Borges, Cortazar, Magical Realism & Argentina
Argentina
Argentina
Argentina
This video will lead you to a series of short "travel" videos for the country. You may use them as inspiration for settings. In the lab later today, please view, read, and take notes on these three areas linked below:
WRITING IDEA: Make a list of natural items: grapes, trees, horses, etc. and/or cultural ideas from Argentina: the Tango, gauchos, cuisine, soccer teams, etc. and combine them with startling metaphors. To do this, first make a list of non-related verbs and nouns. Then juxtapose them in surprising ways in the style of Storni's poetry. You may also tap into more sexual imagery, if you are so inclined.
Argentine literature is infused with the element of magical realism. Magical realism is a style of literature that has its roots in German art, akin to surrealism in the 1940's-1950's, but was created in Latin America as a literary form. As a style of literature it snakes its way into Argentina as a continuation of the avant garde style mostly through the writings of Jorges Luis Borges and Julio Cortazar (see below for details).
Functionally, it is a style of writing that "happens when a highly detailed, realistic setting is invaded by something too strange to believe."
Magical Realism qualities/features:
Information about Jorges Luis Borges and Julio Cortazar can be found here. Borges interview video (subtitled).
In the lab today, after our reading, please learn more about these authors and take notes on the magical realist style. Note the influence of such things in the short stories "The Verb to Kill", "There's a Man in the Habit of Hitting Me on the Head With an Umbrella", "A Continuity of Parks", "The Circular Ruins", "The Library of Babel","Don't You Blame Anyone", etc.
HOMEWORK: Please finish any of the stories/poetry you have not yet read by Argentine writers. View the videos, take notes on the geography and culture of Argentina that you did not yet get to in the lab. Use any of these settings to start a story. Use any of the writings as a model for your own creative response. Use any of the poems as models for your own ideas. Write, write, write. Continue your comic book project.
Argentina
Argentina
This video will lead you to a series of short "travel" videos for the country. You may use them as inspiration for settings. In the lab later today, please view, read, and take notes on these three areas linked below:
- Argentina Overview
- Argentina history.
- Argentina provinces.
- Argentina Culture
- Argentina News (current newspaper in English)
WRITING IDEA: Make a list of natural items: grapes, trees, horses, etc. and/or cultural ideas from Argentina: the Tango, gauchos, cuisine, soccer teams, etc. and combine them with startling metaphors. To do this, first make a list of non-related verbs and nouns. Then juxtapose them in surprising ways in the style of Storni's poetry. You may also tap into more sexual imagery, if you are so inclined.
MAGICAL REALISM
Argentine literature is infused with the element of magical realism. Magical realism is a style of literature that has its roots in German art, akin to surrealism in the 1940's-1950's, but was created in Latin America as a literary form. As a style of literature it snakes its way into Argentina as a continuation of the avant garde style mostly through the writings of Jorges Luis Borges and Julio Cortazar (see below for details).
Functionally, it is a style of writing that "happens when a highly detailed, realistic setting is invaded by something too strange to believe."
Magical Realism qualities/features:
- Fantastic elements juxtaposed with reality or ordinary life
- Dream-like events/sequences
- A sense of infinity. Stories play with cause and effect (plot), or time. Often there is a chronological disruption reflecting infinity.
- Stories and/characters have a quality of the carnival-esque
- Characters often don't react or notice supernatural events (they often don't question why something happens, but dwell on minute details). This lack of shock therefore transfers to the reader
- Stories often have the quality of metafiction (rules of fiction are broken or self referenced)
- Stories often include irony and symbolism
- Metaphor is often made literal
- Stories often have complex, labyrinthine plots
- Ordinary life becomes "special" or "extraordinary" by defamiliarizing reality
- Themes include: solitude, borders, change/transformation and are a mix of reality and fantasy
Julio Cortazar
Jorges Luis Borges
Information about Jorges Luis Borges and Julio Cortazar can be found here. Borges interview video (subtitled).
In the lab today, after our reading, please learn more about these authors and take notes on the magical realist style. Note the influence of such things in the short stories "The Verb to Kill", "There's a Man in the Habit of Hitting Me on the Head With an Umbrella", "A Continuity of Parks", "The Circular Ruins", "The Library of Babel","Don't You Blame Anyone", etc.
HOMEWORK: Please finish any of the stories/poetry you have not yet read by Argentine writers. View the videos, take notes on the geography and culture of Argentina that you did not yet get to in the lab. Use any of these settings to start a story. Use any of the writings as a model for your own creative response. Use any of the poems as models for your own ideas. Write, write, write. Continue your comic book project.
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