Infinity according to Jorge Luis Borges - Ilan Stavans
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- Опубліковано 10 лип 2019
- Dive into the mind-bending works of Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges, whose work pioneered the literary style magical realism.
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What would it be like to have a limitless memory? Can the meaning of life be found in an infinite library? Is time a labyrinth or a single moment? Jorge Luis Borges explored these questions of infinity in his many works. His body of essays, poems and stories pioneered the literary style known as magical realism- and each was just a few pages long. Ilan Stavans dives into the world of Borges.
Lesson by Ilan Stavans, directed by Aim Creative Studios.
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View full lesson: ed.ted.com/lessons/the-magica...
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I do recommend a book with short stories of Borges called The Aleph, it is incredibly immersive and spontaneous but so thoughtful, i just can say that you will love every word contained on it
Which includes the story with the leopard, amazing book.
@Karla Munoz Cómpralo en línea, no es infrecuente hallarlo.
Oh men you got to read El informe Brody, or El libro de arena, I don't know what title they put in English, maybe Brody's report and the book of sand, that is my favorite book of Borges but maybe El informe is better.
@@Ronenlahat jaguar, I think. The Lizard King; one of my fav
Posiblemente mi favorito!
Borges' writings are incredible: they combine carefully planned sentences, storytelling and plot mechanisms with mind-blowing situations and thoughts that leave you understanding so much yet so little about a piece of fictional history. He is arguably the best writer in Latin American history and I definitely recommend reading every one of his works.
The best writer in Latin America? Jorge Luis Borges is the best writer in the history of mankind.
Un escritor único.
@@Trommel57 I'm very inclined to agree!
Who do you think is the best in human history?
Can you please explain Odin's Disc?? What is it actually?
@@apsmine It's from a short story written by Jorge Luis Borges. You can read a summary here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Disk
I don't agree that Borges belongs to the "magical realism" movement. Like Piglia said, he gave form the concept of "speculative fiction" or "conceptual lieterature". But above all, like Kafka, he's his own genere.
Finally, someone who sees this too!! Sorry, folks, but not every Latin American author wrote Magical Realism
Borges hated magical realism.
Exactly
You are pretty much right; Borges’s genre is called Ultraism, an odd variation of realism with with philosophical or metaphysical premises to it.
Yeah, indeed. Utter rubbish to associate him to Magical realism!
Borges is such an unique writer, one of my favorites. Btw this video is so great the way it explains Borges' literature really moved me.
Jorge Luis Borge, we are thankful to you. Because without you there wouldn't be Calvino, Marques or Rushdie. And many other countless pieces of arts which were overtly as well as sometimes covertly influenced by your work. Thank you. If you are still up there somewhere in your infinite library flipping through books. Gathering all the experience ever experienced.
Absolutely true ! And we didn't have a fictional character called Jorges de Burgos, the blind librarian in Eco's novel The Name of the Rose
This man changed my life. I discovered him while studying abroad in Buenos Aires when I read The Aleph. I then wrote my Spanish Thesis in college on El Tango: Cuatro Conferencias. His short stories give everyone a mind workout, and gives you that childlike ability again of asking questions to things that seem "obvious" to the average person. I will be internally grateful for reading his works.
I can never get bored of his books, I can read them again again and again and get fascinated anyway
I always find that the experience of reading a Borges short story is akin to reading good poetry. Like great poems his stories demand to be read many times over and like great poetry it brings you closer to experience the 'eff in the ineffable'.
One of the best short story authors not only of Latin America but of the entire world. Genius.
Please do a Cortazar video next! It would be great
YES
Yes please!
Yes!!
SIIIIII
Please!
And they say mathematics can't be fictional and magical.
Don't mind them
Who says that?
Some of my friend.
@@arfn1973 Could you name one single example? Because I believe that probably even nobody ever said that and that you just claim that "they say".
My Maths teacher used to say that.
I discovered Borges earlier this year and fell in love with his words as soon as I started reading. His story telling is a divinely intricate web that leads the reader to new vistas of discoveries about time, eternity, and ultimately, themselves. A pure delight.
