From Homer’s epics to mainstream news stories have lives of their own—and humans may not
always control the narratives we create Combining ancient epic and myth with analogies
from biology and the natural world Joel P. Christensen explores the creative process and how
narratives develop. This bold work urges readers to treat narratives as living things with
their own agency in the world. Christensen starts by using Homeric epic to explore the way
language and meaning develop alongside audiences in complex ecosystems and then moves through
storytelling in the ancient Mediterranean over a thousand years. In this study which ranges
from the evolution of narratives to viral ideas and to the dangerous side of stories in mass
shootings and war we see how narratives function as independent entities with consequences
that cause lasting harm. Connecting his argument to the present day Christensen addresses
contemporary cultural panics including AI and ChatGPT “post-truth” or alt-facts in the
digital age and free speech and cancel culture. Storylife invites readers to rethink human
creativity the importance of collective actions and the lives we build together with and
against narrative. In an age rife with misinformation it is time to reconsider how much
control we have over stories and how to educate ourselves once we acknowledge the power that
narrative exerts over us.
