SOURCE: "Borges: His Recent Poetry," in Chasqui, Vol. IV, No. 1, November, 1974, pp. 19-33.

In the following interview, Lewald and Borges discuss several common themes in Borges 's poetry.

[H. Ernest Lewald]: In this interview I would like to ask a few questions about certain themes that I feel recur in your poetry …

[J. L. Borges]: Go ahead.

I shall name just a few and then I'll just ask about seven specific questions.

Seven is the magic number, no?

Maybe.

Yes, there are seven planets, seven days of the week …

Right.

Seven wonders of the world …

And I think according to Aristotle man becomes mature at 49, but it's just a game.

It's a game; the same with us. People say that Adam was born at the age of 33 in order to identify him with the second Adam, no? Christ. They also draw a parallel between the Cross and the...