Borges Poetry I – Early Poems

Las calles de Buenos Aires / ya son mi entraña
(My soul is in the streets / of Buenos Aires)
—Jorge Luis Borges, “Las calles,” 1923.

Borges Works: Poetry I—Early Poems

This section examines Borges’ poetry from 1923 to 1943, with an emphasis on the 1920s, a decade marked by three important collections taking Buenos Aires as its subject. The collections are presented in chronological order.

Fervor de Buenos Aires (1923)
Luna de elfrente (1925)
Cuaderno San Martín (1929)
Poemas (1922-1943) (1943)

Clicking the image of a book enlarges the image. Wherever possible, links to the Internet Archive are provided. These “online editions” may or may not match the exact edition of the corresponding book.

Fervor de Buenos Aires


Fervor de Buenos Aires
By Jorge Luis Borges
Buenos Aires: Imprenta Serrantes, 1923
Online at: Garden of Forking Paths [1923] | Internet Archive [1970]

After spending seven years in Europe trapped by the war, the Borges family returned to Buenos Aires in March 1921. The city, having experienced an explosion of growth during their absence, was thriving; and Borges discovered that he’d returned home to a wealth of opportunities. Invigorated by his European experiences and energized by a new-found enthusiasm for Argentina, Borges threw himself into the cultural life of Buenos Aires with the fervor of a young artist catching a rising wave. He struck up a friendship with the eccentric poet Macedonio Fernández, wrote poems praising the local color, and co-founded a literary magazine named Prisma. A broadsheet dedicated to the “ultraísmo” principles he learned from Andalusian poet Rafael Cansinos Asséns in Madrid, Prisma boasted original woodcut illustrations by Norah Borges. Citizens of Buenos Aires would occasionally wake up to find new issues plastered over the walls of the city, each exploding with poems, essays, and manifestoes.

By 1923 Borges issued his first collection of original verse. Entitled Fervor de Buenos Aires, the sixty-four page book was financed by his father. Hastily printed, the cover boasted one of Norah’s woodcuts. With little regard for profit, nearly every one of the three hundred copies was distributed freely—and often surreptitiously, such as copies quietly slipped into the pockets of editor’s overcoats!

The original edition of Fervor de Buenos Aires contained the forty-five poems listed below, with the poems included in Selected Poems, 1923-1967 marked by plus-signs (+) and those found in Viking’s Selected Poems marked by asterisks (*). English titles defer to the 1999 Selected Poems.

  • A quien leyere (Preface)*
  • Las calles (“The Streets”)*
  • La Recoleta (“Recoleta Cemetery”)+*
  • Calle desconocida (“Unknown Street”)+*
  • El Jardín Botánico
  • Música patria
  • La Plaza San Martín
  • El truco (“Truco”)*
  • Final del año (“Year’s End”)*
  • Ciudad
  • Hallazgo
  • Un patio (“Patio”)+*
  • Barrio reconquistado
  • Vanilocuencia
  • Villa Urquiza
  • Sala vacía (“Empty Drawing Room”)+*
  • Inscripción sepulcral (Para el coronel Don Isidoro Suárez, mi bisabuelo) (“Sepulchral Inscription, for my Great-grandfather Isidoro Suárez”)+*
  • Rosas+
  • Arrabal
  • Remordimiento por cualquier defunción (“Remorse for Any Death”)+*
  • Jardín
  • Inscripción en cualquier sepulcro (“Inscription on Any Tomb”)+*
  • Dictamen
  • La vuelta
  • La guitarra
  • Resplandor (“Afterglow”)+
  • Amanecer (“Break of Day”)+*
  • El Sur (“The South”)*
  • Carnicería (“At the Butcher’s”)+
  • Alquimia
  • Benarés (“Benares”)*
  • Alba desdibujada
  • Judería
  • Ausencia
  • Llaneza (“Simplicity”)+*
  • Llamarada
  • Caminata
  • La noche de San Juan
  • Sábados
  • Cercanías
  • Caña de ámbar
  • Inscripción sepulcral (Para el coronel don Francisco Borges, mi abuelo)
  • Trofeo
  • Forjadura
  • Atardeceres
  • Despedida (“Parting”)+*

The poems of Fervor de Buenos Aires are energetic and direct, written in free verse and boldly declaring their right to exist. Like the returned prodigal son who surprises himself by falling in love with what he left behind, Borges seems intoxicated by the mythic nostalgia of his childhood surroundings, and the poems thrill with the excitement of rediscovery. He transforms the intimate settings of a vanishing Buenos Aires into a metaphysical world of symbols, creating a city trembling with mystery and consumed by its own mythology. Cemeteries, garden gates, butcher shops, card games, twilight streets—each subject resonates with hidden meaning, prying itself from the grip of history and swept to an unknowable future, “curious about the shadows/and daunted by the threat of dawn.”

