December 19, 2006 Jorge Luis Borges and the Kabbalah is Subject of Jan. 16 Program

Mirta Kupferminc and Saul Sosnowski will discuss their book “Borges and the Kabbalah: Paths to the Word” at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 16, in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the Library’s James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C. The authors will also present a short documentary about the making of the book.

Sponsored jointly by the Hispanic Division and the Hebrew Language Table, the event is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required.

Kupferminc, an Argentine artist, and Saul Sosnowski, professor and associate provost for international affairs at the University of Maryland, have joined forces to produce this limited edition, which has been described as a dialogue between image and text. The book integrates Borges’ writings, Kupferminc’s original etchings, traditional Jewish texts, and commentaries and poems written by Sosnowski.

Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) was an Argentine writer and one of the foremost literary figures of the 20th century. Best known for his short stories and poetry, he was also a critic, translator and man of letters. The authors demonstrate how Borges crafted his literary works from a number of fundamental notions about the Kabbalah, Jewish mystical doctrine.