ABSTRACT
In the fifth part of his encyclopaedic masterpiece, 2666, Roberto Bolaño presents the reader with a cameo appearance of a young Irish waiter who bears an uncanny resemblance to James Joyce. The sudden presence of a Joyce lookalike surprises the reclusive German writer Benno von Archimboldi, who is as much intrigued as amused by the situation. The Spanish Ultraists produced full-blooded manifestos, practised automatic writing, and founded the magazine Ultra, which became the official medium of their new poetic credo. Borges's principal contribution to the development of Ultraism is undoubtedly the remapping and importation of the movement, as he auspiciously led its migration to the Southern Continent of the Americas in 1921. As Borges and Bolaño gradually shift from the youthful tone of their early writings to the stylistic canonicity of their mature prose, their creative gestures towards Joyce also evolve.