Although the poems of Fervor de Buenos Aires are sometimes dismissed as the product of youthful exuberance—a notion voiced most stridently by Borges himself—many introduce themes that reappear throughout Borges’ mature work. The cult of the ancestor is linked to death; immortality and oblivion are conjoined in paradox; and capital-T Time is pronounced the ultimate enigma. There’s also a profusion of mirrors, gardens, swords, and stars; symbols that would later become obsessions, and are familiar to any reader of Ficciones, Dreamtigers, and even Los conjurados, Borges’ final collection of verse some sixty years later.

A few standouts from Fervor include “The South,” which seeks the heart of poetry in the delicate apprehension of the senses; “Break of Day,” a meditation on Schopenhauer’s idea of the world as a consensual hallucination; and “Benarés,” a precursor to 1960’s “The Other Tiger.” However, my personal favorite is “Unknown Street,” which transforms a twilight stroll into a revelation of what Borges would later call “the labyrinth of time,” and concludes with these remarkable lines:

Only later did I come to think
That the street of that afternoon was not mine,
That every house is a branching candlestick
Where the lives of men burn
Like single candles,
That each haphazard step we take
Treads on Golgothas.

Borges later confessed his embarrassment with Fervor de Buenos Aires and its “ultraist” enthusiasm. He revised the poems in 1943 for Poemas (1922–1943) and again for Obra poética 1923–1966. His final revisions came in 1969 for Obras completas. This edition included a new prologue stating, “I have not rewritten this book. I have moderated its baroque excesses, I have polished some rough spots, I have eliminated sentimentality and haziness.”

Viking’s Selected Poems contains sixteen poems from Fervor de Buenos Aires, including “Líneas que pude haber escrito y perdido hacia 1922,” or “Lines I Could Have Written and Lost Round About 1922,” one of the later additions. It also includes the 1969 prologue.

Additional Information
Much like Ficciones, the original Spanish title Fervor de Buenos Aires is generally retained, even in English translation. The translation of “Calle desconocida” quoted above is by Alexander Coleman. In 1993, Alberto Casares in Buenos Aires produced a facsimile of the first edition. Unfortunately, it’s out of print, and costs quite a penny! You can read the 1969 revised version of Fervor de Buenos Aires in Obras completas 1923-1974, available as an 1170-page PDF. You can read the 1972 English translations in Selected Poems, 1923-1967, available as a 375-page PDF.

Luna de enfrente
The Moon Across the Way


Luna de enfrente
By Jorge Luis Borges
Buenos Aires: Editorial Proa, 1925

Despite what comparing titles might lead one to believe, Moon Across the Way is a more “fervent” collection of verse than the intimate reflections of Fervor de Buenos Aires. Attempting to capture the rhythms of the Palermo streets and barrios, these colorful poems are populated by gauchos, guitarristas, and dark Spanish women; its themes are poverty, heartbreak, and murder.

The original edition of Luna de enfrente included the twenty-four poems listed below, with the poems included in Selected Poems, 1923-1967 marked by plus-signs (+) and those found in Viking’s Selected Poems marked by asterisks (*). English titles defer to the 1999 Selected Poems.

  • Al tal vez lector (Preface)*
  • Calle con almacén rosao (“Street with a Pink Corner”)*
  • Al horizonte de un suburbia
  • Antelación del amor (later changed to “Amorosa anticipacíon,” or “Anticipation of Love” )+*
  • Dualidá en una despedida
  • El general Quiroga va en coche al muere (“General Quiroga Rides to His Death in a Carriage”)+*
  • Jactancia de quietud (“Boast of Quietness”)*
  • Montevideo+
  • A Rafael Cansinos Asséns
  • Singladura
  • Apuntamiento de Dakár (“Dakar”)+
  • La promisión en alta mar
  • Tarde cualquiera
  • La vuelta a Buenos Aires
  • Dulcia linquimus arva+
  • A la Calle Serrano
  • Casas como ángeles (“Houses Like Angels”)+
  • Mi vida entera (“My Whole Life”)+*
  • Último sol en Villa Ortúzar (“Sunset over Villa Ortúzar”)+*
  • Para una calle del Oeste
  • Patrias
  • Por los viales de Nîmes
  • El año cuarenta
  • En Villa Alvear
  • Versos de catorce

