The sea, it sings in seven voices, with each siren strong through whispers and sighs. It is a symphony combined: a celebratory seance of silence submerged in sound.
The song guides us, drawing our feet to the shallows. We walk on unsteady ground here yet our toes curl into the sand to keep us held in place. The rocks are coated in seaweed yet we do not slip as we track past rock pools. The chalk crumbles and cracks yet we cling firm and scale the cliffs. Beyond the land, before the sea, this part of the world where the shingle shifts and the coastline changes is the place where we have a hold.
It is this notion which unites this magazine. As Issues come together themes emerge, and in this sixth we have tales and musings on seizing control of situations and settings, and they reflect in us our own measures to take charge of our lives.
Seaside Gothic is romance and grotesquery and darkness and light and brutality and beauty and the gap between them all and so too will you find these sides here, literally littoral in this borderline landscape. We surround a great rock which stands three figures high and looks out beyond the farther.
Climb high and hold tight, for this view is fair despite the wild sea wind. Here at Seaside Gothic we look out over the waters to submerge our souls, for we are rapt by the heart of the ocean, held from the deep in its pelagic grip. The rich blue holds our spirits in its sinews and the currents of the deep structure us in skeletal resonance.
We are owned by the depths, stood at the edge of the land with the water’s song sounding in our ears.
Do you hear it?
Issue 6
PELAGIC GRIP
Seb Reilly is an award-winning published writer, fiction author, poet, and occasional musician. He is Editor of Seaside Gothic. From 2015–2020 he was Editor-in-Chief of Thanet Writers and in 2021 he was named Kent Columnist of the Year for his column in The Isle of Thanet News.