Jorge Luis Borges en Danilo Kiš o la lección intertextual

Abstract

Few authors of the 20th century have had such a remarkable influence on the literature of other writers as Jorge Luis Borges. The impact of his works can be appreciated in all important national literatures; many writers have recognized his expertise and influence, some of them openly imitating him. In this respect, literature written in Serbo- Croatian is a special case, with a huge reception of his literature. The Borges “wave” arrived late to Yugoslavia, but with increased strength, and from the 1970s on the Argentinean author has remained one of the favourite writers amongst young readers. Local writers quickly absorbed all the aesthetic and conceptual developments of the author of Ficciones, even giving birth to a new trend called “Borgesian prose” which has given the world such remarkable authors as Milorad Pavic. Although not considered strictly a borgesist, Danilo Kis, one of the internationally best known Serbian authors, deserves special attention. Much of his work is marked in many ways by Borgesian stylistic and thematic influences. Numerous intertextualities make some of his texts a genuine dialogue with the Argentinean master. However, the high quality, originality and diversity of Kis’s work distinguish the Serbian author from the rest of the Balkan Borges’ followers. The present paper reviews the influences, references, allusions, appropriations and other intertextual links to Borges’ literature that can be found in works by Kis, from his first novels, where the influence is more subdued, through numerous references in A tomb for Boris Davidovich, to the already clearly Borgesian stories of The Encyclopaedia of the Dead.