Borges Interviews
- At July 26, 2018
- By Great Quail
- In Borges
0
Nothing, nothing, my friend; what I have told you: I am not sure of anything, I know nothing…
Borges Interviews
Borges was a willing interview subject, often displaying a charming combination of sparkling wit and a “Who, me?” deference. This page collects online Borges interviews. They are arranged in chronological order by section: text, video, and audio. Please email me if you know of any others!
Text
The Art of Fiction No. 39
Interviewed by Ronald Christ.
July 1966. Paris Review.
Conducted in English with Borges in his office at the National Library.
Reality is Perplexing Enough
Interviewed by Patricia Marx and John Simon.
25 October 1968. Commonweal Magazine.
A refreshingly direct and personal interview in which Borges refers to his past embrace of ultraism as “a boyish joke.”
Interviewed by Don Bell.
March 1968
This interview was for the CBC show “Tuesday Night,” and was used as material for a Canadian documentary called “Borges and I.”
Merely a Man of Letters
Interviewed by Denis Dutton, Michael Palencia-Roth, and Lawrence I. Berkove.
14 April 1976. Philosophy and Literature.
This interview dates from Borges’ stay in East Lansing, where he was visiting professor at Michigan State University. The site also contains an MP3 of the interview, and is featured below.
Le goût de l’épopée
Interviewed by Robert Louit.
June 1977. Magazine Littéraire.
An interview with Borges from 1977. [French]
A Conversation with Jorge Luis Borges
Interviewed by Daniel Bourne and Stephen Cape.
25 April 1980. Artful Dodge.
Conducted by the College of Wooster’s literary magazine Artful Dodge, this interview is a rambling delight, and focuses on Borges’ thoughts on poetry and language. It has recently been published by Melville House in Jorge Luis Borges: The Last Interview.
“I’ll Be In Another World”
Interviewed by Charles McNair and Mark Childress.
1982. Los Angeles Review of Books.
A brief conversation with Borges In New Orleans, this interview was “rediscovered” and published in 2021 by the novelists Charles McNair and Mark Childress.
“Through Caverns Measureless to Man”
Interviewed by Clark Zlotchew.
16 July 1984. American Poetry Review.
Borges is interviewed in his Buenos Aires apartment. This interview is now online at The Collidescope.
Video
A Fondo Interview
Interviewed by Joaquín Soler Serrano
1976. A Fondo.
Borges is interviewed by the Spanish television program A Fondo. [English subtitles.]
RTVE Interview
Interviewed by Paloma Chamorro, José Luis Jover and Marcos Ricardo Barnatán.
1976. Encuentros con los artes y las letras
A Borges interview for Spanish RTVE, the state-run Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española. [Spanish]
Borges: South America’s Titan
Interviewed by William F. Buckley, Jr.
1 February 1977. Firing Line.
Borges is interviewed by the conservative icon William F. Buckley, Jr., whose accent is one of the great treasures of twentieth-century America. This interview is notable for its focus on politics as much as literature.
Antonio Carrizo entrevista a Jorge Luis Borges
Interview by Antonio Carrizo.
1979.
This two-hour interview includes segments with María Kodama and Roy Bartholomew. [Spanish]
La gente Interview
Interviewed by Augusto Bonardo.
1980. La gente
Borges is interviewed for the Argentine program La gente. This brief interview is largely political, beginning with a discussion of Poland and moving to the Russian Revolution. [Spanish]
Celebrando a Borges
Interview by Antonio Carrizo.
January 1981. Y esto no es cultura
This half-hour interview touches on Leopoldo Lugones, gaucho poetry, and tango. [Spanish]
Tiempos Modernos
1985. “Tiempos Modernos”
Another Borges interview for Spanish RTVE, the state-run Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española. [Spanish]
Êdoctum: Encuentro. Jorge Luis Borges
Part 1 | Part 2
A roundtable discussion on literature directed by Alvaro Galvez y Fuentes, featuring Jorge Luis Borges, Salvador Elizondo, Juan Jose Arreola, Germán Bleiberg and Adriano González Leon. [Spanish]
Audio
Merely a Man of Letters
Interviewed by Denis Dutton, Michael Palencia-Roth, and Lawrence I. Berkove.
14 April 1976. Philosophy and Literature.
This is the audio recording of the Philosophy and Literature interview described above.
Library of Congress Interview
Interviewed by Georgette M. Dorn.
23 April 1976.
Recorded in Studio B of the Library of Congress Recording Laboratory, this somewhat dutiful interview was recorded for the “Archive of Hispanic Literature on Tape.”
Willis Conover Interviews Borges About Lovecraft
Interviewed by Willis Conover, Jr.
30 April 1976.
Borges is interviewed in New York City by “Voice of America” broadcaster, jazz critic, and science fiction enthusiast Willis Conover. The interview focuses on H.P. Lovecraft, much to Borges’ polite, yet evident, discomfort. This interview is hosted at the University of North Texas.
Carrizo entrevista Borges
Interviews by Antonio Carrizo.
1979. La vida y canto.
From August to September of 1979, chess master and musical journalist Antonio Carrizo conducted a series of interviews with Borges to celebrate his 80th birthday. Broadcast as part of Carrizo’s program La vida y canto, the interviews were divided into 29 separate programs. Thanks to Andrés Siris’ for collecting them all in a YouTube playlist! [Spanish]
45 minutos con Borges
Interview by Robert Alifano.
This interview has been posted without date or context. Any additional information is welcome! [Spanish]
“Jorge Luis Borges,” entrevista Radial, en Buenos Aires
Borges is interviewed on Buenos Aires radio. I am not sure about the details; any additional information is welcome! [Spanish]
Borges-Related Interviews
María Kodama Interview
Interviewed by Jaime Bayly.
2013.
Borges’ widow María Kodama speaks about Borges, his life, and his work. [Spanish]
Alberto Manguel on Reading Aloud to Borges
Interviewed by Paul Holdengraber.
30 March 2018. Literary Hub.
“In this episode of A Phone Call from Paul, Paul Holdengraber talks to Argentine-Canadian translator and essayist Alberto Manguel. The two discuss writing about imaginary places, being a reader to Jorge Luis Borges, and Manguel’s most recent book, Packing My Library.”
“The Never-Ending Original”—An Interview with Suzanne Jill Levine
Interviewed by David Garyan.
2 October 2022. The Collidescope.
David Garyan interviews Borges translator Suzanne Jill Levine.
Alberto Manguel Con Borges
Unknown Venue & Date.
Author, translator, and former Borges reader Alberto Manguel discusses his memoir, Con Borges. [Spanish]
Editor: Allen Ruch
Last Modified: 20 August 2024
Borges Main Page: The Garden of Forking Paths
Contact: quail (at) shipwrecklibrary (dot) com