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Episode 237 with Ghassan Zeinnedine, Author of Dearborn and Creator of Singular Communities and Universal Communities with Humor and Emotional Resonance
Notes and Links to Ghassan Zeineddine’s Work
For Episode 237, Pete welcomes Ghassan Zeineddine, and the two discuss, among other topics, his childhood in Saudi Arabia and Washington, D.C., his experiences with multilingualism, formative and transformative reading and his reading “obsession,” the resonance of Dearborn, Michigan, seeds for Dearborn, “Speedoman,” and salient themes in his collection like masculinity, grief, trauma, reinvention, and ideas of home.
Ghassan Zeineddine was born in Washington, DC, and raised in the Middle East. He is an assistant professor of creative writing at Oberlin College, and co-editor of the creative nonfiction anthology Hadha Baladuna: Arab American Narratives of Boundary and Belonging. His debut short story collection is Dearborn.
Buy Dearborn
Ghassan's Bio for Oberlin College
Dearborn Playlist from Ghassan from Largehearted Boy
At about 1:30, Ghassan talks about creative nonfiction as “a huge umbrella for many types of writing” and the anthology he edited
At about 3:40, Ghassan talks about the diversity of Arab ethnicities in Dearborn, Michigan, and its connections to his short story collection of the same name
At about 6:05, Ghassan talks about his childhood in Saudi Arabia, and how his Lebanese family ended up there
At about 10:55, Ghassan discusses his early relationships with reading
At about 13:20, Ghassan talks about the differences in dialects in Arabic, including accents of Lebanese-Americans from different Lebanese regions
At about 14:35, Ghassan describes the evolution of his “healthy obsession” with reading, including his DC schooling and how the “isolating experience” affected his tastes and led to wrestling and John Irving
At about 21:05, Ghassan highlights Percival Everett and James McBride as contemporary writers who thrills and inspires and challenges him
At about 24:00, Ghassan reflects on how teaching informs his writing, and vice versa; he highlights Morgan Talty’s Night of the Living Rez as a great teaching tool
At about 27:10, Ghassan shouts out places to buy his book, including Literati, and his contact/social media
At about 28:30, Ghassan and Pete marvel over the lives and practices of voice actors, and Pete shouts out the transcendent Edoardo Ballerini
At about 30:30, Ghassan responds to Pete’s questions about conceiving the book as a collection of stories
At about 32:40, Pete remarks on the coolness of shared characters in multiple stories; Ghassan gives background on these story connections and shouts out Elizabeth DeMeo as an incredible editor
At about 35:10, Pete lays out the collection’s first story and Ghassan talks about the story’s seeds from 2018-ish
At about 38:05, the two discuss ideas of masculinity and ambition and generational differences and the use of “Bro” as seen in the beginning story
At about 40:30, the two discuss the resonant and unique and heckuva lotta fun “Speedoman,” both the man himself, and the inclement themes and background connected to the story
At about 41:40, Pete shouts out Marquez’s “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” in comparing “Speedoman” to the magnificent Marquez story
At about 42:50, Ghassan talks about longing in the story and his use of the collective voices
At about 48:00, The two discuss the story “Marseilles” and attendant themes of masculinity and gender agency
At about 51:18, Ghassan provides background on the above story and the history of many Arab passengers on the Titanic
At about 52:20, Pete and Ghassan discuss meaningful female friendships and attempted mentorships in the collection
At about 55:25, Ghassan explains why “I Have Reason to Believe My Neighbor Is a Terrorist” was such a hard story to write
At about 57:00, Ghassan gives background on the above story that connects to government surveillance after 9/11
At about 58:40, Pete lays out themes of grief and trauma featured in the collection, including the memorable, “In Memoriam,” as well art as career versus practical professions, including through the memorable character Zizou
At about 1:02:10, Ghassan describes his experience growing up hearing stories, often tragic, of Lebanon
At about 1:04:05, Pete discusses the resonant and singular character of Ramzy in the resonant and visceral “Rabbit Stew”
At about 1:06:45, Reinvention as a throughline in the collection is discussed
At about 1:10:30, Ghassan talks about exciting future projects and writing about “obsessions”
At about 1:13:00, Ghassan points out to Percival Everett as an example of a writer who “has fun on the page,” as Ghassan endeavors to do
At about 1:13:45, Ghassan and Pete highlight some awards and nominations for Dearborn, as well as positive feedback from literary journals and readers
You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch this and other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you’re checking out this episode.
I am very excited about having one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review-I’m looking forward to the partnership! Look out for my interview with Ghassan soon.
Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl
Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!
This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.
The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.
Please tune in for Episode 238 with Nina St. Pierre. The episode is from a live conversation at Capital Books in Sacramento on May 31. Nina is a queer essayist and culture writer whose work has appeared in Elle, GQ, Harper's Bazaar, Gossamer, and many more publications. Her dazzling and resonant memoir, Love is a Burning Thing, is now out to rave reviews.
The episode will go live on June 11.
