Infinity

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As a I concluded reading the Library of Babel by Jorge Luis Borges, my thoughts remained filled with the concept of only having a finite number of things within in an infinite space. The Library, or the Universe, is as Borges describes, “indefinite and perhaps infinite,” it stretches into vast galleries and hexagons, yet, all the books in the library reach a total number, somewhere on the library shelves the rows of books end although there is space for them to reach and take up space forever. It feels disappointing that there could not be an endless amount of books. I view this as a representation of humanity reflecting on its own limits, that although we live it what may be an infinitely stretching universe, we only fill a few rows of it’s shelves and one day the last human, the last book, will form their last thought and word, and complete the collection of books. It is also a reflection of a single person realizing their limitations. If all books that could ever be written are already written and bound on the shelves, what more could one person contribute to the Library, they must only read or attempt to search for meaning and themselves among the pages.

I have heard before that it is nearly impossible to know if you have a truly original thought that no one has ever had before, even if right now in your head you try to form the most random idea, how would you know you were the first person to ever think that out of the billions of people who have ever existed? Within the Library of Babel there all books that could ever exist, potentially holding all thoughts that could ever exist. Even within the infinity there might be a limit to the total amount of thoughts and ideas that humanity could ever think of, and what happens if the amount of new ideas becomes so very limited, how do we create new thoughts, how do we know they are new?

Week 1: 👋🙂

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Hi! I’m Raine Porath (he/him), a grad student starting my second year of the MALAS program. I did my undergrad in English & Comparative Literature here at SDSU, and am now researching digital and popular cultures through a disability studies framework. In my downtime, I make comics and read/watch/play everything horror.

I’m lucky to work as Writing Fellow for the ECL Department, which gives me the opportunity to liaison between students and faculty. If you’re interested in sharing your ideas for department events and letting us know what you need to succeed as an ECL student, there’s a new Student Outreach Survey you can complete here!

I’m also working on CAPTION, the new e-lit imprint of SDSU Press. If you’re a digital creative of any medium, I’d love to chat about your work and opportunities for publication or collaboration.

I’m psyched to be learning alongside you all, and I hope we find joy in caring about books, the world, and each other. 🕮

Introduction

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Hi guys, I’m Janesa!

I’m a junior who just transferred to sdsu from Glendale Community College with an AA in Liberal Arts. I’m finishing a bachelors in English and Comparative Lit here for the next two years. I love writing, reading, and hope to be an editor.

I’m from Santa Clarita, where Magic Mountain is, about 45 minutes from Downtown La. I don’t think there’s much else to the town, but there is some filming done and gold was first found in California in our town. I do like our proximity to La though and love the places I’ve been able to go because of it. I loved my time going to Glendale, which has amazing Armenian food, and near is Pasadena which is really cute.

My hobbies are dancing, baking, and going to coffee shops. My two home away from homes are my old dance studio and any cafe because of how much time I do or used to spend there. I will immediately say yes if anyone wants to go to a coffee shop or ballet, which my favorites are Romeo and Juliet and The Rite of Spring(the music is crazy, it was actually so badly received, the audience started a riot). I also really love fashion and music, my favorites being 60’s and 90’s for both. My favorites are The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Sam Cook, and currently Laufey.

The photo upload keeps not working so I can’t put one here, but it was a photo of me in a bookshop in Pike Place in Seattle. For reference to point me out, I’m 5 foot and have brown hair.

Introduction: Dakota Goodman

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Hello, I am Dakota, and I am a senior who is graduating in the spring and also pursuing the editing and publishing certificate. This is my second year here at SDSU since I transferred from Grossmont College. I hope to join the MFA program after I graduate. 

I grew up here in San Diego and have no plans of moving since I love this city. When I am not in class, I am working at an elementary school as a student helper, trying my best to convince fourth and fifth-graders to read more books. While I don’t want to become a teacher, I surprisingly love this job and the kids that I work with. I am always having the best conversations with ten-year-olds. They are the weirdest and funniest people that I know. In the future, I hope to be an editor working with a publishing house and help authors achieve their hopes and dreams. 

