tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post6704951518474215601..comments2024-03-27T06:42:26.250-07:00Comments on Seven Miles of Steel Thistles: Sea Lion Woman: A Selkie Story for a New Millennium - by Laura Marjorie MillerKatherine Langrishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12529700103932422873noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-25635096274488768302023-07-23T03:33:44.089-07:002023-07-23T03:33:44.089-07:00Philippa - sorry, I never saw this! I have now rep...Philippa - sorry, I never saw this! I have now republished Secret Songs <br />https://www.thegreatbritishbookshop.co.uk/collections/new/products/secret-songsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-53090234279954852672020-08-25T12:17:44.276-07:002020-08-25T12:17:44.276-07:00Thank you for putting words to so many of my own f...Thank you for putting words to so many of my own feelings!<br /><br />A friend shared this blog post with me- I moderate a facebook page on Ballads and recently posted some versions of the Great Selkie of Sule Skerry. I have for the last 40 years or so been collecting variants of the magical ballads Child collected, and this one is one of my favorites, though there are not many variants of the ballad. Personally I follow a shamanic path and have been taught Faery Doctoring as part of my studies, and a Selkie comes to me in my journeys. He has required me to write songs in exchange for the healings and other spirit work we do together, though in fact he assists me in the writing. The one I sing to honor him and his kin starts: "The Seal Folk are Calling, Calling, Calling/ the Seal Folk are Calling to their kin on the shore/ Come to us, bide with us, dancing, dancing/ Dancing under the sea." In my kenning of the old stories and songs, our work as humans is always to work in concert with nature and the spirit beings to be in balance and to bring balance to our relationship with them, acknowledging that there is no hierarchy, but that all beings are create equal. When we attempt power over nature and the spirit beings we get into deep trouble, and bad things happen.Bekki Shining Bearheartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-42139093200398394412020-08-25T10:45:10.022-07:002020-08-25T10:45:10.022-07:00Laure - this is a beautiful , well-thought piece. ...Laure - this is a beautiful , well-thought piece. Thank you.Philippahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01705866639256160101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-16508831187112482332020-08-25T10:43:41.457-07:002020-08-25T10:43:41.457-07:00Jane - is there any way I can get a copy of 'S...Jane - is there any way I can get a copy of 'Secret Songs' from you? I love selkie stories.Philippahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01705866639256160101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-17844259208588716782014-01-27T14:27:38.380-08:002014-01-27T14:27:38.380-08:00Lovely post, thank you. When I wrote "Secret...Lovely post, thank you. When I wrote "Secret songs" I chose to re-run, with a different ending, one of the other silkie/selkie stories. the Great Silkie of Sule Skerry. For the purposes of my story it was the ideal expression of the borderline, shore-line, sea-margin world, reflecting the balance between sea and land, deaf and hearing, one country and another which my characters were experiencing. I hope that the story came to a new beginning rather than a sad ending!<br /><br />Jane Stemp<br />author of Secret Songs (Hodder, 1997)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-58950058822432495002014-01-27T10:34:56.218-08:002014-01-27T10:34:56.218-08:00Beautiful and thoughtful post, Laure. I really enj...Beautiful and thoughtful post, Laure. I really enjoyed this, as the original tale seems to ask such questions of the listener both about love and about pain and imprisonment and desertion. And the possibly hidden but not forgotten nature of a person. Thanks.Penny Dolanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16386668303428008498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-91562768600186890112014-01-27T07:55:58.385-08:002014-01-27T07:55:58.385-08:00I found this fascinating. I too am drawn to the se...I found this fascinating. I too am drawn to the sea, and seals, and to writing about the relationship between young people and the wild. I watched harbour seals in the Outer Hebrides( islands off the west coast of Scotland) as part of the research for my forthcoming novel 'Seal Island')Julia Greennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-43930383412591395592014-01-25T04:29:09.077-08:002014-01-25T04:29:09.077-08:00Lovely post! There is something so compelling abou...Lovely post! There is something so compelling about seals, I think because of their mix of almost-human and totally wild. When you watch them interacting you can so easily project human qualities onto them, and empathise with the joy they seem to get from moving so fluidly through the water. Do you think it's also part of our long-standing fascination with the sea? I agree, time for the selkie myth to get a new twist.C.J.Busbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12288574235370421625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-82256765074905038282014-01-25T02:49:07.057-08:002014-01-25T02:49:07.057-08:00What a fascinating post, Laura. I've always l...What a fascinating post, Laura. I've always loved the selkie legends - particularly strong in Scotland, of course - and the profound questions they raise.Rosemary Hayesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-33080073906836921852014-01-24T08:26:07.834-08:002014-01-24T08:26:07.834-08:00Marcos, yes! That movie is very dear to me: the pe...Marcos, yes! That movie is very dear to me: the performances, direction, music, all of it. The magic of it is more powerful than the final revelation/explanation of the plot can hold. I think she really was a selkie ;) Laura Laura Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03955425534700187464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-76617164973649745792014-01-24T03:30:06.390-08:002014-01-24T03:30:06.390-08:00Neil Jordan did a very good job telling a modern s...Neil Jordan did a very good job telling a modern selkie story in his movie "Ondine" (2010). It's all about choice and freedom, as you outline it.Marcos Fariahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09799037117497024875noreply@blogger.com