Jorge Luis Borges, the Argentinian writer and poet, has been honored with a bespoke Google Doodle to celebrate what would have been his 112th birthday. Jorge was born on 24th August 1899 in Buenos Aires, Argentina and from a young age showed a flair for writing with imagination.
His work
Borges was educated in Switzerland after moving there with his family in 1914, he returned to Argentina in 1921 and began publishing his work in surrealist literacy journals. He was also a public librarian and lecturer, it’s safe to say he kept himself busy.
He became the director of Argentina’s National Public Library in 1955 and 6 years later was awarded the first International Publishers Prize for his ‘Prix Formentor’. In 1971 he was awarded the Jerusalem Prize and his work was translated into English and various European languages.
His short stories, compiled in the books Ficciones and The Aleph drew heavily on dreams, ornate architechture, religion, libraries and animals. He is widely acclaimed as one of the main contributors to modern day science fiction.
The Jorge Borges Doodle
The Doodle draws heavily from Borges work, it shows different architecture, buildings and the great man himself. Everything has been designed to mimic the outline of the letters which make up the traditional Google logo. It reminds us a lot of Inception, perhaps that film drew from Borges ideas.
What do you think of today’s Jorge Borges Google Doodle?
Borges is credited with contributing to the science fiction genre and magical realism.
He's an influence upon W.G. Sebald and was a big admirer of Sir T.B. In fact nearly every major work by Borges, including his very last short story,'The Rose of Paracelsus' either makes reference to Browne or touches upon a Brunonian topic.