I have always been passionate about books since I was a child. I grew up reading Harry Potter with my parents and having long discussions about it during breakfast on the weekends. Even now, my parents will still listen to me rant about books. Books were what got me through my elementary and middle school years as a form of escapism. I was able to slip through the cracks and sink into whatever fantasy world I found comforting. Now the tables have turned, and I am the one who is creating worlds at my fingertips. I am currently writing the first book in a fantasy trilogy. It has been a passion project of mine for the past few years, which I hope to publish soon. 

To me, books are extremely precious and something to be cherished, which is why I am taking this class. I loved the idea of learning about the history of the book as a physical being and as an art medium. I think that it is easy to forget that books are an art form. It’s easy to boil them down to words on a page, so I have never really taken much thought into what makes a book a book. I hope that this class helps me reimagine books in a new way that reignites the love that I have for them. 

I look forward to working with you all in this class!

Introduction-Demree McGhee

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Hello, my name is Demree. I’m a third year MFA (fiction) student. This is my last year at San Diego State. I’ve taught RWS 100/200 courses before, in addition to teaching my first creative writing course last semester. A few months ago my first book, Sympathy for Wild Girls, was published by Feminist Press. I am very proud of this.

I was born in Lawton, Oklahoma, but I’ve lived in San Diego since I was six. These two places influence a lot of my writing. I like reading, but I wouldn’t say I’m obsessed with books themselves, unless they have some kind of particular meaning to me. I have a copy of James and the Giant Peach illustrated by the illustrator Lane Smith, which has a very special place in my heart.

I first became interested in books as object by listening to a podcast I like called Material Girls (formerly Witch Please) which analyzes pop culture through a materialist lens. It was formerly a Harry Potter recap/critique podcast. The hosts are two Canadian professors and they’ve frequently discussed books as an object of fetishization and an exclusionary capitalist tool. I’m very excited to expand upon the casual knowledge I have in this subject.

I find certain things visually and artistically appealing and inspiring: dogs, coyotes, the southwest, light, valley girls, bugs/parasites, satin/ribbon/bunches of fabric, grids, the virgin mary, megachurches, teeth, the ocean, mirrors.

Marginalia in the Library of Babel by Mark C. Marino – responce, Trinity Buck

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The short reading, Marginalia in the Library of Babel by Mark C. Marino, left a lasting impact on me after I read it, which I believe was his intention. This work follows Marino as he creates a powerful reader response to Borges’ work “Library of Babel” and shows the effect that was imprinted on him after he read it. Marino describes how he craves leaving his mark on the world the same way Babel left such a mark on him. This is represented in the quote, “But my machine is evolving the power of speech. It told me I was not alone, that I could leave a record of my footsteps, carve my marks upon the wall for those who discover my hexagonal cell. How can I not help but be gladdened by the possibility? Unless it is not a possibility. Unless I am, as always no more than a trace imagined by these packet-switching machines and their omniscient fiber-optics.” This quote not only represents Marino’s lust for leaving a record of his footsteps in the world, but the undeniable human instinct to want to make a change and leave the world different from which they came. Humans crave to be special and to never be forgotten after they’re gone because death is such a scary idea. However, being able to leave a lasting memory or impact makes it less frightening. This quote also represents an existential crisis, because he is going back and forth on whether or not this is a possibility, then becomes insecure, thinking that maybe he isn’t special and will just be forgotten after all. Another powerful idea discussed in this response by Marino is the idea of being able to leave your footprints and mark behind by writing in the margins of a novel. That in itself is a reader response, and if somebody finds that book one day, they will see the mark you have left. It is a small gesture that can leave a lasting impact. That’s why it is important to write in your books, because you never know who might read them after you do.

Introduction – Aron Abellera

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Hi everyone, I am Aron. I am in my fourth year of undergrad for my BA in English at SDSU, although this is only my second year as I transferred from Southwestern Community College. I was born here in San Diego and it has been my home for most of my life. I truly think it is America’s Finest City.

