From plague to plague: COVID‐19 and the New Decameron(s)

This article reflects on the role of narration in times of crisis. Drawing on studies on storytelling and bibliotherapy, it compares the Decameron, a collection of short stories written during and immediately after the 1348 Black Death, with two Decameron‐based collections written during the first wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic: The New York Times Magazine's The Decameron Project: 29 Stories From the Pandemic and Nuovo Decameron. The article argues that narration has two ways of relating to times of crisis: as an escape from reality and as a therapeutic means of overcoming trauma. Both ways emphasize that storytelling is a future‐oriented tool that can have a positive impact on both the individual and the community: sometimes finding unexpected silver linings, sometimes making sense of a reality that seems surreal. In this sense, the article concludes, the narration is a process of choral reconstruction that brings life back to the stage. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of International Social Science Journal is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)