Jorge Luis Borges

Children's Literature - Della A. Yannuzzi

McNeesen has written a fact-filled profile of the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. Born in 1899 in Buenos Aires to upper-class parents, Borges led a sheltered life. He loved to read and spent hours in his family's large library reading classic English works. His mother recalled that at the age of six he told her he wanted to be a writer. When Borges was a teenager, he moved with his family to Switzerland. He continued his education and began to read French literature. In his early twenties he left for Spain, where his earliest poems were published. Back in Buenos Aires, his first book of poetry was published. By the 1930s, Borges was frequently being published and establishing a name for himself in literature. The political atmosphere in Argentina was unstable though. Juan Peron became president in 1946, and Borges did not hide his dislike of the new president. Plagued with an hereditary eye condition, Borges feared for his sight, but was still able to continue writing and winning awards for his literature both in his country and America. Today, Borges is celebrated by his countrymen as the best writer their nation has ever produced. In 1981, he received an honorary doctoral degree from Harvard University. Five years later, on June 14, 1986, he died and was buried in a Geneva cemetery. Photographs and sidebars are included as well as back material consisting of a chronology, chapter notes, bibliography, further reading and websites. Reviewer: Della A. Yannuzzi