Labyrinths & Mirrors. Infinity & Time.
God almighty can not change the past... But can change the image of the past.
The The Circular Ruins is my favorite Borges book, what I felt after reading the ending was probably like what experiencing conscience feels like.
Lo mismo me pasó a mí. Fue en secundaria. Fue el asombro total. Gracias a Borges.
The begging of that book Is the most perfect thing. The same feeling with the catcher in the Rye
Orgullo argentino. El mejor escritor de mi país. 🇦🇷❤️💙
¿Por qué no me dejás de joder? Argentina ni existe. ¿Y por qué decís que es el mejor escritor? ¿Y de dónde sos?
That guy is an amazing writer... some people get amused by some pop fictions but if they just read some tales of him, their mind would really blow and be enchanted by it
The first tale of fim I’ve read was the library of Babel... so fantastic
It’s a higher level of thinking I believe. Not many people are into this.
I agree indeed one of the best writers that have ever existed.
@@AJ-xm4xc I think they just need a good introduction to the work, it's not that they wouldn't like it. Hopefully Ted-Ed helps with that! He packs so much into short stories as well when many people don't find time for full novels.
Ewan Matthews True.
Meh. I find his works boring and trying hard to be poetic. I couldn't get passed the first few pages. But maybe the effect is different if I read the original language versions?
*Magical storytelling.*
One immerses with such intensity and aliveness. Wonderful.
It would be awesome if you guys make a video of Octavio Paz.
Yes pls
Borges is, without a question, one of the greatest writers of all time.
And he loved literature from Poe, Conan Doyle, Wells, Stevenson, Chesterton, Bradbury, Fitzgerald... He was born from the writers that "crítics" call less serious
Read anything from Borges, it will expand your mind like nothing else. They aren't simple or easy, but they are so rewarding. Happy reading, everyone!
The library of babel is what really shook my understanding of our universe. There is no one truth if it is out there in the library. The story that reads your life has the same value as a random string of characters both happening by chance because of infinity. Thus for our real world, how I see it is that anything we can imagine is true to some degree because if we can think of it then nature has allowed for that thought or belief to exist in some capacity.
I'm so glad this video exists! The animation is gorgeous.
Watching this made me remember how much I love his books, and now I really need to re-read them. Thank you!
Where are you from?
omg im crying this is amazing! as an argentinian i love borges so much! it's very difficult to read his books tho, he uses complex words and his tramas are so deep too. thank u, u explained to me tons of stuff i didn't know about his work. Xx
The Circular Ruins is until now one of the best short stories I've ever read and inspired me a lot.
Borges 'Death and the Compass' is my favourite short story....bloody brilliant. An influence on Umberto Eco and influenced by Conan Doyle....
Great story., mine is the circular ruins
Using Borges' own words, he wrote "literatura fantástica". Also, "lo real maravilloso" isn't the same as "realismo mágico".
Exactamente, lo real maravilloso is a concept created by Alejo Carpentier (El reino de este mundo), which also isn't the same as "realismo mágico". There is a tendency to put everything written in Latin America in the second half of the XX century into the vague category of magic realism.
I think Real Maravilloso is a bit like a Porto-realismo mágico no?
As a Latino from the south, I'm really proud of that guy. It's just awesome, I wanna know more about their work
Man!! I love Borges. Awesome mind, Borges & I is one of my favorite short stories all time.
Now I have to add Borges to my reading list. Thanks!
Maxence Matteau you won’t regret it! Reading Borges is an awesome experience, and one can enjoy it even more in Spanish
This was so well written and animated I cried. Fantastic work.
One of my favorite authors. Thank you for this video!
Woah! I'd love to read his works now. That wink at the end gave me goosebumps
The narrator's voice in this video is just perfect. The animation and music are wonderful too.
Amo profundamente a Borges, el Maestro Borges, que triste sería la vida, al menos la mía, sin tener a Borges, gracias por toda la eternidad Maestro !!
So proud this guy is from my country :D
I can’t even describe how much I love Borges
Truly fascinating how literature can explore and create such unique worlds.
