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Borges introduced Kafka's writing to Argentina, publishing essays about and translating his works starting in the 1930s. He admired Kafka's stories for being both timely and timeless, and for springing from personal circumstances yet resonating widely. It was for these reasons that Borges felt Kafka's writing should be part of Argentina's cultural patrimony. Borges openly borrowed from Kafka for 'La lotería en Babilonia' and 'La biblioteca de Babel', stories that used Kafkaesque concepts of subordination and infinity. Although unacknowledged, he also seems to have drawn on Kafka for two stories about authorship: 'Examen de la obra de Herbert Quain' and 'El milagro secreto'. Borges believed that the works of a later author could influence a reader's interpretation of an earlier one. By employing this principle for a reading of Borges and Kafka, it is possible to reconsider Kafka in light of the stories he inspired Borges to write. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]