‘The Library of Babel’ may not be Borges’ most riveting story from a narrative perspective, but I find it most compelling conceptually. I spent hours exploring every corner of my college library stacks, so the thought of a library that contains every combination of letters in the human language is just too thrilling. There’s something exciting and reassuring about the idea that the perfect words are out there; you just have to claim them as yours. (Bonus: a curious soul programmed a virtual version of the library. Check it out here… the potential for writing prompts is endless.)
First published in Spanish as ‘La biblioteca de Babel’ in El jardín de los senderos que se bifurcan, Sur, 1941. First published in English in Labyrinths, New Directions, 1962, and Fictions, Grove Press, 1962
A Personal Anthology 