Lastly, please go to https://ceasefiretoday.com/, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.
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By chillsatwillpodcast
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Notes and Links to Ghassan Zeineddine’s Work
For Episode 237, Pete welcomes Ghassan Zeineddine, and the two discuss, among other topics, his childhood in Saudi Arabia and Washington, D.C., his experiences with multilingualism, formative and transformative reading and his reading “obsession,” the resonance of Dearborn, Michigan, seeds for Dearborn, “Speedoman,” and salient themes in his collection like masculinity, grief, trauma, reinvention, and ideas of home.
Ghassan Zeineddine was born in Washington, DC, and raised in the Middle East. He is an assistant professor of creative writing at Oberlin College, and co-editor of the creative nonfiction anthology Hadha Baladuna: Arab American Narratives of Boundary and Belonging. His debut short story collection is Dearborn.
Buy Dearborn
Ghassan's Bio for Oberlin College
Dearborn Playlist from Ghassan from Largehearted Boy
At about 1:30, Ghassan talks about creative nonfiction as “a huge umbrella for many types of writing” and the anthology he edited
At about 3:40, Ghassan talks about the diversity of Arab ethnicities in Dearborn, Michigan, and its connections to his short story collection of the same name
At about 6:05, Ghassan talks about his childhood in Saudi Arabia, and how his Lebanese family ended up there
At about 10:55, Ghassan discusses his early relationships with reading
At about 13:20, Ghassan talks about the differences in dialects in Arabic, including accents of Lebanese-Americans from different Lebanese regions
At about 14:35, Ghassan describes the evolution of his “healthy obsession” with reading, including his DC schooling and how the “isolating experience” affected his tastes and led to wrestling and John Irving
At about 21:05, Ghassan highlights Percival Everett and James McBride as contemporary writers who thrills and inspires and challenges him
At about 24:00, Ghassan reflects on how teaching informs his writing, and vice versa; he highlights Morgan Talty’s Night of the Living Rez as a great teaching tool
At about 27:10, Ghassan shouts out places to buy his book, including Literati, and his contact/social media
At about 28:30, Ghassan and Pete marvel over the lives and practices of voice actors, and Pete shouts out the transcendent Edoardo Ballerini
At about 30:30, Ghassan responds to Pete’s questions about conceiving the book as a collection of stories
At about 32:40, Pete remarks on the coolness of shared characters in multiple stories; Ghassan gives background on these story connections and shouts out Elizabeth DeMeo as an incredible editor
At about 35:10, Pete lays out the collection’s first story and Ghassan talks about the story’s seeds from 2018-ish
At about 38:05, the two discuss ideas of masculinity and ambition and generational differences and the use of “Bro” as seen in the beginning story
At about 40:30, the two discuss the resonant and unique and heckuva lotta fun “Speedoman,” both the man himself, and the inclement themes and background connected to the story
At about 41:40, Pete shouts out Marquez’s “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” in comparing “Speedoman” to the magnificent Marquez story
At about 42:50, Ghassan talks about longing in the story and his use of the collective voices
At about 48:00, The two discuss the story “Marseilles” and attendant themes of masculinity and gender agency
At about 51:18, Ghassan provides background on the above story and the history of many Arab passengers on the Titanic
At about 52:20, Pete and Ghassan discuss meaningful female friendships and attempted mentorships in the collection
At about 55:25, Ghassan explains why “I Have Reason to Believe My Neighbor Is a Terrorist” was such a hard story to write
At about 57:00, Ghassan gives background on the above story that connects to government surveillance after 9/11
At about 58:40, Pete lays out themes of grief and trauma featured in the collection, including the memorable, “In Memoriam,” as well art as career versus practical professions, including through the memorable character Zizou
At about 1:02:10, Ghassan describes his experience growing up hearing stories, often tragic, of Lebanon
At about 1:04:05, Pete discusses the resonant and singular character of Ramzy in the resonant and visceral “Rabbit Stew”
At about 1:06:45, Reinvention as a throughline in the collection is discussed
At about 1:10:30, Ghassan talks about exciting future projects and writing about “obsessions”
At about 1:13:00, Ghassan points out to Percival Everett as an example of a writer who “has fun on the page,” as Ghassan endeavors to do
At about 1:13:45, Ghassan and Pete highlight some awards and nominations for Dearborn, as well as positive feedback from literary journals and readers
You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch this and other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you’re checking out this episode.
I am very excited about having one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review-I’m looking forward to the partnership! Look out for my interview with Ghassan soon.
Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl
Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!
This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.
The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.
Please tune in for Episode 238 with Nina St. Pierre. The episode is from a live conversation at Capital Books in Sacramento on May 31. Nina is a queer essayist and culture writer whose work has appeared in Elle, GQ, Harper's Bazaar, Gossamer, and many more publications. Her dazzling and resonant memoir, Love is a Burning Thing, is now out to rave reviews.
The episode will go live on June 11.
Lastly, please go to https://ceasefiretoday.com/, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.
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