Bookmarks Magazine’s September/October issue featured a piece on Jorge Luis Borges - one of my favorite authors.  His life is well documented on Wikipedia, so I will not go into much detail on that, but a few points of note: he at one point worked at a library and was relieved of his position due to reading and writing too much.  He was also a great influence on such major authors as Umberto Eco, Carlos Fuentes, and many other Spanish writers.  While his work has widely been translated and he was (and still is) widely read throughout the world, his presence on American readers’ bookshelves is limited mainly to scholars and reading fanatics.

I was introduced to Borges while in college.  I took a class entitled “Experimental Literature” which opened my eyes to some very interesting works as well as some writing that was just extreme (for example, a book written without using the word “the”).  As I continued my education, I took a series of classes studying this genre and did quite a bit of writing and reading, but I still found that Jorge Luis Borges’ words were most enjoyable.  His book Labyrinths is the only book that I have read more than once (in fact, I’ve read it four times).  What I love most about his style is how he blurs the line between truth and fiction by creating a story that is so authentic, it is unclear what is made up and what is real.

After being reminded of my enjoyment of Borges, I decided to write a short story.  I wouldn’t say it is in the style of Borges, but the inspiration was there.  I hope you enjoy it!

A Sleepless Night (1800 words)

-Nick