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Rare Books & Special Collections

Las manos de Borges, by Nicolás Cócaro

  • The title page of Las manos de Borges, by Nicolás Cócaro

    The title page of Las manos de Borges, by Nicolás Cócaro, with drawings by Elbio Fernández and commentary by eleven contemporaries of Borges.

  • The page with Nicolás Cócaro's commentary

    The page with Nicolás Cócaro's commentary. A transcription and translation into English of the last paragraph from his essay is presented below, along with a detail image of the accompanying drawing.

    (A larger scan of the whole page can also be viewed.)

  • Transcription of the last paragraph of Cócaro's commentary:

    Contradictorias, desamparadas, cautivantes, temblorosas. Manos. Manos para la creación; para la amistad; para el saludo; para el apretón cordial en cualquier esquina de cualquier calle porteña; para el vuelo del ala recién acariciada; para retener una rosa o una gota de rocío. Manos que añoran la batalla en la pampa abierta; manos que sienten y palpitan. Un cosmos. Un mundo; un ser con sus vicisitudes; un demoníaco luchar de sueño y realidad. Manos; manos de Jorge Luis Borges.

  • Translation:


    Contradictory, defenseless, captivating, trembling. Hands. Hands meant for creation; for friendship; for a cordial handshake on any corner of any street in Buenos Aires; for the flight of a wing recently caressed; to hold onto a rose or a dewdrop. Hands that yearn for battle in the open pampas; hands that feel and throb. A cosmos. A world; a being with vicissitudes; a demonic struggle between dream and reality. Hands; the hands of Jorge Luis Borges.

Detail of the drawing from the page with Nicolás Cócaro's commentary.