This Craft of Verse

Through a twist of fate that the author of "Labyrinths" himself would have relished, these lost lectures given in English at Harvard in 1967-1968 by Jorge Luis Borges return to us now, a recovered tale of a life-long love affair with literature and the English language. Transcribed from tapes only recently discovered, "This Craft of Verse" captures the cadences, candour, wit and remarkable erudition of one of the most extraordinary and enduring literary voices of the 20th century. In its wide-ranging commentary and exquisite insights, the book stands as a deeply personal yet far-reaching introduction to the pleasures of the word, and as a first-hand testimony of to the life of literature. Though his avowed topic is poetry, Borges explores subjects ranging from prose forms (especially the novel), literary history and translation theory to philosophical aspects of literature in particular and communication in general. Probably the best-read citizen of the globe in his day, he draws on a wealth of examples from literature in modern and mediaeval English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Greek, Latin, Arabic, Hebrew and Chinese, speaking with characteristic eloquence on Plato, the Norse "kenningar", Byron, Poe, Chesterton, Joyce and Frost, as well as on translations of Homer, the Bible, and the "Rubaiyat" of Omar Khayyam. Whether discussing metaphor, epic poetry, the origins of verse, poetic meaning, or his own "poetic creed", Borges gives a performance as entertaining as it is intellectually engaging. A lesson in the love of literature and in the making of a unique literary sensibility, this is a sustained encounter with one of the writers by whom the 20th century will be long remembered.

豪尔赫·路易斯·博尔赫斯（1899-1986）

阿根廷诗人、小说家、评论家、翻译家，西班牙语文学大师。1899年8月24日出生于布宜诺斯艾利斯，少年时随家人旅居欧洲。1923年出版第一部诗集《布宜诺斯艾利斯激情》，1925年出版第一部随笔集《探讨集》，1935年出版第一部短篇小说集《恶棍列传》，逐步奠定在阿根廷文坛的地位。代表诗集《圣马丁札记》、《老虎的金黄》，小说集《小径分岔的花园》、《阿莱夫》，随笔集《永恒史》、《探讨别集》等更为其赢得国际声誉。译有王尔德、吴尔芙、福克纳等作家作品。

曾任阿根廷国家图书馆馆长、布宜诺斯艾利斯大学文学教授，获得阿根廷国家文学奖、福门托国际出版奖、耶路撒冷奖、巴尔赞奖、奇诺·德尔杜卡奖、塞万提斯奖等多个文学大奖。1986年6月14日病逝于瑞士日内瓦。