Maestro

Here is a very pretty memory of the great Borges, who illuminated the Spanish language and, in translation, the English language as well. In The American Scholar, George Watson quotes a bit of Borgesian wisdom that will make any writer smile:

If I say something happened in a slum in Palermo in 1890, who will contradict me? One is allowed to change the past: the present is so stubborn.

Some years ago, when my daughter was a student at Phillips Exeter, Borges came to speak. It was a lovely experience, though I missed my chance to ask the question that was bothering me: would he ever consider composing in English? No chance to ask it now! Blue skies! -- Dan Ford