https://poetrydispatch.wordpress.com/2008/05/15/jorge-luis-borges-the-destiny-of-borges/
THE DESTINY OF BORGES From an interview with Jorge Luis Borges, in Habitus 03, conducted in 1984 at the University of Buenos Aires by philosophy professors Tomas Abraham, Alejandro Russovich, and Enrique Man. Translated from the Spanish by Jennifer Acker.
ALEJANDRO RUSSOVICH: We begin.
JORGE LUIS BORGES: In the beginning, bereshit bara elohim, no?
RUSSOVICH: Bereshit bara elohim et ha’shamayim v’et ha’aretz, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
BORGES: No, the gods created.
RUSSOVICH: Ah, “gods.” Elohim is plural. Borges knows more. [Laughter.]
TOMAS ABRAHAM: Today, philosophy invites poetry to a discussion. We have a poet—
BORGES: Supposedly.
ABRAHAM: A supposed poet, then, of whom we can ask what relationships exist between philosophy and poetry.
BORGES: Some time ago I said that philosophy is a fantastic branch of study. But I didn’t mean anything against philosophy. On the contrary, it can be said that it is exactly the same as poetry, although the syntax is from two distinct places, and that philosophy deserves a place in the order of aesthetics. If you look at theology or philosophy as fantastic literature, you’ll see that they are much more ambitious than poetry. What works of poetry are comparable to something as astonishing as Spinoza’s god: an infinite substance endowed with infinite attributes? Every philosophy creates a world with its own special laws, and these models may or may not be fantastic, but it doesn’t matter. I’ve entered into poetry, and also fables— that is, I’m not a novelist. I’ve read very few novels in my life; for me the foremost novelist is Joseph Conrad.