Another view of Borges
Sir: Like Francis King (15 September) I was introduced to Jorge Luis Borges by a woman (I have always thought it does credit to a man to be liked by women). But Mr King's portrayal of Borges — narcissistic, a poor listener, infatuated with English literature and not life, prone to touch, timing the meeting to a T, and out of touch with anything before the 1930s — I found unfamiliar. Some great writers like Joyce may be uninterested in contemporary writers. Bbrges may have some gaps inevitable to a man nearly blind since childhood and read to by his mother, but I found awareness and criticism of modern Latin American writers. His literary preoccupations include death, time, metaphysics, chance, violence and the tango (he writes poetry about it): surely not unrelated to life? Nor is he oblivious to politics and economics. After all, Peron forced him into a supermarket as an inspector of chickens, and Borges's mother and sister were imprisoned. There is one other point that may help to allay Mr King's sorrow at Borges's apparent lack of fascination in 'anything that issued from my mouth'. Borges is very deaf: when I last saw him he was bravely facing up to the possibility of the loss of two senses. Michael Ivens 40, Doughty Street, London WC1
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