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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier New">From: "James Wynn" <crushtv@gmail.com></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier New">To: "The Urth Mailing List" <urth@lists.urth.net></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier New">Subject: Re: (urth) The Guild's Revolutionary</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier New">Message-ID: <CB1CCF052BBA41FABC5DAC6EE841F2BE@eMachinePC></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier New">Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier New">reply-type=original</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier New">>>For instance, I was all aboard the "Nessus is Buenos Aires" train when</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier New">>>I read _BotNS_ first at 13 or 14, because I was also in the throes of a</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier New">>>Borges phase and Master Ultan was obviously, clearly, no question</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier New">>>about it, Borges. Same with "Baldanders."</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier New">>>Later I found out this might be controversial.</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier New">>I've always thought the Borges=Ultan theory was tenuous. Not impossible, </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier New">>just not much supporting it beyond Utlan's blindness. Borges is a great </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier New">>writer, but other than "The Book of Imaginary Beings" which cites the </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier New">>Baldanders, I haven't noted much influence from him. Of course, that might </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier New">>be due to a deficiency in my Borges knowledge.</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier New">In terms of Borges influencing Wolfe (in general and BOTNS in particular),</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier New">the Borges story Funes the Memorious features a character who remembers </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier New">everything in perfect detail, full text available here:</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Courier New"><A HREF="http://evans-experientialism.freewebspace.com/borges.htm">http://evans-experientialism.freewebspace.com/borges.htm</A></FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Gene Wolfe has also commented on the influence of Borges:</FONT>
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<P><B><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">GW:</FONT></B><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman"> Yes, I took the name of the giant who is still growing from<I> The Book of Imaginary Beings,</I> </FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">which may not be Borges's best work but which I felt free to steal from disgracefully because even </FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">second-rate Borges is very good indeed. Borges is capable of making up much better books and </FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman">monsters and authors than anyone can find in libraries.</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Source: <A HREF="http://www.themodernword.com/borges/borges_infl_wolfe.html">http://www.themodernword.com/borges/borges_infl_wolfe.html</A></FONT>
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