1978

<--1977 1979-->

Biography

The Sorbonne awards him a doctorate honoris causa. Travels to Mexico, Colombia, Egypt and Ecuador.

Locations

Borges travels to Geneva, Egypt, Mexico, Colombia, and Ecuador.

Historical Context

Argentina wins the Soccer World Cup held in Argentina. Argentina and Chile on the brink of an armed conflict because of a border dispute.

Books

• Breve antología anglosajona. Santiago, Chile: Ediciones La Ciudad, 1978. 46 pp. [First edition. Anthology and translations by Borges and María Kodama.]
• Prólogo. Fragmento de la gesta de Beowulf. El combate de Finnsburh. Deor. El navegante. La sepultura. El relato de Ottar. Un diálogo anglosajón del siglo XI. Comentarios.
• Historia universal de la infamia. Madrid, Alianza, 1978. 139 pp. [Third Alianza edition.]
• El libro de los seres imaginarios. Buenos Aires: Emecé, 1978. 217 pp. [Reprint of anthology with Margarita Guerrero.]
• Literaturas germánicas medievales. Buenos Aires: Emecé, 1978. 196 pp. [With María Esther Vázquez.]
• Obra poética 1923-1976. Buenos Aires: Emecé, 1978, 514 pp. [Further revisions of some of the poems.]

Periodical Publications

• El milagro perdido. La Nación (19 February 1978), third section, p. 1. [Story published in Rosa y azul as Tigres azules.]
• La luna. La Nación (19 March 1978), third section, p. 1. [Poem published as La cifra in La cifra.]
• Prólogo a Las muertes concéntricas. La Opinión (22 March 1978), cultural supplement Los grandes cuentos, #29, p. 8. 
• La arcilla. La Nación (23 April 1978), third section, p. 1. [Poem published as El hacedor in La cifra.]
• Las dos catedrales. La Nación (18 June 1978), fourth section, p. 1. [Poem published in La cifra.]
• Potencias sin pensadores. Clarín (29 June 1978), cultural supplement, p. 1. [In a series of articles about Voltaire and Rousseau.]
• Descartes. La Prensa (23 July 1978), third section, p. 1. [Poem published in La cifra.]
• La trama. La Prensa (20 August 1978), third section, p. 1. [Poem published in La cifra.]
• Los hombres no se miden con mapas: Borges y el crimen de la guerra. La Prensa (6 September 1978), p. 9. [Response to Manfred Schönfeld about the border dispute with Chile. Included in Textos recobrados 1956-1986, pp. 297-98.]
• Al adquirir una enciclopedia. La Prensa (8 October 1978), third section, p. 1. [Poem published in La cifra.]
• El go. La Nación (8 October 1978), third section, p. 1. [Poem published in La cifra.]
• La sepultura. Clarín (19 octubre 1978), cultural supplement, pp. 1-2. [Translation of Old English poem, included in Breve antología anglosajona.]
• [El misterioso Premio Nobel.] Somos 109 (20 October 1978), p. 56.
• Beppo. La Nación (5 November 1978), third section, p. 1. [Poem published in La cifra.]
• ¡Qué injusta es la literatura argentina! Somos 3.119 (29 December 1978), p. 70.
• Elegía. La Nación (31 December 1978), third section, p. 1. [Poem.]
• La espera. Pájaro de fuego 1.8 (1978). [Poem.]

Prefaces

• Prólogo. Ramón Columba. El Congreso que yo he visto (1906-1943). Buenos Aires: Columba, 1978.
• Prólogo. William Shand. Una extraña jornada. Buenos Aires: Rodolfo Alonso, 1978. ["Palabras pronunciadas por Borges al presentar La obsesión de Branti, libro de cuentos de William Shand" on 26 November 1975.]
• Prólogo. Breve antología anglosajona. Santiago, Chile, La Ciudad, 1978. 
• Prólogo. Ryunosuke Akutagawa. Las puertas del infierno y otros relatos. Buenos Aires: Andrómeda, 1978.
• Prólogo. Fernando Quiñones. El viejo país. 1978. [Reproduced in Fernando Quiñones, Viento Sur, Madrid, Alianza, 1987.]
• Prólogo. Léon Bloy. Cuentos descorteses. Buenos Aires: Librería La Ciudad, 1978. [Later reissued by Siruela, 1984].
• Prólogo. Giovanni Papini. El espejo que huye. Buenos Aires: Librería La Ciudad, 1978. [Later reissued by Siruela, 1984].

Translations

• La sepultura. Clarín (19 octubre 1978), cultural supplement, pp. 1-2. [Translation of Old English poem, included in Breve antología anglosajona.]
• Breve antología anglosajona. Santiago de Chile: La Ciudad, 1978. [Translated with María Kodama.]