Borges later called these poems “a kind of riot of sham local color” and dismissed them as “tomfooleries.” He made attempts to suppress the original edition, reportedly purchasing stray copies to consign to flames. It is not difficult to sympathize with the older Borges, as Luna’s poems are decidedly extravagant, as may be seen in the opening to “Sunset over Villa Ortúzar”:

Evening like Doomsday
The street’s end opens like a wound in the sky.
Was the brightness burning far away a sunset or an angel?

Occasionally a mature, “Borgesian” note sounds at the conclusion of a poem, such as the tender musings of “Anticipation of Love” leading the poet to a reflection of the absolute:

Neither the intimacy of your look, your brow fair as a feast day,
nor the favor of your body, still mysterious, reserved, and childlike,
nor what comes to me of your life, settling in words or silence,
will be so mysterious a gift
as the sight of your sleep, enfolded
in the vigil of my arms.
Virgin again, miraculously, by the absolving power of sleep,
quiet and luminous like some happy thing recovered by memory,
you will give me that shore of your life that you yourself do not own.
Cast up into silence
I shall discern that ultimate beach of your being
and see you for the first time, perhaps,
as God must see you—
the fiction of Time destroyed,
free from love, from me.

Another standout from the original collection is “General Quiroga Rides to His Death in a Carriage.” A lurid tale about the assassination of a gaucho caudillo, the poem ends with an unexpected turn to the apocalyptic:

Now dead, now on his feet, now immortal, now a ghost,
He reported to the Hell marked out for him by God,
and under his command there marched, broken and bloodless,
the souls in purgatory of his soldiers and his horses.

Eventually Borges moved past his embarrassment with Luna de enfrente, remarking that he had grown “distant” from the poems; “unconcerned about their mistakes or their possible virtues.” Borges revised the poems in 1943 for Poemas (1922–1943), adding “Manuscrito hallado en un libro de Joseph Conrad,” or “Manuscript Found in a Book by Joseph Conrad.” A short poem that gently touches upon the eternal present, Borges’ identified it as his favorite in the collection, claiming it does “no dishonor to the author.” The poem also appears in both English collections. Borges returned to Luna again for Obra Poética 1923–1966. His final revisions were made in 1969 for Obras completas, discarding a few of the more awkward pieces and polishing his “pretentious” style.

Additional Information
The translation of “Último sol en villa Ortúzar” quoted above is by W.S. Merwin. The translation of “Amorosa anticipación” is by Robert Fitzgerald. The translation of “El general Quiroga” is by Alastair Reid. You can read the 1969 revised version of Luna de enfrente in Obras completas 1923-1974, available as an 1170-page PDF. You can read the 1972 English translations in Selected Poems, 1923-1967, available as a 375-page PDF.

Cuaderno San Martín
Copybook San Martín


Cuaderno San Martín
By Jorge Luis Borges
Buenos Aires: Editorial Proa, 1929

Named after the brand of copybook in which he recorded the verses, Cuaderno San Martín is Borges’ third book of poetry.

The original edition of Cuaderno San Martín included the twelve poems listed below, with the poems included in Selected Poems, 1923-1967 marked by plus-signs (+) and those found in Viking’s Selected Poems marked by asterisks (*). English titles defer to the 1999 Selected Poems.

  • La fundación mitológica de Buenos Aires (later changed to “Fundación mítica de Buenos Aires,” or “The Mythical Founding of Buenos Aires.”)+*
  • Arrabal en que pesa el campo
  • Elegía de los portones
  • Fluencia natural del recuerdo (later changed to “Cursos de los recuerdos,” or “The Flow of Memories”)*
  • Isidoro Acevedo+
  • La noche que en el Sur lo velaron (“Deathwatch on the Southside”)+*
  • A la doctrina de pasión de tu voz
  • Muertes de Buenos Aires: I. La Chacarita, II. La Recoleta (“Deaths of Buenos Aires”)+
  • A Francisco López Merino (“To Francisco López Merino”)+
  • Barrio norte (“Northern Suburb”)*
  • El paseo de Julio
  • Anotaciones

A return to the more intimate and “intellectual” style of his first collection, the poems of Cuaderno San Martín continue the poet’s journey through a mythical Buenos Aires, as boldly stated in the title of its opening piece, “La fundación mitológica de Buenos Aires.” (Borges later changed the title to “Fundación mítica de Buenos Aires” to avoid suggesting “massive marble divinities.”) A grand recapitulation of Borges’ favorite themes, the poem features rivers and barrios, pink stores and truco, politics and tango. It concludes with a couplet that summarizes an entire decade of Borges’ writing:

Hard to believe Buenos Aires had any beginning.
I feel it to be as eternal as air and water.

