Summer 2002 Research Report Samuel Monder Department of Spanish and Portuguese "Thinking Fiction: Philosophical Narratives in 20th Century Argentina"

I am currently working on a doctoral dissertation on philosophy and literature in 20th century Argentina. I am concerned with a very peculiar kind of literary tradition that blends theory and fiction in just one piece of writing. Contrary to the philosophical novels of the European kind (Dostoevski, Proust, Mann), this mixture is usually so well conceived that it is difficult to perceive the limits between rigorous thought and pure fantasy.

Borges is the most famous author among those who write philosophical fictions in Argentina. Part of my dissertation deals with his work (chapters 1 and 2), but I am also concerned with other writers. The goal of my trip to Buenos Aires was to review some bibliographical materials that I will use for the chapters devoted to the works of Macedonio Fernández and Witold Gombrowicz.

Macedonio Fernández is often considered to be just a picturesque character, a witty joker, but not a real writer; still, he is the undeniable source of the philosophical themes of Borges, whose metaphysical fictions are unthinkable without him.
Macedonio developed a highly unusual kind of writing (such an unusual kind, he was not even considered a “real” writer). How was it possible? My question is not about the origins of a style, nor is it about the creation of a unique genre, but about the intellectual context of a strikingly different discourse.

The trip to Argentina allowed me to hold in my hands some of the literary magazines where Macedonio published his articles. The National Library of Buenos Aires keeps the complete edition of the periódico “Martín Fierro”. This periodical, which appeared twice a month during the 1920’s, was not just a literary magazine, but it was a “Periódico quincenal de arte y crítica libre”, as it called itself: a periodical with a broad cultural scope. Not only did it gave an account of the current issues in the literary world: it didn’t even conceive of literature as a discipline evolving outside of the artistic experiments and revolutions of the time. Every issue of the magazine would cover a broad number of subjects: painting, architecture, film reviews, book reviews, poems, etc.

Let’s take an example: the issue of September/October of 1924. We find an article by Xul Solar praising Pettoruti, the Argentinean cubist artist, followed by a long article on the “Salón Nacional de Pintura” (a very important nationwide art contest), a note by Borges on the poetry of Nora Lange, and several poems by diverse authors. In this context we have an article by Macedonio: “Oratoria del hombre confuso” ("Oratory of the Confused Man"), which is neither about painting, nor about poetry. As a matter of fact, it appears to be just a long succession of linguistic puns.

What is the place of Macedonio’s articles in this context? After reviewing the totality of the Martín Fierro collection, what struck me was the lack of sophisticated theoretical debate in a vanguardist periodical, where some of the best minds of the moment participated. The European vanguard, as an aesthetic, was barely distinguishable from a highly elaborated theoretical discourse. There were plenty of debates, manifestos, contra-manifestos, etc., etc. And sometimes those discussions were even more interesting than the actual production of the artists. However, in the case of Martín Fierro, the role of Macedonio, the most original thinker at that time, is that of a humorist. His notes are the equivalent to graphic humor in a contemporary newspaper. Of course, his jokes are of a verbal kind. But the fact is that, when we review all of those seemingly humorous notes, when we piece them all together, it becomes apparent that they are part of a deep theoretical concern, as Macedonio is working during those years in a revolutionary literary theory.

In my chapter on Macedonio, I will have to deal with these strategies of the joker: how do Macedonio’s antics relate to a serious aesthetic project? We should bear in mind that the XX-century literary theory is full of theories where irony plays a central role (Ortega, Lukács, Bakhtin); the truth is that we have many theories of irony, but almost no ironists. Maybe Macedonio does not want to have just a theory; he wants to practice what he preaches.

Witold Gombrowicz, a Polish immigrant, had come to Argentina as a tourist in 1939. After learning about the German invasion to Poland, he decided to remain in Argentina. Unfortunately, the Argentinean writers, Borges included, completely ignored him when he lived in Buenos Aires.

During the 1940’s Gombrowicz published in a women’s magazine -Aquí está-, under the pseudonym of Alejandro Ianka. These articles have not been collected yet in any single publication. The National Library of Buenos Aires keeps the entire collection of Aquí está, and thus I had the opportunity to take a look at these rare pieces of writing.

Aquí está was the Argentinean equivalent to a magazine that, today, would mix many popular magazines in one: it had fashion, pictures of gorgeous girls in swimming suits, pictures of famous smiling actors, politics, gossip, curiosities, science made plain, history and more gossip. What did Gombrowicz have to do with a magazine like this? We have to bear in mind that Borges also wrote for a similar media: El Hogar. However, Borges is always Borges. His articles in El Hogar are compatible with some of his best essay writing. Evidently, Borges’ articles are out place in such a magazine. Gombrowicz's case is quite different. At first glance, his articles seem disappointing. He seems to accommodate to the lowest expectations of a public who enjoys simple fairy tales. And he does write fairy tales. But what he does is something else too. Reviewing his work, we can find romantic stories, all dressed up with the conventions of a soap opera. But a closer reading shows a great deal of irony. For instance, he is recasting the history of Poland, with its kings, princesses and warriors, into a soup opera. There is a tension between the content of the story and its form. He wanders between history and fiction: and it is hard to say when he is telling the truth and when he is making up things; when he is serious and when he is laughing. The deconstruction of the great historical narratives of the European civilization is, here, a matter of voice, something that is achieved with just a subtle change of intonation.

Not only did my visit to Buenos Aires allow me to work in the periodical section of the National Library. I also contacted some colleagues working on literature and philosophy and was able to exchange ideas with them. No doubt about it, the time I spent in the library and the conversations I had with my colleagues will make a significant contribution to the writing of my dissertation.