Hyun Seok Ryu nice icon
@@Kai-gt2gi thank you!
Borges doesn't need a Nobel he's a gift for the humankind, his works are loaded with a lot of philosphy when you read him you'll find warm an healthy ideas
Could you guys do something like this but for Rulfo's Pedro Páramo?
For all of his written legacy! Which I feel, accomodates to TED ed's own ideals: Brief, yet wonderfully achieved.
Who’s that cat?
Just wanted to let you know the initial quote was not wrote by Borges, please check it and change it if it's possible
Ghabyh I wanted to say the same.
It’s strikingly similar to a quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr: “I used to dream of a final calm under old trees, no--impossibly, in England or the East, ” he once told Einstein. But, he had concluded, “one must grow one’s trees in one’s soul.”
@@kennethgatteniii1792 Also, in "Candide" by Voltaire: "We must cultivate our garden"
Genius 💙👌!!!! Lofty ideas told in short format ,that packed a punch.
I am currently reading Poems of the Night by Borges and it is so beautifully descriptive. The night comes alive.
The most inspiring author I’ve ever met. The greatest.
When I was in college, taking a Latin American Literature class,I had a love hate relationship with his work, "The Circular Ruins," because it is really difficult to analyze, hahaha. But like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, I love how they put "magic" into our consciousness of "reality," and merged both of them as something normal.
Un excelente y hermoso video. Borges lo hubiera adorado. Felicitaciones para el autor, y gracias aTED por acercarnos estas maravillas
He writes using different registers and polyphony, similar to Bach or Escher. His stories are layered in several levels of recursive, changeable meanings, always suggesting a multi-dimensional labyrinth. Will take you to the edge of the knowable and beyond
Keeping with the theme of latin american writers, I'd love to see a video about a Brazilian writer like Machado de Assis
Can you recommend me a book of Machado de Assis. I need to read more brazilian literature.
"Dom Casmurro" is his most famous and enigmatic, while "Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas" is probably his most important (styllistically speaking), as it opened the doors for realism here in Brazil
I would recommend starting with the first and then following it up with the latter
@@Fran_Fuentes The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas is considered one of his most important novels, I think it portrays his unique style and irony very clearly and in my personal opinion I think it's also one of the most entertaining of his works, so that would be my recomendation.
I also recommend "Vidas Secas" by Graciliano Ramos which tells a story about a family running away from a severe drought in the northeastern part of the country and their struggles with crushing poverty, horrible working conditions and government abuse
Fun side note, my son's high school is named Jorge Luis Borges. We live in the centre of the province of Buenos Aires.
Hi there,
I have written over the last 30 years about Borges.Finally, I have finished a 125 pages essay, consisting of an introduction where several points of views are expressed by different writers and a second part where 28 pieces are analized according to double coding interpretation.
Francisco Garcia MD
I was thinking about reading some of Borges' works, but this video totally sold me! I'm definitely gonna read him now.
Hayaros I can help if you want it, it's not an easy writer to start with.
i'm honestly shocked of finding an english video about Borges, being Argentinian myself. amazing!
There is a difference between "literatura fantástica"
and "realismo mágico". Some of Borges’ writing are representatives of
the fantastic. There is a video where Cortázar explains this subtle but
important difference.
I enjoyed the video, thank you.
This was beautiful, thank you for this.
Borges is one of the best! The aleph is a book I can't recommend enough! Do one about Juan Rulfo and Onetti please!!
Good explanation. You are focusing on writers too..it feels good to learn about them too.
We need this in Spanish. Great narration and visuals.
ALIENATING AND INCLUSIVE AT THE SAME TIME.
I love you so much, Ted-Ed!!!
Whoever is narrating this, his voice is like whiskey and cigar in a cold evening
The Witness is one best stories ever put to print. Absolutely beautiful.
Ilan Stavans got to write AND narrate a TedEd video!? Goals. He's so lucky.
The Book of Sand would be another great one to mention if we're talking about Borges' infinity. The Aleph would be another one. The Lottery in Babel is not as much about infinity, but still amazingly fascinating.
