Arena (1975)

Borges and I (1983x10)

Air date: Oct 26, 1983

Now 84, Jorge Luis Borges is the acknowledged master of the rich new literature of South America. Above all, Borges's stories are a dazzling exploration of his own mind and his own limitless curiosity. His magical tales are often rooted in puzzles and paradoxes. Imagine a man who can forget absolutely nothing, a knife that mysteriously controls the destinies of those who handle it, a point in space that contains everything that exists. Bringing together an exotic miscellany of incident and reference, Borges's work draws on the extraordinary landscape of Argentina and Uruguay - with their traditions of gauchos, horses, and old-time knife fighters - and on his profound and vivid love of books, especially those of other times and other places. Filmed in Uruguay, Buenos Aires and Paris, tonight's programme re-creates some of Borges's most memorable stories, among them 'Death and the Compass', 'The Meeting' and 'Funes the Memorious'.