Abstract

The Forever Stories is a collection of seven interconnected short fictions that explore, allegorically, the human ability to make, revise, and remove meaning across time, age, and social, political, religious, and cultural perspectives. Spanning more than a hundred and fifty years, the stories follow different characters interpreting and negotiating the ramifications of a mysterious phenomenon that has allowed sentient beings to live forever. By allowing each narrative to modify and re-contextualize the images, concepts, affects, and events of another, the collection seeks to satirize the idea of a concept, text, or reading as dominant, stable, or monolithic, demonstrate the adaptability and power of stories, and suggest both the fluidity and interconnectivity of experiences. The collection also aims to explore the human need for, vulnerability towards, and resilience against fictions and their harmful and restorative interpretations.