Inspector of Poultry and Rabbits

At least three literary birthdays today – Max Beerbohm (born 1872, a birthday I've marked more than once on this blog), Jean Rhys (born 1890, on the Caribbean island of Dominica) and Jorge Luis Borges, mentioned here the other day as a literary librarian. His library career took an interesting turn in 1946, when the dictator Perón got him dismissed from his post as a municipal librarian in Buenos Aires and 'reassigned' as an inspector of poultry and rabbits at public markets. This calculated insult was a punishment for his and his family's vocal opposition to Peronism, and Borges did not endure it for long. After Perón was ousted, Borges was appointed director of the National Library, a post he held until he resigned in disgust when Perón returned from exile in 1973.