Interviews

• Borges para millones. Buenos Aires: Corregidor, 1978.
  • Hanson: This 100+ page book begins with a fine preface by Fernando Godoy, who states that the dialogues included in this book were taken directly from a recording and reveal the true Borges. Borges speaks extensively on many topics and on his own stories and poems. He also comments on authors that have influenced him, Robert Louis Stevenson, his vision, death, language, colors, nationalism, politics, race, the labyrinth, his youth, multiple versions of Borges, time, literature, Beatriz Viterbo, Buenos Aires, love, and violence.
• Cairoli, Irma. Algunos viven obsesionados. Nueva información [5] [1978?], pp. 5-7. [Included in El otro Borges: Entrevistas (1960 – 1986). Comp. Fernando Mateo. Buenos Aires: Equis, 1997. pp. 119-26.]
  • Hanson: Borges talks about Argentine identity, that ideas form base of his work, and claims that Latin American authors are better known abroad than they are in their own countries.
• Tyler, Joseph. Borges--sobre el cine: entrevista bilingue. The Bilingual Review: La Revista Bilingüe 5.1-2 (1978), pp. 131-37.

  • Hanson: Borges responds in Spanglish during this conversation that focuses on film. Among other topics, they discuss Citizen Kane and Borges stories that have been made into movies.

• Encuentro con las letras. Entrevista a Jorge Luis Borges. Radio Televisión Española (January 1978). 
• Barón, Ana. Lo único que le falta es el Premio Nobel. Somos [Buenos Aires] (24 February 1978), pp. 38-40. [Included as “EEUU y Rusia: Dos países mediocres: Una visión de Europa” in Borges: Dos palabras ante de morir y otras entrevistas. Comp. Fernando Mateo. Buenos Aires: LC Editor, 1994. pp. 133-39]
  • Hanson: While in France to receive an Honorary Doctorate from the University of the Sorbonne, Borges speaks about France and comments on the fantastic nature of his literature, the western culture, exams, and his travels.
• Garramuño, Carlos A. La vigilia con los ojos abiertos. Pájaro de Fuego [Buenos Aires] (April-May 1978), pp. 39-49. [Included in El otro Borges: Entrevistas (1960 – 1986). Comp. Fernando Mateo. Buenos Aires: Equis, 1997. 75-105.]

  • Hanson: This interview covers an extensive number of topics. Many of Borges’s answers reveal his humility and shyness. Topics of conversation include: the body, Picasso, Argentina, fútbol, his blindness, the future, Victoria and Silvina Ocampo, Nietzsche, what people read in the United States, his poems and stories, literature, bestsellers, how well his books sell, Blacks, his opinion on several authors, and the Nobel Prize.

• Ángel, Raquel. Borges y las mujeres. Confirmado [Buenos Aires] (15 June 1978), pp. 46-49. [Included in Borges: Dos palabras ante de morir y otras entrevistas. Comp. Fernando Mateo. Buenos Aires: LC Editor, 1994. pp. 53-70.]
  • Hanson: This interview deals extensively with women and love in Borges’s life and literary works. He talks about the role of women in his literature, specifically “Ulrica,” “El Aleph,” “Emma Zunz,” “La intrusa,” and his love poems. He also comments on his first experiences with love, the magic of being with a woman, machismo, heroism, feminism, friendship, seduction, and his relationships.
• Pazos, Luis. Jorge Luis Borges: ‘La culpa de todo la tiene Gardel.’ Somos (23 June 1978), pp. 54-56.
  • Hanson: Borges unabashedly gives his opinion about Argentines and their passions, virtues, frivolousness, future, and defects. Borges blames Carlos Gardel for Argentines’ defects. He also explains why fútbol is absurd.
• Olaso, Ezequiel de. El arte de la conversación. Diners [Buenos Aires] (July 1978), pp. 50-54. [Included in El otro Borges: Entrevistas (1960 – 1986). Comp. Fernando Mateo. Buenos Aires: Equis, 1997. 107-17.]
  • Hanson: An informative interview because it conveys something of Borges’s personality. The interview covers: authors Borges reads, surrealism, literature, various Argentine authors, evolution of English, Old English, Xul Solar, and the adverb.
• Suárez, José María. Jorge Luis Borges y el Mundial 78. Infutbol 6.2053.

  • Hanson: This is a short reproduction of part of an interview conducted on July 26, 1978. Borges gives his opinion of fútbol and also briefly mentions politics and fame.

• Balderston, Daniel. Interviews with Borges: Buenos Aires, August-September 1978. Variaciones Borges 8 (1999), pp. 187-215.
  • Hanson: In these three interviews Balderston and Borges discuss Robert Louis Stevenson extensively, and occasionally mention other English language authors, Spanish language authors, and Borges’s own literary works.
• Menotti, César Luis. Reportaje de Menotti a Borges. VSD (1 September 1978), pp. 6-7. [Included as "Borges y el fútbol" in Borges: Dos palabras antes de morir y otras entrevistas. Comp. Fernando Mateo. Buenos Aires: LC Editor, 1994. pp. 173-84.]
  • Hanson: In this interview Borges defends his reasons for not liking fútbol and he also responds to questions on chess, smoking, fame, what he reads, how he writes, and the Nobel Prize.

 Talks

• Gerardo Mario Goloboff. Leer Borges. Buenos Aires: Huemul, 1978. 348 pp. 
• Juan Fló, ed. Contra Borges. Buenos Aires: Galerna, 1978. 196 pp. 
• Emir Rodríguez Monegal. Borges, a Literary Biography. New York: Dutton, 1978.