Interviewing Teika Marija Smits
Helloooo!
A few weeks ago I reviewed the excellent short story collection Umbilical by Teika Marija Smits an entrancing set of strange, scary and throughtful stories taking us from outer space to the skills of a painter. I was very lucky to have the opportunity to ask Teika some questions about this collection and a few other things
Hiiii! Many thanks for having me over and asking such interesting questions. :)
How do you like to booktempt Umbilical?
Being an introvert and fairly new to the whole author thing, I’m still trying to find my groove when it comes to talking about my book. Having run a small press for almost a decade, I actually find it far easier to talk about other people’s books. So I will stick to the facts: Umbilical contains 21 stories – some very short, some much longer – on the themes of motherhood and mythology, science and spirituality. Basically, if you like stories about love, sex and death, this is the collection for you!
The theme of parenting and motherhood comes in many tales. What draws you to this theme?
Becoming a mother in 2007 changed – or rather, deepened – me profoundly. Before I gave birth to my daughter, it was as if I’d been going about life in first person point of view, my focus pretty much solely on myself, and then wham! there was this new, and very urgent, second person narrator in my head saying things like: feed your daughter! Burp her! Change her nappy! Rock her to sleep! Check she’s not too warm or too cold! It took me quite a while to get used to this new narrator, but after a while I realized that becoming a mother afforded me the chance to open myself to another human being in a way that I’d never done before. And there’s something incredibly humbling, and empowering, about allowing oneself to become that vulnerable. Parenthood absolutely fascinates me, and I’m sure that it’s going to be a theme I’ll keep returning to in my writing.
We move from deep space, the far future, to the realms of ghosts and fairy tales in this collection. Do you follow the story or are you always looking to move across (and sometimes blend) the genres?
Since childhood I read anything and everything I could get my hands on (I didn’t really understand the concept of genres), and alongside that kind of eclectic reading I read all sorts of non-fiction, but I found myself particularly fascinated by science, history, space, mythology and the occult. So it seems natural to me to write in any – and all – the genres. When it comes to knowing which genre a story should be in, I tend to listen to the story – it usually tells me what genre it wants to be. Sometimes though, (and particularly when I’ve been commissioned to write a story) I run through a few ideas and settings and see what might work best. One problem about writing horror stories in the contemporary era is mobile phones, because it can be tricky to isolate a protagonist when, theoretically, they can phone for help at any moment. But setting a story in the pre-mobile phone era solves that issue.
Which comes first for you – the character or the situation?
As I’m deeply interested in the human psyche (I’m a big fan of Carl Jung’s theories), usually a certain aspect of psychology comes first. I’m particularly interested in emotional or mental states that have the possibility of overwhelming us, such as grief, guilt, depression, infatuation or addiction. I also find myself constantly drawn to the “big” – or universal – questions: “What is love?”, “Can anyone be forgiven anything?”, “How can we become the best version of ourselves?”. Once I know what question I want to explore, the character and situation come into being pretty quickly.
Which story in the collection was the hardest to write?
Both ‘Umbilical’ and ‘The November Room or Leaving the Labyrinth’ were emotionally difficult to write because, as with all my stories, when writing them I really try to place myself in the protagonist’s shoes. So there were a lot of tears during the writing of them both. ‘Our Lady of Flies’ was probably the hardest, technically, to write since, being a longer horror story, I was really conscious of the importance of getting the pacing right – of twisting the screw at just the right speed, as it were. Conversely, ‘The Sun is God’ was an absolute joy to write because of all those glorious paint colours and, of course, the presence of the genius painter J.M.W. (William) Turner.
Who do you admire in short fiction?
I think there’s too many to mention! But with regards to living, and contemporary, authors, I greatly admire the work of Alison Moore, Angela Readman, Sofia Samatar and Ted Chiang. I’ve been lucky enough to work with Angela and Sofia in an editorial capacity in the past, and maybe if my luck holds I’ll one day get to work with Alison and Ted. (I can but dream!) And then, of course, there are the late greats… Angela Carter, ETA Hoffmann and Gabriel Garcia Márquez. It takes a very special kind of writer to be able to produce the kind of work that has timeless appeal.
What else can we look forward to from you in the future and where can we find out more?
Well, I’m very excited to be able to say that my micro short story collection, Waterlore, will soon be joining the Black Shuck Shadows series. Waterlore contains seven dark, fantastical stories on the theme of water – from the depths of the oceans to a public swimming pool – and hopefully, it will appeal to those who love the sea (and swimming) as much as I do. But who knows, we’ll see! I can say this though: the cover is absolutely stunning. I’ve long been a fan of Black Shuck Books and so to have been able to work with Steve of Black Shuck on my collection has been a real pleasure. Fingers-crossed, it should be out at the end of November. (Just in time to become the perfect stocking-filler…?!)
If there was one book that you wish everyone could read, not your own, what would it be and why?
Oh, that’s so difficult to answer! I’d never want to impose my own tastes – or ideas of greatness – upon other people, but as Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky is probably my favourite book I may as well go for that. A classic tale of rebirth, it goes deep into the shadows of the human psyche, but also impresses on the reader the idea that even the very worst sinner can be redeemed. I like the optimism, the humility and bigheartedness, of Dostoevsky’s vision.
