but soon enough veers into his own personal taste. He skips a good four hundred years (including Chaucer, Shakespeare and Milton) from the end of the Medieval era to Johnson and Boswell, and from there continues to skip merrily through various writers, elevating his personal favorites over more traditional picks from the Anglo canon. The result is not so much a lecture on the history and significance of English literature, but rather a conversation Borges is having with his students to get them interested in the subject. It is Borges sharing his love of his favorite authors with the class, and for that reason it is invaluable to anyone looking to gain insight into Borges as a writer and (I suspect more importantly to him) a reader)
While the translators do an admirable job with footnotes providing necessary context, I do have to knock them down one start for the (frankly inexcusable) lack of a reading list or bibliography of the works Borges cites and discusses in the course. Given the scope of the class Borges understandably makes references to a wide range of books and poems, and it’s incredibly annoying to not have a handing list of them to refer to and look up at the end. It’s surprising such an obvious inclusion wasn’t made, but oh well.
realistamagica's review against another edition
5.0
Merece la pena leerlo mientras tomas apuntes de cada clase. Grandísimo, Borges, como siempre.
wrengaia's review against another edition
4.0
An absolutely marvellous book. I fell in love with all of Borges’ favourite writers.
bobf2d33's review against another edition
3.0
Lectures from the 60's by Borges based on student transcripts, the topics covered by the lectures are quite quirky. An okay book. Read Borges short stories - those are five stars.
steveatwaywords's review against another edition
4.0
Reading this is like sitting quietly in one of his classes in the 1960s, listening to him riff on his favorite poets and anecdotes. Comfortable, enlightening, engaging! One of the more unique reads of recent years, and completely memorable. Do not expect the crafting of his stories or essays here-this is the relaxed and open Borges!
venneh's review against another edition
4.0
Don’t judge me for how long I took to finish this book - it was over at the boyfriend’s, and with the pandemic I haven’t been able to be over there as much. This book is a transcription and translation of ~25 English literature lectures that Borges gave in 1966 at the University of Bueno Aires. It’s fascinating to see his opinion of the English canon, and especially how he teaches it to the students. (There are admittedly a few lectures I would have slept through, but hey, you can’t always have perfect lectures.) If you’d like to know more about Borges’ opinions about English literature, and his style of teaching, I’d recommend reading through this.