Alberto Manguel is the award-winning author of hundreds of works, most recently (in English) Packing My Library: An Elegy and Ten Digressions, Curiosity and All Men Are Liars. He lives in New York. Read more of his work at manguel.com and geist.com.
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Alberto Manguel
Hoping Against Hope
Kafka’s writing allows us intuitions and half-dreams but never total comprehension. more
The Armenian Question
"Sometimes, in politics or history, certain words, certain names are sufficient unto themselves: it is as if there were names that once pronounced require no further telling." more
Fist
Alberto Manguel examines the rich symbology of the fist, a primal symbol of rebellion and grief, across cultures and history. more
Not Finishing
"A library is never finished, only abandoned." Alberto Manguel on incompletion, voluntary interruption and the pleasure of the day before. more
A Novel for All Times
Alberto Manguel's column from Geist 93 about how the most important Turkish novelist of modern times took over fifty years to reach English-speaking audiences. more
The author, age fifteen, Patagonia
Face in the Mirror
What does it mean to "be" yourself? The face reflected in the mirror is unrecognizable. more
Neighbourhood of Letters
There are imaginary cities for scientists, vampires, lechers and even bad students—but what about writers? more
Paul Joseph
A Brief History of Tags
A reflection on the complex and often inexplicable process of bibliographic categorizations. more
Yehuda Elberg: In Memoriam
A writer whose work is among the most important contributions to the literature of the Holocaust is forgotten by almost all. more
How to Talk About Books We Haven’t Read, Part Two
I’ve now read Comment parler des livres que l’on n’a pas lus? and I’m happy to say that I was right. more
Photo: Hobvias Sudoneighm
Power to the Reader
"Since the beginning of time (the telling of which is also a story), we have known that words are dangerous creatures." more
Tower of Babel (1563) by Pieter Brueghel the Elder (1526/1530-1569)
Observer and Observed
Alberto Manguel reflects on art as a witness to the human desire to be infinite and eternal. more
Photo by Alfred Cheney Johnston
Facing the Camera
How much does a photograph really capture the essence of a person? more
Cri de Coeur
Compared to today's vile heros, Ned Kelly-the Australian outlaw who wrote the angry, articulate Jerilderie letter in 1879-seems as innocent as an ogre-slaughtering hero of fairy tales. more
Metamorphoses
Alberto Manguel compares his life in the French countryside to that of Cain, whom God despised for being a settled crop farmer, and whom he punished by forcing him to wander. more
Burning Mistry
Alberto Manguel examines a modern-day book burning and asks: how is this still happening? more
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