On episode 081 of The Quarantine Tapes, Paul Holdengräber is joined by Rabih Alameddine. Alameddine and Holdengräber explore how poetry has impacted their lives, and share their mutual adoration for the work of Fernando Pessoa. When Holdengräber asks what is his favorite poem, Alameddine reads Happiness Writes White, by Edward Hirsch. Openly contemplating mental health, Alameddine and Holdengräber discuss observations on the human desires to be seen, as well as to be separate.Rabih Alameddine is the author of I, the Divine (W.W. Norton), The Hakawati (A.A. Knopf), Koolaids, The Perv, An Unnecessary Woman, and The Angel of History (all Grove Atlantic). An Unnecessary Woman was a finalist for the National Book Award 2014 and the winner of the prestigious Prix Femina étranger, and The Angel of History won the Lambda Literary Award. Alameddine is the winner of the 2019 Dos Passos Prize. His next novel, The Wrong End of the Telescope, will be published by Grove in spring/summer 2021. Read the poem “Happiness Writes White” by Edward HirschPhotography credit: Benito OrdonezCredits:Paul Holdengraber - Co-Creator, Host, OLA DirectorAnthony Audi - Co-Creator, Researcher, OLA DirectorAlejandro Cohen - Co-Creator, Producer, ComposerChristian Pitt - Production Coordinator Erin Cooney - Copy, ProductionDublab Team