INTERVIEWER
You have said at various times that, for you, literature is like a game. In what ways?
[JULIO] CORTAZAR
For me, literature is a form of play. But I’ve always added that there are two forms of play: football, for example, which is basically a game, and then games that are very profound and serious. When children play, though they’re amusing themselves, they take it very seriously. It’s important. It’s just as serious for them now as love will be ten years from now. I remember when I was little and my parents used to say, “Okay, you’ve played enough, come take a bath now.” I found that completely idiotic, because, for me, the bath was a silly matter. It had no importance whatsoever, while playing with my friends was something serious. Literature is like that–it’s a game, but it’s a game one can put one’s life into. One can do everything for that game.
(from the Paris Review, Issue 93, Fall 1984)
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Though I'm sure people who play football for a living would probably disagree with part of that statement, I am loath to point out. I’m too primitive not to.