Where did the idea of The Selkie come from?

The Selkie founders all met while studying postgraduate degrees in Creative Writing at The University of Edinburgh. It turned out that they shared goals: all wanted more representation in the arts and decided that they would start The Selkie as a way of helping underrepresented artists and writers. The Selkie was then created, in 2018, to be a magazine with ‘representation’ as its core value that would extend across the boundaries of academia, culture, gender and race, and offer the works of underrepresented writers year-round to its readers.

Why the name?

Searching for what connects us in purpose, place and time, we were drawn to the image of a wild, untamed being emerging from the unseen depths of the ocean – the selkie, whose myth has been passed down through generations in Scotland – the place where we met and decided to create a literary website together.

Selkies are creatures of ancient lore, who swim in water as seals yet have the ability to transform into humans and walk on land, and thus reveal their dual nature. By shedding their skins, selkies give in to the joy and freedom of expression by singing and dancing on the coarse sand beneath their feet, underneath a full moon. However, when selkies first emerge from the waves, they make sure to hide their pelts in order to protect them – for without their seal skins, they would never be able to return to their native home.

Their story resonates today, for it is these ‘skins’ that underrepresented individuals wear and shed as our circumstances change – at times a burden, but mostly a gift that unfortunately is not always recognised. And this is how we must live, out in the world, every single day – attempting to express our dual natures and being careful not to lose an essential part of ourselves in the process.

What makes The Selkie different to other publications?

The Selkie not only publishes and promotes underrepresented voices exclusively, but we support them in endeavours such as free in-person writing workshops, and our New Voices Workshop which is a mentorship program that is offered by members of our editorial team to aspiring writers. There is no cost to apply or participate. Indeed, we never charge for submissions and all of our content is completely free to read and view, including our previous anthology Transformation. Additionally, our team are from all walks of life, and from all over the world.

It’s an international project – is that important to you?

It’s an international project – is that important to you? The fact that this an international project is incredibly important to us: we are always seeking the greatest breadth of stories, but it is especially prescient given the theme. What a ‘home’ is, from (in its basest interpretation) the building you grow up in to the people who mould and shape you, from the expectations and histories to the rejection and escape; all of this is so inextricably entwined with the various geographical, political and cultural contexts that make them that interrogating the notion of ‘home’ must be an international project, in order to fully appreciate the complexity and difference of our experiences. It is at the heart of the project, not least because a number of our stories explore explore the challenges of belonging and remaking home across international borders, and the effect on individual, familial and communal myth-making. It also presents a unifying lens across borders, drawing lines of similarity across what makes people feel at home, no matter where they are in the world: family, loved ones, and the safety to be who we are.

How do you choose what makes it into the magazine?

For this project, I think we were struck by the emotional rawness of the work. This was a theme that prompted such an outpouring of vulnerability and honesty that that became a guiding proponent of forming ‘The Same Havoc’. We were looking not only for nostalgic renderings of ‘how things were’, but for voices and experiences of difference, that complicated the notion of ‘home’ as simply an origin, or a static ideal, or of presumed safety. We were looking for stories of change and self-making, for viewpoints we hadn’t considered. We were astonished and touched by the responses we had.

For more information head to The Selkie.

But why, in a paperless postmodern world would not only someone decide to create something as archaic as a zine, but would so many people get involved?

I decided to find out, and Séan was gracious enough to indulge my curiosity and let me know…

Why did you decide to create the zine?

Simply? A real love of Woolf, that has continued from my teenage years.

There is so much admiration for Virginia in the air, she’s like an electric current that crackles through academic dialogue and cuts into the bedrooms of moody teenagers with equal fervour. She’s an impasse, a connection, an inspiration. I wanted to bridge that gap, to make scholarship more accessible for everyone and to platform those who don’t have access to journals or conferences, their words are just as important. I wanted a big, exciting, fresh discussion of Woolf, that helps us think about her in different shades, as well as reminds us of the original colours which stamped her so deeply in our memories.

What has the response been like? Is it varied and a large community?

The response has been heart-warming. In just over a month the zine is fast approaching 1,000 followers on Twitter, and has a healthy readership. The community is rich in texture, lots of Modernists; some of my own personal academic icons have spoken about it, which has left me a little struck for words. Apart from that, it has brought the Woolfians out of the woodwork from all over the globe. Younger critics, older story tellers. The discussion is really open, and I am particularly proud of some of the non-traditional responses: the art, the reviews, the poetry.

What is your personal fascination with Woolf?

