Jorge Luis Borges

One of Argentina's great writers, Borges was born in the last year of the XIXth century and exhibited his literary talent in a prolific production of poetry and prose that won him international acclaim. At the beginning of the First World War Borges was in Europe with his family which had settled in Geneva.

There, he graduated from secondary school. He held an interest in literature from an early age and while still in his youth created the "ultraist" movement which proclaimed itself the enemy of rhyme in poetry and favored the use of metaphor. He began with the publication of three poetry books (Fervor de Buenos Aires, Luna de Enfrente, and Cuadernos de San Martín) to later dedicate himself to prose and write an important number of short stories and essays.

His knowledge of various language and his passion for the works of English and French writers enabled him to play with language and write for competent readers who possessed the ability to decipher his intentions and recognize the texts referred to in his short stories published in Ficciones and El Aleph.

Borges was losing his eyesight while writing these books. He lost his post in the National Library for being in opposition to Perón's government and during the last decade of his life his skepticism regarding politics brought him much criticism. But undoubtedly he was the most universal of all Argentine writers, along with his friend Bioy Casares, creator of fascinating "fantastic" detective stories, as Borges called them, lived a life totally dedicated to literature.