Goddard in the World

Warning: SPOILERS ABOUND in this episode! 

Sam Rebelein and Mike Alvarez are back for an appropriately Halloween-y episode! Last time we talked about their horror inspirations; this time we’re talking about their recent (October 2023) book publications!

We talk about their books individually and together: how and why they use body horror to enhance their narratives; monsters as metaphors for grief, loss, and trauma; and the act of ...

This week Amanda is hosting a Transformative Language Arts (TLA) roundtable:

• Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, founder of TLA and current chair of the TLA Network (TLAN) board
• Angie Ebba, graduate of the TLA program at Goddard; and
• Joy Zimmerman, board member of TLAN. 

We discuss the role of words, especially poetry and song  in our lives, parti...

Minna Dubin (she/her) is a writer, mother, and educator. She graduated from the Transformative Language Arts program at Goddard where she tackled hard subjects that people aren’t supposed to talk about, from sex, race, identity to interracial relationships. Now, as a leading feminist voice on mother rage, Minna writes about mothers and what society expects of them, from career shifts to emotional calm and reserve, and how these exp...

Chris Younce received a Bachelor’s Degree from Goddard College for his thesis work on Evolutionary Theory. Chris’s experience was indeed very Goddardian as he changed his focus six times from film to the psychology of sport to art to Buddhism and then looked at autism spectrum disorder before he began exploring the origins of consciousness. He dedicated the book which was spawned by this process, Cognitive Liberty, to the school. I...

Poet and artist Dennis Rush grew up on a remote 100-acre tobacco farm in Kentucky. It was at the end of a gravel road, a mile from the nearest house, which was often unoccupied. He spent much of his time walking through the woods, fishing and just being in nature.

His most recent book, Mayfield is an account of his volunteer experience in Mayfield, KY helping a community which had been devastated by tornadoes. He took his two yo...

Kali Meister is an established writer, public speaker, college educator, academic and actress. She is also a sensitive empath and tarot reader. She received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Tennessee and an MFA in creative writing from Goddard College. She found her way to Goddard from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville based on the advice of the program chair Marilyn Kallet who saw Goddard as a place wh...

Stephen S. Mills, award-winning author, poet and playwright had, as many of us did, a rather circuitous route to becoming a member of the Goddard community. He grew up in Indiana reading and writing. His first inspiration was the work of Gary Paulsen, writer of Hatchet and other books for young adults. He went to a small liberal arts school in the southeast corner of the state, Hanover College. After graduation, he moved to Tallaha...

BUY Amy Cutler’s debut novel Shadow of Love out now: https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-shadow-of-love-amy-s-cutler/17846952?ean=9781684339402

Amy S. Cutler is a writer who earned her master’s degree in Creative Writing from Goddard College. Her work can be found in Tales to Terrify, wow-women on writing, the Pitkin Review, Wellness Universe, Elephant Journal. She was recently published in Slut Vomit: An Anthology of Sex Work, by Out...

For latest updates about Meghan's work, please visit her website and sign up for her newsletter: https://www.meghansguidry.com/

For more information on Kinesiophobia: https://thetherabooks.com/pages/kinesiophobia-1

To preorder Kinesiophobia: https://thetherabooks.com/products/kinesiophobia

Meghan Guidry explores grief through writing that not only cuts across genres but combin...

Kristi Petersen Schoonover’s stories have appeared in many publications, including Generation X-ed, Horror Library Volume 7, Lovecraftian Microfiction Volumes 6 & 7, Wicked Creatures, Crow & Cross Keys, Dancing in the Shadows: An Anne Rice Tribute Anthology, Dead Stars & Stone Arches, and others; work is forthcoming in Out of Time: True Paranormal Encounters. Her novel, Bad Apple, will get a 10th anniversary release this year, and ...

Vince DiPersio is an award-winning documentary film writer, director, and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards, for his films Blues Highway, Death on the Job, and Crack USA: County Under Siege and was nominated for an Emmy award for 5 American Kids – 5 American Handguns. His film, The Kennedy Detail, about the Secret Service Agents who were with JFK the day he was assassinated is streaming now on Amazon Prime, A...

George Sapio is a playwright/director/producer/dramaturg. His play “Ghosts” won the 2001 Mildred and Albert Panowski Award. He produces and hosts the podcast “Onstage/Offstage,” now in its tenth year, featuring interviews with theatre professionals from around the world and live readings of new short plays. His book “Workshopping the New Play: A Guide for Playwrights, Directors, and Dramaturgs” is published by Hal Leonard/Applause ...

Georges Drouin is a legacy Goddard graduate having attended Northwood campus at its inception, from 1965 to 1968. He is of French and French-Canadian descent. His work at Goddard focused on psychology, teaching, modern dance, the I’Ching and T’ai Chi. Georges has served on a School Board, served as a small town councilor, founded a soccer school for young people with his two sons, and founded an elite soccer team in Quebec. He has ...

Nita Sweeney attended the MFAW program in Port Townsend from 2006 to 2008. She is the award-winning wellness author of the running and mental health memoir, Depression Hates a Moving Target: How Running with My Dog Brought Me Back from the Brink and co-creator of the writing journal, You Should Be Writing: A Journal of Inspiration & Instruction to Keep Your Pen Moving.

While Nita always dreamed of being a writer, she didn’t know ...

Kate Chapman is a performer, writer, visual artist, teacher, and coach. Her Broadway performing credits include Mary Poppins, Les Misérables, Pajama Game, Sweet Smell of Success, Saturday Night Fever; also, The Radio City Christmas Spectacular (Mrs. Claus for 5 seasons), Shakespeare in the Park, Lincoln Center and countless others. A 24-year member of the Tony award-winning Broadway Inspirational Voices (BIV), Kate sings with BIV a...

Matt Mulligan has been a nanny, a professional fundraiser, a para educator in a public school and is now a master’s level mental health counselor. He has lived all over the country, traveled all over the world, and now resides in his hometown of Barre, Vermont. Growing up in Vermont, a relative local to Goddard’s Plainfield campus, Matt appreciated Vermont’s extreme beauty, the physiological effect of having his feet in grass and b...

Rachael Rice is an artist, writer and certified weirdo who crafts scroll-stopping content for people who want to shape change. We talked about Rachael’s childhood aspirations to her current work as an artist, from drawing in condensation on windows to moving into fine art and acrylic paint, to moving back toward folk art and alternative mediums with salvaged materials and natural earth pigments that may not stand the test of time (...

Welcome back to Mike Alvarez and Sam Rebelein for Goddard in the World’s Spooooooooky Halloween episode! We talk about Mike and Sam’s horror inspirations from childhood to present day and how horror stories helped them cope with their own fears and anxieties. Plenty of recommendations to check out to wrap up the spooooky season!

For more on Mike Alvarez:

• Season 1 interview: https://goddardalumni.com/alumni-spotlight-mike-alvare...