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Jorge Luis Borges' 'The Library of Babel' - Short Story Appreciation Masterclass (Patreon)

Published:

2021-05-28 15:30:30

Imported:

2026-06

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Jorge Luis Borges' 'The Library of Babel' is one of my all-time-favourite short stories.

Borges is dense, difficult, speculative poeticism.

He is one of the most important Argentine writers and his ficciones offer a cerebral pleasure quite different from those gifted to us by Chekhov and Turgenev.

His stories are more akin to chess games, crossword puzzles, or math problems than immersive imaginative worlds.

This particular story explores the infinite monkey theorem, but with a library and books instead of primates and typewriters.

This story also contains the meaning of life, and is well worth your time to quietly and carefully reread.

I am working from the Everyman's Library edition of Borges' Ficciones in which 'The Library of Babel' is housed along with many more triumphs of short fiction.

Masterclass Timestamps:

0:00 Borges is dense speculative poeticism
1:00 the Latin American literary tradition
2:00 Borges vs Chekhov
2:30 infinite monkeys and typewriters theorem
4:00 mirrors and labyrinths
4:30 “The universe, which others call the Library”
9:00 Paradise Lost parallels
10:00 “that for which we find words for is already dead in our hearts” (Nietzsche)
10:30 “If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite.” (Blake)
11:30 an Emily Dickinson breadcrumb for you to follow
14:30 “that cyclical book is God” - God is at the circumference
15:30 what is God? Where is God? “Comparing the distance between the divine and human”
16:00 “man’s reach should exceed his grasp or what’s a heaven for?” (Browning)
16:10 the nature of “ab aeterno” - from, but not until, eternity
16:30 refuting the Nietzschean idea of eternal recurrence (near eternal recurrence)
17:00 is eternity, and time, behind us? All around us?
19:00 O Time your pyramids
19:50 is meaning accidental?
20:05 is thought infinite? Is our ability to express ourselves finite?
21:00 if you hunt for God within the finite, you will not find him
23:00 digital equivalent of the Library of Babel
24:00 the minute history of the future, biographies of archangels (my favourite passage in all of literature)
24:40 the nature of infinity
25:17 monitor the excitement you feel at these words
25:55 the possibility of finding your own Vindication is so unlikely it might as well be impossible
26:20 the Library of Babel is not infinite
27:00 the meaning of life
28:30 “the limitless dimensions of hope”
29:40 we’re reading a metaphor for human history up until this point
30:20 uncommon hope followed by deep depression
31:00 the problem with censorship
32:00 evocations of the religious Crusades
33:23 do you understand quantum mechanics?
34:00 do you see the same heaven as me? Do you feel the same hell?
35:30 why Borges’ short ficciones are so short
36:30 “you who read me - are you sure you understand my language?”
38:00 the “unique human species” - artificial intelligence and human consciousness
38:30 humans will extinct themselves
39:58 “the Library is limitless and periodic” (repeated disorder is order itself)
40:45 what do you make of this story?

I would be extremely keen to hear your thoughts on this story.

How was Borges for you?

Happy reading!

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Jorge Luis Borges' 'The Library of Babel' - Short Story Appreciation Masterclass

0:00 Borges is dense speculative poeticism 1:00 the Latin American literary tradition 2:00 Borges vs Chekhov 2:30 infinite monkeys and typewriters theorem 4:00 mirrors and labyrinths 4:30 “The universe, which others call the Library” 9:00 Paradise Lost parallels 10:00 “that for which we find words for is already dead in our hearts” (Nietzsche) 10:30 “If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite.” (Blake) 11:30 an Emily Dickinson breadcrumb for you to follow 14:30 “that cyclical book is God” - God is at the circumference 15:30 what is God? Where is God? “Comparing the distance between the divine and human” 16:00 “man’s reach should exceed his grasp or what’s a heaven for?” (Browning) 16:10 the nature of “ab aeterno” - from, but not until, eternity 16:30 refuting the Nietzschean idea of eternal recurrence (near eternal recurrence) 17:00 is eternity, and time, behind us? All around us? 19:00 O Time your pyramids 19:50 is meaning accidental? 20:05 is thought infinite? Is our ability to express ourselves finite? 21:00 if you hunt for God within the finite, you will not find him 23:00 digital equivalent of the Library of Babel 24:00 the minute history of the future, biographies of archangels (my favourite passage in all of literature) 24:40 the nature of infinity 25:17 monitor the excitement you feel at these words 25:55 the possibility of finding your own Vindication is so unlikely it might as well be impossible 26:20 the Library of Babel is not infinite 27:00 the meaning of life 28:30 “the limitless dimensions of hope” 29:40 we’re reading a metaphor for human history up until this point 30:20 uncommon hope followed by deep depression 31:00 the problem with censorship 32:00 evocations of the religious Crusades 33:23 do you understand quantum mechanics? 34:00 do you see the same heaven as me? Do you feel the same hell? 35:30 why Borges’ short ficciones are so short 36:30 “you who read me - are you sure you understand my language?” 38:00 the “unique human species” - artificial intelligence and human consciousness 38:30 humans will extinct themselves 39:58 “the Library is limitless and periodic” (repeated disorder is order itself) 40:45 what do you make of this story?