Water Folk Tales

Water Folk Tales gathers stories shaped by rivers, lakes and seas, beginning in Welsh waters before flowing into traditions from around the world. Peter Stevenson brings together mermaids, selkies, swan girls, sea monsters, rain-makers and other beings whose stories are bound to particular waters and communities.

The collection includes Kappa spirits from Japan, Inuit tales of selkies and transformation, Mami Wata, the taniwha of Aotearoa, flooded places in Wales and among the Seneca Nation, and whaling stories from New England. Alongside these accounts, Stevenson considers rising sea levels, pollution, displacement, isolation, mismanaged fishing and the question of whether water itself should have legal rights.