Borges revised Cuaderno San Martín in 1943 for Poemas (1922–1943) and again for Obra poética 1923–1966. His final revisions were made in 1969 for Obras completas. Borges’ new preface spared the book the excoriation he gave his first two collections, remarking that aside from Fervor’s “Solitude,” “Deathwatch on the Southside” is “perhaps the first authentic poem I wrote.”

Additional Information
The translated excerpt from “Fundación mítica de Buenos Aires” quoted above is by Alastair Reid. You can read the 1969 revised edition of Cuaderno San Martín in Obras completas 1923-1974, available online as an 1170-page PDF. You can read the 1972 English translations in Selected Poems, 1923-1967, available as a 375-page PDF.

Poemas (1922-1943)


Poemas (1922-1943)
By Jorge Luis Borges
Buenos Aires: Editorial Losada, 1943

In 1943 Editorial Losada collected Borges’ poetry in a single, 181-page volume. (The cover apparently depicts a cherub putting the final touches on a 20-sided die.) Borges himself made editorial adjustments and revisions, discarding several poems he no longer liked, changing a few titles, and adding “Manuscrito hallado en un libro de Joseph Conrad” to Luna de enfrente. Newer and previously uncollected poems were included in a section called “Otras poemas.”

The contents are listed below, in paragraph form to conserve space.

Fervor de Buenos Aires
A quien leyere, Las calles, La Recoleta, Calle desconocida, El Jardín Botánico, La Plaza San Martín, El truco, Final del año, Un patio, Barrio reconquistado, Vanilocuencia, Villa Urquiza, Sala vacía, Inscripción sepulcral [Isidoro Suárez], Rosas, Arrabal, Remordimiento por cualquier defunción, Jardín, Inscripción en cualquier sepulcro, La vuelta, La guitarra, Ultimo resplandor, Amanecer, El sur, Carnicería, Alquimia, Benarés, Judengasse, Ausencia, Llaneza, Caminata, La noche de San Juan, Sábados, Trofeo, Forjadura, Atardeceres, Campos atardecidos, Despedida.

Luna de enfrente
Calle con almacén rosado, Al horizonte de un suburbio, Los llanos, Amorosa anticipación, Dualidá en una despedida, El general Quiroga va en coche al muere, Jactancia de quietud, Montevideo, Al coronel Francisco Borges (1833–1874), A Rafael Cansinos Assens, Manuscrito hallado en un libro de Joseph Conrad, Singladura, Dakar, La promisión en alta mar, Dulcia linquimus arva, Casi juicio final, Casas como ángeles, Mi vida entera, Ultimo sol en Villa Ortúzar, Para una calle del oeste, Versos de catorce.

Cuaderno San Martín
La fundación mitológica de Buenos Aires, Elegía de los Portones, Fluencia natural del recuerdo, Isidoro Acevedo, La noche que en el sur lo velaron, A la doctrina de pasión de tu voz, Muertes de Buenos Aires: I. La Chacarita, II. La Recoleta, A Francisco López Merino, Barrio Norte, El paseo de Julio, Anotaciones.

Otros poemas
Insomnio, La noche cíclica, Del infierno y del cielo, Poema conjetural.

Borges Works

Main Page — Return to the Borges Works main page and index.

Fictions and Artifices — Short stories; the core Borges works.

Nonfiction — Collections of essays and criticism.

Collaborations with Bioy Casares — Fiction and anthologies written or edited with Adolfo Bioy Casares.

Collaborations with Others — Fiction and anthologies written or edited with others.

Poetry Compilations — Selections of Borges’ verse translated into English and published as compilations.

Poetry II — Mid-career collections from 1944 to 1969.

Poetry III — Late poetry books from 1969 to 1985.

Lectures, Conversations, and Interviews — Collections of Borges’ lectures, conversations, and interviews.

Author: Allen B. Ruch
Last Modified: 10 August 2024
Main Borges Page: The Garden of Forking Paths
Contact: quail(at)shipwrecklibrary(dot)com

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