Q&A with Matt Georgeson

It’s that time of summer (for us in the northern hemisphere) when the cicadas come up from the ground for a few weeks and sing each evening with that hypnotic, pulsing rhythm that is so essential to the season. What a perfect time for us to share “Cicadas” by Matt Georgeson! Much like the insects, “Cicadas” has a mystery to it — an outer shell that guards something in need of protection. In a Q&A between fiction editor Laura Jensen and Matt Georgeson, some insight is shared on this fascinating narrative.

This is quite a convoluted story, especially for being a shorter piece! From the start, you get this sense that something isn’t quite right. There’s an eeriness to Tom, and it doesn’t take long to realize he’s an unreliable narrator. With the twin dynamic mixed in, it’s a story that almost begs you to slow down and really pay attention, which is an aspect that really drew me in. Can you share a little bit on what inspired this piece?  

This is really a story about being truthful and engaging genuinely with reality which, of course, most of us don’t do completely, because we want to think of ourselves as a certain way, or we need to protect ourselves, or we have trauma, etc. 

In this case Tom is in denial about his harmful behaviour and one of the ways he’s found to protect himself is by stealing the experiences and qualities of his twin brother as if they were his own. We’ll find all kinds of crafty ways to create our own reality. It’s also understandable though: life is challenging, for some more than others, and naturally we have to find ways to survive emotionally. 

Any one who has lived around cicadas knows what odd, mesmerizing creatures they are. I found the symbolism of the cicada shell so fitting and fascinating for this story, and they serve as a kind of harbinger of transformation for Tom. Can you speak a little on why you chose cicadas?

I also think they have an eerie and magical quality. They shed their skin and leave behind an exoskeleton as a remnant of their old life. They can completely fill a natural space with their pulsing drone to the exclusion of all other sounds.  It’s like a spell is being cast. They’re beautiful in a kind of alien way. They’re just asking to be the protagonists in a magic realism flourish, I think. 

In this story, Tom was so trapped in self delusion - in a place where the words of his family had ceased to have any impact - that he needed intervention from some kind of mystical force: and that force was cicadas, the champions of shaking off your trappings and starting afresh.

I find that a couple of the toughest questions when writing is where the story should start, followed by where it should end. I love the parallel you have constructed here, with “Cicadas” ending much like the beginning, but with a strong shift of perspective. “Take a look at him” versus “Take a look at me.” The narrator observing himself from the outside, to the narrator starting to confront what’s inside. Were you always sure how you wanted to frame this story, or is this something that developed through the writing process?

I liked the idea that the narrator Tom would start with a judgmental and determinedly external focus, ignoring the internal work he needed to do. And he cracks and changes in the course of the story until he finally breaks away this protective shell to expose the soft and real creature inside. Which is painful, but also real and healing. 

What authors or genres of literature do you find yourself drawn to? Are there any that particularly inspire you to write? 

I find I tend to like quite heavy, cerebral, painful writing - especially work that explores the human condition. It hurts me but I love it at the same time - like a really hard massage. I love the Russian masters like Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov - but of course can’t and will never be able to emulate them. At the same time I like writing that’s life affirming, compassionate, political - classics like John Steinbeck or modern writers like Bernadine Evaristo, George Saunders. And I also really like creative, experimental and mind bending ideas - and I look at genres like sci-fi and “weird fiction” for these. There is so much great literature out there across many genres. 

Are you working on anything currently or have plans for longer collections/pieces of work?

I’m mainly writing speculative fiction at the moment; that’s just where my brain wants to go. I’m exploring collecting some short stories together, perhaps with a solar punk theme.