Jorge Luis Borges

Cansinos-Assens was an early mentor to Borges in Madrid. Fernandez was both friend and mentor back in Buenos Aires. Ocampo published his early work, and through her he met Reyes and Bioy Casares, who became a literary collaborator and lifelong friend. Neruda was another good friend, despite differences of opinion, while his relationship with Lorca (who did not like his poetry) was somewhat prickly. He may have met Calvino only once, near the end of their lives. Burgess joked to Borges that their names were the same; they spoke Anglo-Saxon with one another.