Reading Argentina: Four Argentine Writers Every Global Reader Should Discover
I went to Argentina and searched for books.
While I was familiar with Julio Cortázar and Jorge Luis Borges, my favorite Argentine writers, I wanted to find others.
In Buenos Aires, I discovered Victoria Ocampo and Adolfo Bioy Casares.
Whether you are reading about Argentina or planning to visit, here are four Argentine writers you should know, writers who have contributed to Argentina’s cultural and literary fabric.
#1 Adolfo Bioy Casares
While browsing the world-famous bookstore, El Ateneo Grand Splendid, a former theater known for its painted frescoes and floors of books, I found an English translation of Casares’s The Invention of Morel. When I flipped through and read the introduction by Jorge Luis Borges, I was convinced to grab the novella.
Born in Buenos Aires, Adolfo Bioy Casares was the pioneer of science fiction in Latin American literature. He devoted himself to the study of literature on his family’s ranch. A good friend of Jorge Luis Borges, they met frequently to read and critique notable works of literature from around the world.
Book I recommend: The Invention of Morel is a pivotal work of 20th century Latin American literature. It was first published in 1940 but you wouldn’t think that when reading it, because it has the ease of modern fiction. Bioy Casares’s writing is both terse and elegant, a writing style that makes this novella so inviting. Unlike some science fiction novels that leave you baffled, you won’t have to work hard to figure out what’s happening here because the simple depth of Bioy Casares’s prose informs you as a reader.
“Now, harassed by dirt and whiskers I cannot eradicate, feeling inordinately the weight of my years, I long for the benign presence of this woman, who is undoubtedly beautiful.”
The novella is a blend of romance, psychological and science fiction. It is about a wanted man who escapes to an island that he thinks is deserted, until he spots other people. He falls in love with a woman who goes on the hill daily to watch the sunset. When he realizes that the woman, and the visitors, are completely unaware of his presence, he starts to search for the reason. He soon discovers the invention by the scientist Morel.
#2 Victoria Ocampo
Interestingly, Adolfo Bioy Casares was married to Victoria Ocampo’s sister, Silvinia Ocampo, who was a painter and writer. And it was at Villa Ocampo, Victoria Ocampo’s house, where Adolfo Bioy Casares met Jorge Luis Borges.
In Buenos Aires, I visited Victoria Ocampo’s home, Villa Ocampo. Just outside of Buenos Aires, in the town of Béccar, Villa Ocampo is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that memorializes this house of literature that brought together artists and writers to discuss global works of literature.
Victoria Ocampo was an Argentine writer, advocate, and intellectual nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970 and 1974. Her chief contribution to the literary world was the literary magazine Sur, which published numerous works of literature and introduced the world to Latin American writers like Jorge Luis Borges and Adolfo Bioy Casares.
I’m in awe of literary spaces that encourage conversations about books, life, and the creative arts. This house was no different. It was designed to encourage monthly cultural and intellectual conversations. That she published a literary magazine that helped people understand books, makes me admire Ocampo even more. The world needs but does not appreciate literary reviews and magazines.
Book I recommend: Sur (any edition). Sadly, I couldn’t find an English translation of any of her books at Villa Ocampo, but I did leave with a copy of the UNESCO Courier, Special Edition (Nov. 2023)—which is depicted in the picture. So far, I have been unable to get an English version of Sur, which may not have been translated from Spanish or made accessible (if you do learn something, please DO leave a comment).
#3 Jorge Luis Borges
You can find physical copies of books by Jorge Luis Borges on the shelves of ifigenia café, in the historical San Telmo district in Buenos Aires. Philosophical and meandering, Borges’s books go well with espresso. The café invites you to sip a cup, borrow a book, and read, as you enjoy Borges’s Argentina.
In fact, you will find the name Jorge Luis Borges referenced in many spaces in Buenos Aires, as he is/was a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. Born in Buenos Aires, Borges was a short story writer, essayist, poet, critic, and translator. He was also a professor at the University of Buenos Aires. He lived in Geneva for some time and was fluent in several languages. He is said to have “renovated the language of fiction.”
I prefer his poetry and nonfiction. His poems are meditative and philosophical. Some of them are reflections of travel and notes from some of his favorite streets, which make them good travel companions. As a reader, I admire how widely Borges read, how hungry he was for literature from writers across the globe.
As is well known, this changing life of ours
may incidentally seem ever so fair,
and so it was on evenings spent with her
when the moon was ours alone to share.
(From: “The Moon” by Jorge Luis Borges)
Books I recommend:
- Poems of the Night is one of my favorite poetry collections (stay tuned for a list of recommended poetry collections). The poems in this collection are visual renderings of light turned to darkness because Borges lost his sight in 1955, yet he continued his literary career. It may be too dark for some, but personally, I was able to see the lightness, the idea of an artist continuing to search for his path through the gray. Read my full review here.
- Selected Non-Fictions: This is an erudite collection edited by Eliot Weinberger. It is a compilation of Borges’s compact writings: book reviews, essays, film criticism, lectures, and prologues. This collection is great for professors, critics, scholars, and teachers of world literature and/or Latin American literature. Read my full review here.
#4 Julio Cortázar
I have a copy of Julio Cortázar’s collection from The Pocket Poets Series that I travel with sometimes. A book small enough to fit into a small purse.
Julio Cortázar was an Argentine-born French novelist, short story writer, poet, essayist and translator. Like Borges, Cortázar considered himself a poet first. And yet he is most notable for his short stories. In fact, Borges was the first to publish one of Cortázar’s stories: “House Taken Over.”
Book I recommend: Save Twilight. Cortázar’s poems are not as familiar to most. I find them dreamlike and unassuming, quiet and beautiful. His poems parallel the tango as they move freely, a new idea or thought occurring between lines. This collection, Save Twilight, include poems and prose translated by Stephen Kessler after he had a conversation with Cortázar at a UC Berkely function at the home of the Chilean poet, Fernando Alegría.
