SOURCE: “Whitman as Inscribed in Borges,” translated with Daniel Balderston, in Borges the Poet, edited by Carlos Cortinez, The University of Arkansas Press, 1986, pp. 219–30.

In the following excerpt, Bastos argues that Walt Whitman is a major influence on Borges's poetry.

1. the Wish to Express the Totality of Life

In 1925, referring to the extreme subjectivity typical of nineteenth century esthetics, Borges pointed out: “… any frame of mind, however extraneous, can become the focus of our attention; in its brief totality, it may be our essence. If translated into the language of literature, this means that trying to express oneself and having the wish to express the totality of life are but one and the same thing.” Whitman was the first Atlas attempting to bring such a challenge into action, and he lifted the world upon his shoulders.²

Years before, the young Borges, astounded by Whitman's ambitious task,³ wrote verses...