About Borges

English International School of Padova

English A1 HL – World Literature Assignment 2
Creative Assignment

Daniel Escobar – 2112 006

Argentino Daneri: Words and Speeches

Word Count: 1499



Examination Session: May 2012

Statement of Intent

Although considered an intellectual, “writers on Borges have taken him far more seriously than he took himself. Laughter loomed large inBorges’ world and to him literature was joy”. Borges’ enjoyment of literature has been overshadowed by the intricate analysis and interpretation of his work. “For the most part, explanations of Jorge Luis Borges’ work have been more complicated than Borges’ work itself.” Therefore, I have attempted to write a story of Borgesian themes in a Borgesian manner, considering Borges as “a pure andrather old fashioned teller of tales – one whose starting point is not “once upon a time…” but rather “let us suppose…” or “what if…” instead of an intellectual giant.
The premise of this short story is similar to some of his older writings in “A Universal History of Iniquity”, or Fictions for example “Funes, his Memory” or “A Survey of the Works of Herbert Quain”. It charts the story of afictional Argentine orator, narrated by Borges from memory, for a 20th anniversary commemorative issue of an Argentine newspaper. This orator was renowned for his powerfully charismatic, moving speeches, yet on analysis Borges discovers that it is empty rhetoric; a triumph of form over substance. The orator is thus an ironic representation of that which Borges disliked and tried to avoid, which Ibelieve is a fitting theme for one for this task. After all, “his stories were really all about himself, his various guises, and dimensions of his thought.”
Every attempt has been made to replicate Borges’ style. For example, the book titles used has little relevance to the story (deliberate inclusion of titles is one of Borges’ signature traits.) The places and events have real historicalresonance, yet the subject is fictional. Thus, I attempt to emulate Pierre Menard, and write a story which could have been part of a Borges work, perhaps one which never made it to Fictions, because of its brevity.
The techniques used (and those avoided) are well detailed by Borges himself:
“I do not have an aesthetics. Time has taught me a few tricks - avoid synonyms, the drawback to which is that theysuggest imaginary differences; avoid Hispanicisms, Argentinisms, archaisms, and neologisms using everyday words rather than shocking ones; inserting circumstantial details, which are now demanded by readers, into my stories; feigning a slight uncertainty…”
Details are included in parenthesis, which are not completely pertinent to the story. Furthermore, in Borgesion style, I include footnotesand I also try to capture more subtle details, like sentence structure. The priority however, is for the story to have a Borgesian feeling, that illusion which tricked a Spanish journalist into believing “the Aleph” was real, that perhaps this fiction is real.
Cognisant (as a native Spanish speaker) that translation alters details for example, the changing of “hombres llenos de sueño” (sleepymen) into “men full of dreams,” I attempt to capture the original Borgesian feeling, “remembering that tradition, conventions, “the rules,” are not an obligation, and time will surely repeal them - but such tricks (or habits) are most certainly not aesthetics. Anyway I don’t believe in those formulations that people call “an aesthetics.”

Argentino Daneri: Words and Speeches
As a vessel isknown by the sound, whether it be cracked or not; so men are proved, by their speeches, whether they be wise or foolish.
Demosthenes

Carlos Argentino Daneri was born 12th May, 1899 in the “Hospital Central”, Buenos Aires. His life was for many (especially to those who didn’t know him in his early years) a mystery. I will try, to the best of my skill and memory, to recall the events of his...