On Borrowed Words: A Memoir of Language

Ilan Stavans

2001

Sensitive Content

This text recounts acts of antisemitic violence. The text provides insight into Jewish history; however, The Posen Library does not condone or promote violence of any kind.

[…] [I]f suddenly Mexico and Israel went to war, on which side would I fight? My cowardly answer was plain and simple: “I really wasn’t cut out to be a soldier. So on neither one, since I’m a pacifist.”

Well, at least I thought so, but my recruitment by Bitakhon, which took place during my last year of high school, I took more seriously. It was…

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Creator Bio

Ilan Stavans

b. 1961

Ilan Stavans was born and raised in Mexico City and moved to the United States in 1985. His essays, stories, cultural analyses, and translations reflect his interest in immigrant groups and popular culture, especially Jewish and Spanish culture. Stavans is a professor of Latino and Latin American culture at Amherst College. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship, Chile’s Presidential Medal, and the National Jewish Book Award.

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