I also like how he comments on the nature of the Laberyth with the Two kings and the two Laberynths. Man, most of his work made my younger days as a reader.
This writer is magical, but also he is lucky for getting such vid about him, great illustrations as well LUV! ♡
He is lucky? WTF?! One of the greatest minds of the past century is lucky to have a little video of him on youtube? You are crazy.
We have a saying: “Borges escribió todo antes que todo”.
That 'saying' sounds like something Borges would write - but with the name of a fictional character in place of his own ... !
Great animation, Great topic, Great, great narration.
I don't think the quote at the beginning is by Borges. Please, do check that.
you´re right
Agree
Usan citas falsas... el mismo recurso que usaba Borges... XD
I always watch of all your videos, because they are very informative. Hope you can create a video about our national hero Dr. Jose Rizal. Thanks! All the way from the Philippines.
Please please please please please make the background music of these videos available somewhere, or at least provide the names of the tracks! I swear every video is set to music as beautiful as the animations!
The animation is amazing
I went to Mexico and it seems magical realism is quite popular there. It would be nice to see more of it, I've always loved expanding my library
Borges es argentino...
TED-Ed, please check your sources... the quote at the beginning is NOT Borges!
The rest of the video is wonderful. Thanks
Borges is also not Magical Realism
@@vincenzoditoma9368 It is not even Borges style. Anyone who have read him knows it.
@@pabloalvarez2162 wheres your proof it is not as if you google it and tells you your wrong
@@deanlycett-amin1903 Because I read his complete works. Several times. Never found such lame text. Tell us, instead, where do you find it.
@@pabloalvarez2162 lo actualizaron! El Borgismo ha triunfado jaja
The background music is beautiful!
I would love to see you give this treatment to 'the curious incident of the dog in the night-time'. The way the book is written alone will make for some great visuals.
You should definitely make a video about Julio Cortázar, one of the greatest South American writers.
*Plot Twist:* Jorge Luis Borges is basically Doctor Strange of the literature community.
Instead of hands he lost his eyes?
@@nicanornunez9787 and when he lost it, his blindness became infinity. Or one possible moment in time.
Así es.
No, Dr. Strange is the Luis Borges of tv
@@TheProtagonizer así fue
무한과 영원과 궁극의 객관과 진리가 무엇인지에 관해 미치도록 경이로운 상상력을 보여준 대문호.. 보르헤스의 작품을 처음 접했을때 이런 주제로 글을 쓰는 사람이 20세기에 존재했다는것이 나를 겸허하게 만들었음
the music is really mysterious!!!
Amo estos videos de autores y artistas latin@s!!!
Great animation! I like it!
Beautiful. To infinity and beyond!
In Argentina (bithplace of Borges), and I think that in the rest of latin america as well, we called the literary movement "realismo magico" not "lo real marivilloso". That was a pretty grousome error, because it completely changed the meaning. I think that such a popular media as ted should check those thinks better.
Otherwise great video! Love Borges, the only bad think about reading him is that it leaves you with the sensation that nothing that is worthy of being written could be written after his works...
oh my i really want to read his stuff now!!
Someone on the internet commented exactly what I think of Borges: "I don't like a work with a prose overloaded and full of artifice, a work where the numerous commas, eternal phrases, excessive adjectives, and literary ornaments eat up the story. I don't like a work where pedantic prose occupies the most of the text, a work where I have to reread a paragraph more than twice to be able to get all the juice out of it. I don't like a work whose stories seem to twist and go around a thousand times to say nothing at the end. I don't like close a book and be left with the feeling of having wasted time".
Well I guess he is not for everyone. He could be hard to read if you are not knowledgeable enough and your mind is lazy
@@TURCK189 Well, I guess you shouldn't guess without basis, I have read things much better than the pompous Borges, written in a much more pleasant language and completely unpretentious, with really greater depth and more substance. Borges is pure gibberish, a thousand words to say something that could be said with twenty or less; circumloquies are another thing, a rhetorical figure that, well done, shine in literature, badly done, dripping snobbery, why? because a circumlocution is accomplished with skill, not looking for thousands of difficult or obsolete words and putting them all in the same sentence. "The unanimous night", please, that's not knowing what to write and putting whatever in; with that he makes the snob reader clap his hands frantically at something totally nonsensical.