Woolf writes beautifully, first and foremost. Her work makes the everyday a spiritual experience, and I find that taps into how I think somehow – the way she sees the world as fragmented, broken, up for revision and interpretation. I also find Woolf’s politics interesting, and drew a lot of strength from her words as a teenager. Being queer and young is strange, because adults don’t often talk about gay people to children. Reading about intimacy between her characters helped me touch a history that was hidden from me, made me feel like part of something bigger. If Chloe likes Olivia, that is one thing. If you are given the opportunity find out, it’s quite another.

When did it begin and why?

Around 15. I was a very awkward teenager, as you might be able to tell. My English teacher, Mr Simpson, encouraged my love of reading and brought my attention to Woolf (for which I am very grateful). From there I found Ezra Pound, Mina Loy and H.D. – I was hooked, and now I’m working on a PhD in Modernist studies.  

As you note in your introductory letter in the first issue, it’s been over a century since the first novel, The Voyage Out was published. Why do you think Virginia Woolf continues to resonate?

Perhaps people will discourage me from saying this, but I don’t think there has been an English language writer as important to our literary cultural heritage as Shakespeare apart from Woolf. She is an institution. Multiple, difficult, readable, slippery, gifted. She tore at the fabric of writing and put it together in this ridiculously beautiful tapestry. We work and rework her constantly. This is especially interesting, considering her relatively early death. She wrote scored and scores, it’s almost unfathomable. Apart from this weight, her command of words is incredible, she writes in a way people can engage with, it’s aesthetic and meaty, a stellar rendering of some of our hardest feelings, she sets the complex in amber.

Does she speak to wider society, or is her role more for creative people, or those feeling marginalised in someway, such as due to mental health or gender? 

Woolf is there to be read, if you like her. There is no point in making someone an untouchable idol, she has a lot of issues: tensions of classism, antisemitism, and so forth. But there is something compelling about her work, and we must take the golden nuggets of truth where they fall, to lean on a reference. I grew up working class and relished her books, so I don’t think she is posturing in an inaccessible way, only open to academics or creatives.

Gender-wise, we must remain pithy. There are some amazing truths in Woolf that still ring clear, but society has moved and many of her lessons need to be expanded to include women she herself could marginalise: working class women, black women, Jewish women. If we see her as part of a longer, developing discussion however, she remains vital and useful. Read her with contemporaries such as Sojourner Truth and Nella Larsen, as well as with more modern writers like Judith Butler and bell hooks. Feminism challenges itself to be better all the time, Woolf did that in the early 20th century as she is challenged now.

I usually avoid a discussion of Woolf’s mental health problems too much. I don’t like to romanticise the death of people who are mentally unwell, especially considering the allegations of sexual abuse. I do think people can gain strength from her writing though. Reading about Septimus Smith helped me think about my own mental health at a young age, and he is a character I draw on whenever I feel at a loss even now. And, it was inspiring that a woman who struggled and faltered could still produce this amazing work, she pushed through and persevered.

What’s your favourite novel?

Of all time, D.H. Lawrence’s The Rainbow. If you haven’t read it, do. People think it’s mawkish, but I think it’s brilliant. Of Woolf’s, To The Lighthouse. I have the parenthesis from the line about Mrs Ramsay’s passing tattooed on my hip, it’s haunting in some ways, but it really reminds me to focus on what is important, especially little things, which I tend to forget about. Everything passes, so we have to enjoy it while we can.

Read the zine here, and look out for the second issue, Woolf and Others, in February. And ponder your submissions for Issue 3, Woolf and Politics.

Launch event at The Gallery Cafe, Bethnal Green. Friday August 30th, 7.30pm

Still time to get involved!

Beach House
Come check out our swanky little house, it’s made of NEON! Inside, you’ll find lots of wonderful things to play with.

It’s All Happening loved their socks, were rapt at the gifts of cheap aftershave, and utterly delighted with the sixth tin of Family Circle biscuits, but this post from Jarvis and the gang has got to top all the presents. The enviably lucky attendees of Pulp’s recent Sheffield homecoming show were were given Christmas cards with a download code for ‘a little present’ which was to be submitted to the band’s website on Christmas Day. Written in Jarvo’s satirical style, fans were instructed not to peak, as that would be ‘naughty.’
After You track was first demoed by the band during the sessions for 2001’s We Love Life, but this version is a new studio recording produced by James Murphy in the last couple of months, during their Coachella gigs. Plans for 2013 include ‘sailing off into the sunset.’ In a recent interview with Q Jarvis Cocker concluded that whilst ‘we’ve played for a while and it’s been really good…you can’t keep doing that forever.’
Until next time, we’ll take After You and be estatically grateful. Ta, guys.

Photo via Bar Italia