A free talk in Glasgow is to explore why Scotland’s cultural heritage is full of sex and the supernatural.

Part of the Celtic Connections festival, the “Selkies, shapeshifters and sex” lecture will look at examples of supernatural creatures and sex in Scottish Ballads, the poems which were created to chronicle otherwise unrecorded traditional Scottish folk songs.

The talk will be delivered by Dr Donna Heddle, director of the Centre for Nordic Studies at the University of the Highlands and Islands, as part of the festivals’ educational programme.

Speaking about the event, Dr Heddle said: “This lecture is about the shape shifting supernatural creatures like selkies and faeries which inhabit Scottish ballads such as Tam Lin and Robert Burns’ Tam o’ Shanter. I’ll be discussing their nature, their history in oral ballads and their legacy in written literature. I’ll also be exploring what these creatures and their associations with sex say about the society that created them, asking why do the Scots need the dark and sexy world of the supernatural?”

The “Selkies, shapeshifters and sex” lecture takes place from 12.30pm – 2pm on Friday 3 February at the Glasgow Royal Concert Halls. Entry is free and unticketed, on a first-come basis.

To find out more about the Centre for Nordic Studies and its courses, visit www.nordic.uhi.ac.uk

For more information on the Celtic Connections festival, visit www.celticconnections.com

Source: UHI