By the way, I have read so many times that something "is not for everything", books, paintings, movies, and ever is the same empty elitist phrase.
But, well, I repeat what I said you at the beginning, I guess you should not guess, for just one comment, that someone lacks knowledge and is lazy minded, assume something without basis, precisely, it's from people without knowledge and with lazy mind.
@@hugoheine5093 You've never read Borges. He's the opposite of everything you just wrote. Just showing your ignorance by your long and incoherent ramble!
@@hugoheine5093 You have never read anything of Borges... An easy guess by reading that amount of Ignoranten phrases you just wrote.
@@settembrini33Reading his comment, I came to the conclusion that he dislikes an author who seemingly says a lot, without saying nothing at all, while commenting in a manner and form that seems to replicate the subject he’s criticizing. Not to mention he puts down those who enjoy and find meaning in his writings, claiming literary snobbery, which in turn seems pretty pompous. Anyway, the magic of internet, everybody’s turned into a critic.
great animation, voice and narration, :)
one of the greatest of all time, saludos desde argentina💙🤍💙
I've read a lot of this guy's works. He's the king of mind screws
this is such a beautiful video
Amazing video on an amazing author, thank you.
Awesome and informative video
The best channel ever
Beautiful
excelente video
I always thought of Funes as a Savant, Borges was a mathematical and philosophical thinker writing stories.
this was beautiful
the phrase in the beginning does not belong to Borges, is not even his style.
Agree
¡Totalmente! ¡Una vergüenza!
La cambiaron!
@@kevinsantillans7415 ¿Cuál era que ya no lo recuerdo?
@@benjaminpadilla4491 Algo sobre un jardín de los deseos, jaja
The best writer in the Spanish language of the 20th century.
He was an Argentinian
Maybe *Latin American, but I think he had a lot of amazing competition and it's impossible to pick the 'best,' they represent different truths.
@@Cuythulu Well, okay, make it the best writer in the Spanish language of the 20th century. There.
@@kokuinomusume No, that would be Ortega y Gasset.
@@Cuythulu He tried to say Spanish-speaking writer.
The first quote is (I'm 99.99% certain) definitely NOT Borges
I really liked the video, it's a very nice way of sharing the beauty of this particular south American author. I would also recommend viewers his poetry.
However, I think it may have some factual errors, or not hold up to being honest on the lack of consensus regarding the interpretation of Borges' tales. For instance, it is practically impossible to classify him as a "magic realism" author, because he mostly doesn't construct tales in such a manner that everything that happens might as well actually happen, but doesn't due to the lack of probability of such a thing happening. A perfect example of this would be García Márquez.
And is Babel's Library really his image of paradise? The main character in that tale constantly calls it "the universe", and his reminiscing of the happenings in it really seem to be a metaphor for our constant search for meaning in what the world throws at us.
But it really doesn't matter, the video is great, please do continue introducing a wider audience to such wonderful authors.
What a wonderful video with such a beautiful and mystical music in the background! Does anyone know the name of that piece of piano?
Argentinian here, I'm so proud 🇦🇷❤️
You're not Borges, don't be so proud.
"The most incorrigible vice of the Argentines is nationalism, the mania of the primates". JLB
Mike Hoot Borges says he is nationalist in many interviews. His grandparents fought for the country and he always felt a coward for being a writer instead. He writes about Arentinian literature and history. He writes in Argentinian Spanish and his verses sing about Buenos Aires and La Pampa. Yes we should ve proud of him.
What hace you read about him? Only Ficciones?
@@nachoo9774 He was an anarchist.
He hates nationalism.
Love your homeland is not nationalism.
You need to study some politics.
@@mikehoot3978 Somos incorregibles
@@CneoPompeyo17 No, solo los peronistas.