Diana Georgiou interviewed by Bridget Penney in 3:am Magazine
3:am Magazine have published an expansive conversation between Diana Georgiou and Bridget Penney, on Other Reflexes. Other Reflexes is Georgiou’s first novel, commissioned by Bridget Penney for the Interstices open call series.
The interview is an edited version of a conversation that took place at the book’s launch at Burley Fisher, London in June 2023, moderated by Lizzie Homersham (commissioning editor). It was a really interesting and broad ranging discussion about the process of researching, writing and editing; and the social and cultural setting of the book and its ideas.
I then turned to more in-depth research, looking into chemical responses brought about by hormones, the convergence between hormones and olfaction, the strange and wonderful world of optics and how (the lack of) vision transforms the rest of the senses. I was interested in this physical exploration as I was looking for a particular entry point into how our bodies fail to react in certain situations and how they become, through repetition, responsive to specific stimuli. More drastically, when our bodies take us entirely by surprise and revolt against what we are consciously willing them to do. I wanted to demonstrate how most of our reactions, after repetitive exposure to violence, eventually become so scripted and automated that they are like knee-jerk reflexes to specific acts. If I could provide an overarching description to this novel, then it would be: What happens to our senses when they undergo experiences that are so horrific and for which there is no right response? The title, Other Reflexes, speaks to this conundrum.
Read the full interview on the 3:am website, here. You can also read the commissioned responses mentioned in the intro here.