The name of Jorge Luis Borges continues to resonate powerfully in world literature, and his connection to Spain is constantly renewed. Recently, the Cervantes Institute received a donation that includes a letter from the Argentine author, while his famous confession about happiness is once again being recalled.
From his arrival in Spain in 1919 until he received the Cervantes Prize in 1980, Borges forged a profound relationship with the country. Now, a new discovery in CƔdiz and the recovery of his most intimate poems allow us to rediscover a writer who, despite his genius, confessed to never having been happy.
A letter from Borges in the legacy of Fernando QuiƱones
The Cervantes Institute has received a legacy in homage to the writer from CĆ”diz, Fernando QuiƱones, which includes una carta de Jorge Luis Borges in which the author of Fictions He considered him "the best writer of contemporary literature." The deposit, made at the Casa de IberoamĆ©rica in CĆ”diz, also contains a sonnet by Rafael Alberti, an original manuscript of The Pirate's Song and an address book with contacts such as Bioy Casares, JosĆ© Hierro or MarĆa Kodama. El legado viajarĆ” a la Caja de las Letras, to box number 1000 of the Cervantes Institute in Madrid, and has been handed over by the poet's daughter, Mariela QuiƱones, along with personal items such as a pendant and a sailor's cap.
Borges' most human confession: "I have not been happy"
Borges left behind a phrase that still strikes like an intimate confession: Ā«He cometido el peor de los pecados que un hombre puede cometer. No he sido felizĀ»This is the beginning of his poem "Remorse," included in The iron coinBehind the author of The Aleph y The sand book a vulnerable voice appears that He doesn't talk about awards or glory, but about happiness.Born in Buenos Aires in 1899 and died in Geneva in 1986, Borges was a poet, essayist and short story writer, but above all a writer who changed the way of reading reality. PerdiĆ³ progresivamente la vistaa condition inherited from his father, and in 1955 he was appointed director of the National Library, an irony that he himself turned into legend: "I had always imagined Paradise in the form of a library," he wrote in his Poem of the Gifts.
A genius without a Nobel Prize but with Cervantes
Although he never received the Nobel Prize for Literature, Borges was honored with some of the highest international awards. En 1961 compartiĆ³ el Premio Formentor con Samuel Beckett In 1979 he received the Miguel de Cervantes Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in the Spanish language, which he shared with Gerardo Diego. He was also awarded doctorates. Honorary He attended universities such as Oxford, Harvard, and the Sorbonne, and received the Legion of Honor from France and the Grand Cross of Alfonso X the Wise in Spain. Su obra, atravesada por el tiempo, el destino y la memoria, It includes fundamental titles such as Fervor de Buenos Aires, Historia universal de la infamia, Fictions y The AlephIdeologically, he defined himself as a "peaceful and silent anarchist" and was opposed to Peronism. He died in Geneva in 1986, according to his friend Bioy Casares, "reciting the Lord's Prayer in Anglo-Saxon, Old English, English, French, and Spanish."
Thus, through letters, poems, and memories, Borges's figure remains alive in Spain. His literary legacy, his time in Madrid, and his honesty in acknowledging his personal unhappiness form a complex and fascinating portrait of one of the great writers of the 20th century.
