Join us as we read and discuss a series of stories by the Argentinian Jorge Luis Borges, who has been called “the greatest Spanish-language writer of our century.” But that is a bit misleading, because his work is quite cosmopolitan, with stories taking place in many parts of the world.

Educated in Europe, Borges was an omnivorous reader of works both ancient and modern in English and other languages. Borges’s stories are often extremely challenging, puzzling, and open to multiple interpretations. They are “interconnected by common themes, including dreams, labyrinths, philosophers, libraries, mirrors, fictional writers, and mythology,” as described in Wikipedia. Fictitious people, places and books are interspersed with real-world counterparts in his fiction in a manner that leaves the reader struggling to understand what may be truth – exactly what Borges wants.

Format: Each participant is requested to present and lead a one-hour discussion on a story included in the syllabus.

Resources/Expenses: The text will be the Penguin edition of Collected Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges, used copies of which are available from Amazon for under $10.00.