We are all born in the confined sea of our mother's womb. but once we realize we belong to the infinite ocean of life, we act like selkies drawn to those wider horizons. The poems of this collection can be read in many ways, depending on your "seaborn eyes." They are deeply private messages from the inside person we wish someone else could know; fleeting reports of universal longings that people can use as they like, like good song lyrics - both urgent and wistful. To a more basic level, they are chronically hopeful odes written by someone who is missing who she used to be.

In her career as an international reporter, literary translator and academic researcher, Arianna Dagnino has lived in many countries, including a five-year stint in South Africa. The author of several books on the impact of global mobility, science and new technologies, she holds a PhD from the University of South Australia and currently teaches at the University of British Columbia.

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