Why Selkies?

Despite growing up in Nebraska, where the only ocean is miles of golden wheat and green corn fields, I had always felt drawn to the true ocean. It called to my soul in a way I couldn’t articulate, but felt deeply.

 

So much, that I spent one of my high school summers studying oceanography at the University of Rhode Island. The ocean played lots of tricks on a drylander like me, such as when I nearly lost my shoes and glasses to the rising tide. But I loved it.

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I first met selkies when I was in my early twenties listening to the Joan Baez recording of “Silkie,” a version of an old folk song variously called “The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry” or “The Grey Selkie.” I was fascinated from the first listen. I think it was the idea of a being of mystery and secrets who could live a dual existence, both on land and in the sea. Learning to scuba dive was a joy—but being able to swim with the seals, at one with the ocean: that was the ultimate!

 

“The Secret of Roan Inish,” that wonderful film, captivated me when it came out in 1995. I had recently moved to Anchorage, Alaska. What if there were selkies in Alaska, I wondered? What if there were selkies in Prince William Sound during the Exxon Valdez oil spill? Those two questions were the genesis of the book I’m working on now.

 

I started an exploration of all things selkie, from traditional legends and folk songs, to fiction, music, and movies in popular culture. And I’ll share it all with you here!