Goddard in the World is a podcast highlighting the work of the Goddard College academic community. Goddard has a diverse history with radical roots: our guests’ work before, during and after Goddard reflect not only a deep questioning, but how to bring the critical eye to the world and society around us. We are interested in sharing our guests’ stories, rather than focus solely on their accomplishments at Goddard. While we are curious about where Goddard landed on their path, and if/how Goddard shaped their work in the world, the podcast highlights where our guests’ work and passions and how they bring them to their community. All content is copyright of Goddard Alumni Association, an alumni-governed 501(c)3 nonprofit independent of Goddard College Corporation. To learn more, please visit: https://goddardalumni.com/podcast/
Episodes
Tuesday May 11, 2021
Tuesday May 11, 2021
Welcome to Goddard in the World’s Season One Finale! We are so excited to end the season with an incredible writer and guest Sam Rebelein.
Sam Rebelein is a graduate of the MFA in Creative Writing program at Goddard College. His work has previously appeared in Bourbon Penn, Planet Scumm, Shimmer, Ellen Datlow's Best Horror of the Year, and elsewhere. He lives in Poughkeepsie, NY and will be starting a PhD at Texas Tech University in 2021 focusing in English Literature and Film, specifically Horror and Trauma Studies.
As an only child, Sam grew up playing by himself and making up stories. We talked to him about how his childhood homes from Minnesota to Ohio to the Hudson Valley influenced his storytelling interests, from landscapes where you can see the weather coming three days away, to woods which are full of power, mystery, and claustrophobia. Reflecting upon why interest in the horror genre demands an explanation, Sam talks about horror as a safe environment to experience fear and address it, and how horror reflects anxieties that are already present in the storytellers and audience, “Horror felt like the one area where stories would be honest about there being something out there or people being terrible…there’s something familiar and cozy about it if you already have it in your head.”
Sam started out writing comedy, sketch and theater at Vassar and then pivoted to horror, “both genres depend on catharsis, build up and tension…you’re geared up to have some kind of release whether it’s a laugh or startling.” At Goddard, Sam wrote a collection of short horror stories which is currently being represented and shopped around for publication. “Goddard helped me develop my taste and vibe, I found my voice.”
Sam will be starting a PhD program at Texas Tech University in fall 2021, where he hopes to study grief and trauma in horror, how it’s manifested and how it can be utilized. We talk about some movies that illustrate these concepts (spoiler warning for The Babadook!).
Check out (and buy!) all of Sam’s current and forthcoming publications at: https://www.srebelein.com/work
Follow Sam on Twitter: @HillaryScruff
Recommendations:
Books:
R.L. Stine, Goosebumps series
Stephen King, Carrie
Bram Stoker, Dracula
Stephen King, On Writing
Movies:
Carrie, Brian De Palma (1976)
Murder Party, Jeremy Saulnier (2007)
The Babadook, Jennifer Kent (2014)
Hereditary, Ari Aster (2018)
Midsommar, Ari Aster (2019)
Music:
Florence + The Machine, “No Choir”
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