HEALIGAN'S SECOND HOME: Magic Realism/Americas

05 April 2009

Magic Realism/Americas

FYI Leslie--scribd copy of Labrythine. Contains many of Borges's stories and essays, with a good dose of philosphy, could be useful. What other story do I want them to read?http://www.scribd.com/doc/12898247/LABRYNTHCOLECTION-OF-SHORT-STORIES-BY-LOUIS-BORGES
http://www.themodernword.com/borges/
Excellent site with bios and some criticism: http://www.suite101.com/
Here is a quote from Paulo Coelho's blog (which I accessed through Goodreads.com). I think it should provoke some discussion and also provide another platform for their assessment of magic realism. I admit I am grasping at straws: I have 5 weeks left with these seniors and they have already moved to another channel!PAULO COELHO’S BLOG-can be accessed on Goodreads
April 10, 2009
Question from Manuel:In your writing, how do you cope with the relationship between reality and fantasy?Coelho’s response:
I don’t distinguish reality from fantasy because I think that reality encompasses emotion, faith, fears… All these things we carry in our soul are certainly invisible to the eye – but not the heart.
We all know when we are sad, happy, nostalgic or enthusiastic. This emotional input then touches all the material things we do. In our work for instance this is obvious. It is impossible to perform a good work when we are down – and the opposite is equally true.
Furthermore, fantasy is not made up of unsubstantial dreams, fruitless desires. Fantasy is what feeds the imagination, is what drives us beyond what others may consider to be the limits. Fantasy is then constantly feeding the real world and this is why I believe that reality is the greatest mystery.

www.paulocoelho.com