(Nimue, review)
Econarrative, by Arran Stibbe follows on from his book on ecolinguistics and the stories we live by. This is a book exploring the way in which stories impact on our relationship with the world. It ranges widely, taking in religion, science, advertising and fiction to look at how the mechanics of a story inform people's thinking.
These are important considerations for anyone on the bard path. How do we talk about the living world? What can we do that would be helpful? What's acting on us, and on the people around us? There's a lot of material here to inspire and engage you.
While the author has gone to some effort to make the book as accessible as possible, it is quite a demanding read. It's not impenetrable for the non-expert (me). If you aren't in the habit of reading more academically orientated writing then expect to have to move slowly. This is a densely packed book with a lot of ideas in it. However, it has been written to be used by people who want to think about how they tell stories and what impact their words might have. This is a text for leaders, teachers and of course... bards and Druids. Although we aren't the target audience it is absolutely relevant reading for anyone on this path.
Language is a powerful thing that impacts on us emotionally in ways we aren't always conscious of. Skilfully used stories and ways of telling them can persuade us without even alerting us to the ways in which we are being persuaded. I was really glad to see adverts treated as a genre and analysed in this way - I have a lot of issues with the way adverts impact on us, especially the subtext in adverts and it's great seeing someone take this on with the skills to thoroughly dismantle how it works.
I found this book hard work - but that's not a complaint. It is a demanding read, and also a rewarding one and has given me a great deal to think about that I will certainly be taking into my own writing.
More on the publisher's website https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/econarrative-9781350263147/
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