ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – This week’s trivia question: How did the Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges refer to Israel in one of his poems?

Jorge Luis Borges, was an Argentinian poet, essayist, and short-story writer whose works have become classics of 20th-century world literature.

His best-known books, Ficciones (“Fictions”) and El Aleph (“The Aleph”), which were published in the 1940s, are compilations of short stories interconnected by common themes, including dreams, labyrinths, philosophy, libraries, mirrors, fictional writers, and mythology. Borges’ works have contributed to philosophical literature and the fantasy genre, and have been considered by some critics to mark the beginning of the magic realist movement in 20th century Latin American literature.

Alfredo Alonso Estenoz was born and raised in Cuba and moved to the United States in the year 2000. He is an Associate Professor of Spanish at Luther College in Iowa, where he has taught since 2006, specializing in Latin American literature.

In 2013, his book on Jorge Luis Borges, Los límites del texto: autoría y autoridad en Borges, was published in Spain. He is also the Associate Director of the Borges Center, at the University of Pittsburgh, and the associate editor of the Center’s journal Variaciones Borges.

Dr. Estenoz spoke with us about Borges and his special connection to Jewish culture.