HOFSTRA CULTURAL CENTER presents a conference

Borges and Us:
Then and Always

Friday and Saturday
November 13 and 14, 2009

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Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) - or Borges, as he preferred to be called - was undeniably the father of the revolution that took place in the 1950s and 1960s in Latin American fiction. As George McMurray states, "his metaphysical themes and stylistic innovations inspired" a younger generation of writers to abandon local realism and messages of social protest for topics with greater philosophical content and aesthetic worth. A sophisticated reader, he turned his mind into his library. And in that library, he found the refuge he needed. Confronted with the chaos of the world, he chose the orderliness of books and, confronted with reality, he renounced it because of its impenetrable nature. He - or his other - wrote stories about other stories, and fiction about other fiction. And he - or his other - restored imagination as a major fictional ingredient in Latin American Literature.

The Hofstra Cultural Center is proud to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Borges' birth with a two-day conference of presentations and discussions on the essence and legacy of his canonical fictive prose.

A letter of intent, a two-page abstract (in English or Spanish) and a curriculum vitae must be received by March 6, 2009, (deadline extended) and should be sent to:

Conference on Borges
Hofstra Cultural Center
113 Hofstra University
Hempstead, NY 11549-1130
Tel: (516) 463-5669
Fax: (516) 463-4793
E-mail

Notification of acceptance will be sent by April 17, 2009. If accepted, final papers (limited to 12 typed pages, double-spaced, excluding notes, and in duplicate) are due by August 1, 2009. Previously presented papers or published materials may not be submitted. Presentation time for papers is limited to 20 minutes. 

Conference Director:
Dr. Nora de Marval-McNair
Professor of Spanish
Hofstra University

Conference Coordinators:
Natalie Datlof
Executive Director
Hofstra Cultural Center
Athelene A. Collins
Senior Associate Director
Hofstra Cultural Center