After I graduated high school, I chose to enlist in the U.S. Army as a medic. I was borrowed and lived a few years in the south, mainly between the Kentucky and Tennessee border, before returning back home to San Diego. A really cool moment in my life came when I lived in Africa for nine months and got to work with a group of children at an orphanage. They were incredibly energetic and smart kids which I had the pleasure of seeing on a near daily basis. They asked to read to me and I with them in our free time together.

I have really struggled with a lot of different aspects of my life since going back to school, including picking the right career path or major. I tried my hand at engineering, nursing, etc, and failed tremendously. I do love reading and writing though, and being able to choose what to think about or why something is important. So, my hope is to one day teach English and reinforce that same thinking, especially in these trying times. Because it is absolutely necessary. I look forward to learning so much from Professor Pressman and everyone this semester!

Introduction – Micaela Macario

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My name is Micaela Macario, and I am a first year graduate student in the MALAS program. For those who don’t know, MALAS stands for Master of Arts in Liberal Arts and Sciences. I was born and raised in San Diego (Chula Vista to be exact), but have been blessed to travel all over the country playing collegiate softball. I spent my first two years of undergrad at the University of Central Florida where I loved people, but not my environment. I made the decision to come back home, and have never been happier.

Throughout high school and college, I have always had the dream of becoming a nurse. I worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant in nursing homes over summers, where I later discovered that I have deep rooted passion for advocacy, especially in healthcare. I also worked as a Care Coordinator for a startup home care business that truly believed and implemented culture-centered care. My goal is to one day revolutionize Western medicine by including patient narratives, cultures, and experiences into healthcare and treatment plans.

Beyond my academia and career aspirations, I am a huge sports fanatic, especially when it comes to the Padres. If you are a dodger fan, I will not hate you, but I might give you a dirty look every once in a while. I love trying new coffee shops as I practically run on caffeine. So if anyone has any cool spots, please let me know!

All in all, I extremely excited to learn beside everyone!

Introduction – Jessica Johnson

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Hello! I’m Jessica Johnson and I’m a third year, expecting to graduate in the spring. I was born and raised in Orange County, California. Since, I haven’t lived anywhere else for more than a month, I would definitely like to move around places. I hope to go to grad school in Washington and then teacher English abroad (hopefully in Italy). My grandma is full Italian, but her parents wanted to Americanize her, so they never spoke to her in English. Unlike the rest of my family, I’m pretty interested in language, especially learning languages, so I would like to eventually speak fluent Italian. Don’t worry, I’ve already started learning on Duolingo! Should take me places.

To be honest, I still don’t have a set plan for life. I would love to also become a therapist, which means I’m in the wrong major. But, I can always start again later down the line. Aside from that, writing is my least expensive pastime. Writing is not easy, so I like solving something that doesn’t necessarily have a right or wrong answer. Traveling is my most expensive pastime. I mentioned in class that I would love to travel to every country, so might as well start off early with the small paychecks I get. So far, I’ve been to around 14 countries, so I have a long way to go but I am so excited about it!

To help fund my passions, I am currently a Writing Mentor in the RWS department. I’ve been a mentor since my freshman year, and it has genuinely been one of my favorite professional experiences. However, because of recent budget cuts, I am also working at San Diego Mesa College in the tutoring centers on campus.

I am also the co-President of the Creative Collective Magazine on campus. We are a student art magazine, and we print a collection of student art every semester. If you are interested in joining or collaborating, definitely reach out to me!!

I’m also a runner in the Women’s Run Club! It’s super fun (not in the heat). I’ve met a lot of great people there, so if you’re into running, I highly recommend you join. It is a very chill vibe, so don’t expect them to force you to sprint hills. However, if you like running long distance, I would totally run a half marathon with you!

Introduction- Jacob

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Hi everyone, I’m very excited to be a part of this class and contribute to a first-time(and hopefully not just one-time) course on the importance and pertinence of books. Retrospectively, the Digital Age has just dawned, yet technology keeps growing exponentially year after year. The topic of AI and its effects has been impossible to avoid, and I, along with many people, worry and have an anxious weariness about just how this will impact our lives, especially writing and all physical and digital media. With that being said, I am glad to know this class confronts all of that and more!