Zein El-Amine starts off talking about the study abroad program he designed to take his students to Egypt for a range of immersive experiences, including meeting Egyptian author Nawal el Saadawi at her home. He then talks about his deep personal connection with James Joyce’s book “Ulysses”. Matt and Zein discuss “Bloomsday” celebrations around the world, as well as the history of the U.S. government’s censorship of Ulysses. Zein then talks about the study abroad program he designed to take his students to Ireland to study Ulysses and celebrate Bloomsday in Dublin. He shares the impact that his first trip to Ireland had on him and why he now feels like Dublin is his second home. Matt and Zein discuss Ireland-Palestine solidarity and Zein shares how he first toured Belfast as part of a Palestinian delegation. He then talks about the study abroad program he designed to take his students to Morocco and explains the importance of understanding “Orientalism” as a framework for de-exotifying the Arab World. Zein then reflects on his experience being exiled, talks about his poetry collection “A Travel Guide for the Exiled”, and reads his poem “On Embassy Row”. He then reflects on his activist trajectory in the U.S., getting kicked out of the International Socialist Organization, and founding Left Turn Magazine. Matt and Zein reflect on why Left Turn attracted extraordinary political activists, the importance to connecting the local with the global, and the impact of Palestine solidarity work over the last 25 years. Zein also talks about hosting the Shay Wah Nana Show and discusses his recent episode highlighting the Tanzanian government’s violent evictions of the Maasai people from their ancestral lands. FULL SHOW NOTES AVIALABLE AT: www.TheMaerickShow.com
Hosted by Matt Bowles
202: De-Exotifying The Arab World, Teaching The Most Dangerous Book, and Founding Left Turn Magazine with Zein El-Amine
Episode #202: De-Exotifying The Arab World, Teaching The Most Dangerous Book, and Founding Left Turn Magazine with Zein El-Amine
Hosted by Matt Bowles
202: De-Exotifying The Arab World, Teaching The Most Dangerous Book, and Founding Left Turn Magazine with Zein El-Amine
Episode Summary
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About the Guest
Zein El-Amine
Zein El-Amine is a Lebanese-born poet and writer who teaches Arab language and film at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He is also an adjunct professor of Arabic literature and history at American University, and he teaches Arabic Media and International Affairs at George Washington University. After growing up in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, Zein moved to the U.S. in 1987 and now lives in the Ella Jo Baker Intentional Community Cooperative in Washington DC. He has facilitated many study abroad programs and taken his classes to have immersive experiences in Morocco, Egypt and Ireland. Zein’s poems have appeared in Wild River Review, Folio, Beltway Quarterly, Foreign Policy In Focus, CityLit, and many others. His latest poetry manuscript “A Travel Guide for the Exiled” was recently shortlisted for the Bergman Prize. His short stories have appeared in Uno Mas, Jadaliyya, Middle East Report, Wild River Review, About Place Journal, Bound Off and many others. He was recently awarded The Megaphone Prize for his latest collection of short stories entitled “Is This How You Eat A Watermelon?” which will be published in October 2022. Zein has also been a long-time political activist around causes ranging from Palestinian liberation to local community organizing campaigns in Washington, DC. Shortly after the 1999 uprising at the WTO Meeting in Seattle, he co-founded Left Turn magazine—a pivotal activist publication that ran for 10 years in the 2000s and had significant impact in helping to advance struggles for justice around the world. He currently hosts the weekly show, Shay Wah Nana, which airs locally on DC public radio and is also syndicated worldwide on Apple podcasts.
What You'll Learn
- The history of “Orientalism” and the importance of de-exotifying the Arab world
- Why James Joyce’s “Ulysses” was considered “The Most Dangerous Book”
- Zein’s activist work connecting local and global struggles for justice
Links From the Episode
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ORDER ZEIN’S BOOK
LISTEN TO ZEIN’S PODCAST
OTHER MAVERICK SHOW EPISODES MENTIONED
BOOKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
- Finnegans Wake by James
- For Bread Alone by Mohamed Choukri and Paul Bowles
- Morocco Bound by Brian T. Edwards
- Orientalism by Edward Said
- Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih
- The Yakoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany
- The Most Dangerous Book: The Battle for James Joyce’s Ulysses by Kevin Birmingham
- Ulysses by James Joyce
- Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi
OTHER PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
- Allen Ginsberg
- Angela Davis
- Diana Buttu
- Elliott Colla
- Ernest Hemingway
- Francis Bacon
- Jack Kerouac
- Jane Bowles
- Jimmy Hendrix
- Leopold Bloom
- Naguib Mahfouz
- Napoleon Bonaparte
- Nawal El Saadawi
- Noam Chomsky
- Orson Welles
- Paul Bowles
- Scott Fitzgerald
- Tennessee Williams
- Truman Capote
- Vijay Prashad
FILMS AND TV SHOWS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
EGYPTIAN LOCATIONS MENTIONED
- Aswan
- Cairo
- El Fishawi Café in Cairo
- Luxor
- Mount Sinai
- Sharm El Sheikh
- St. Catherine’s Monastery
- Sohag
MOROCCO LOCATIONS MENTIONED
OTHER PLACES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
- Baghdad
- Bahrain
- Beirut
- Belfast
- California
- Dublin
- Cairo, Egypt
- Iran
- Finland
- Lebanon
- Maryland
- Morocco
- New York
- Palestine
- Saudi Arabia
- Seattle
- United States
LOCATIONS WHERE THE INTERVIEW TOOK PLACE
WINE FROM LEBANON CONSUMED DURING THIS EPISODE
CHECK OUT LEFT TURN MAGAZINE
CONTACT ZEIN
Time Stamped Show Notes
**Click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode.
[1:31] Zein’s Study Abroad Program in Egypt and Having Tea at Nawal el Saadawi’s Home
[10:54] Matt and Zein Talk About “Ulysses” by James Joyce
[14:32] Zein’s Personal Connection with “Ulysses”
[21:06] Matt and Zein Discuss “Finnegans Wake” by James Joyce
[23:43] The U.S. Government’s Censorship of “Ulysses”
[25:40] Zein’s Study-Abroad Program to Teach “Ulysses” in Ireland
[29:41] Why Zein Feels Like Dublin is His Second Home
[30:53] Ireland-Palestine Solidarity and Zein’s First Trip to Belfast
[34:18] Zein’s Study Abroad Program to Morocco
[42:51] Matt and Zein Talk About Essaouira, Morocco
[46:19] Orientalism and De-Exotifying the Arab World
[49:26] Reflections on Exile
[55:07] Reading “On Embassy Row” from “A Travel Guide for the Exiled”
[58:15] Zein’s Activist Trajectory in the United States
[1:04:36] Getting Kicked Out of the International Socialist Organization
[1:05:57] Founding Left Turn Magazine
[1:10:14] Attracting Extraordinary Social Movement Activists to Left Turn
[1:16:28] The Impact of Palestine Solidarity Work Over The Last 25 Years
[1:22:30] Connecting Global and Local Issues and Organizing to Save a DC Community Center
[1:28:51] Hosting the Shay Wah Nana Show
[1:30:38] The Violent Eviction of the Maasai People by the Government of Tanzania
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