YW talks to Shetland author and musician Malachy Tallack about his best-selling book, 60 Degrees North
WHY IS THE BOOK CALLED 60 DEGREES NORTH?
It’s about a series of journeys I took to each of the countries along the 60th parallel, from my home in Shetland to Greenland, Canada, Alaska, Russia, Finland, Sweden and Norway.
WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION TO WRITE THIS STORY?
The idea for 60 Degrees North came to me when I was in my late teens, at a moment in which I was feeling particularly lost and in need of a sense of direction. The idea of following a parallel around the world seemed both mad and irresistible. It took me a long time to get round to actually doing it, though.
WAS THERE ANYWHERE THAT STOOD OUT FOR YOU FOR ANY PARTICULAR REASON?
Fort Smith in Canada was a real highlight of my journey, in part because I met some wonderfully kind and hospitable people there, but also because it reminded me, entirely unexpectedly, of Shetland.
The landscapes of the two places are as different as they could possibly be, but the geographical isolation, and the sense of community engendered by that isolation, were strikingly similar.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SCENE OR MOMENT IN THE BOOK?
There are several moments that stand out for me in the book, perhaps because those are the moments that stand out most clearly in my memory of the journeys. There is, for instance, the incredible sight of drift ice in Greenland, stretching out for miles beneath the helicopter in which I was travelling, and, in Alaska, my fear-filled walk through a forest, when I was convinced I would be attacked by a grizzly bear.
CAN YOU SHARE WITH US SOMETHING YOU LEARNED
ON YOUR TRAVELS?
Travel is always as much about coming back as it is about going away.
WHAT’S THE BEST EXPERIENCE YOU’VE HAD WHILE WRITING A BOOK?
Travelling around the world for 60 Degrees North was a pretty good experience, I’d say. Travelling on my own, spending hours each day writing, was sometimes rather lonely, but I had some very enjoyable times along the way.
FINALLY, IF YOU WEREN’T A WRITER, WHAT WOULD YOU BE?
A singer. Or a journalist. Or a crofter.
Malachy Tallack will appear at the Edinburgh International Book Festival next Monday, August 24, and at Blackwells on the Fringe, in Edinburgh, on August 27.