Jorge Luis Borges is one of the great literary heroes of Argentina. Born in Argentina, Borges spent several years in Europe as a child and was educated in English as well as Spanish. As an adult he returned to Argentina to write and work as a professor of English. Artistically rebellious, Borges wrote poems and stories which are imaginative and often puzzling, many of them vehicles for complex philosophical themes. His 1944 collection of short stories, Ficciones, is widely regarded as his masterwork. Prolific and smart as all get-out, Borges also wrote allegories, fantasies and even detective stories.