Borges, the geographic space and the literary space

Abstract

Concepts and objects related with Geography are frequently found in Borges poems, stories and essays. In his early works, they were employed in rather conventional mode, either as metaphors or analogies; to colour the text with local, exotic or cosmopolite tinges. As his style matured, Borges redefined some concepts and revealed geographic dimensions in symbols only tangentially related to Geography. According to the context, Borges used the word geography with four different meanings: an actual but non localized place, an imaginary space, a localized place and a scientific discipline. Even when emphasis lay on the literary phenomenon, Borges always questions the attempts to depict models and representations, which even though provisional, turn reality more comprehensible.