Posted by Naomi Firestone-Teeter
Jorge Luis Borges
In this, the final section of Ilan Stavans’ monograph on Borges and the Jews, Stavans reflects on his own relationship with Borges, as one writer to another. This piece thus circles back to the beginning of the monograph, Part I of this series, in which Stavans explored Borges’ self-identification as a writer and, oddly, as a Jew. Part II focused on Borges’ infatuation with Kabbalah. In Part III, Stavans argued that Borges carefully styled himself as a literary son of Jewish precursors. Stavans took on the so-called “apolitical” Borges in Part IV, demonstrating that he was deeply engaged in fighting Nazism, and that this engagement developed Borges’ belief in a universal “man” – the idea that all of us are “wandering Jews.” Now, the Mexican-Jewish Stavans turns back to the Argentinian Borges for one last look.
To read the fifth and final section of the monograph (and also access the other four parts), click here.
Originally from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Naomi is the CEO of Jewish Book Council. She graduated from Emory University with degrees in English and Art History and, in addition, studied at University College London. Prior to her role as executive director and now CEO, Naomi served as the founding editor of the JBC website and blog and managing editor of Jewish Book World. In addition, she has overseen JBC’s digital initiatives, and also developed the JBC’s Visiting Scribe series and Unpacking the Book: Jewish Writers in Conversation.