John Parker (JP) Der Boghossian (pronouns: he/they) perused the aisles of a Borders bookstore in Traverse City, Mich., looking for a queer-inspired book. After finding “A Home at the End of the World” by Michael Cunningham, he immediately read it and found he identified with the main characters. The story resonated with him in his twenties, eventually helping him understand his own relationship ideals.
Now 41 and living in St. Anthony, Der Boghossian launched the first season of his new podcast, “This Queer Book Saved My Life!” in March 2022 and said the books that saved his life influence the interviews with his guests. “How I responded to those books has informed the questions that I ask folks on the show,” he said.
Guests representing all aspects of the LGBTQ spectrum are interviewed and share their experiences about how a certain book impacted their personal queer life. In quite a few cases, the author of the book is brought into the conversation to talk about queer life and provide their own personal context about the impact of literature.
Some of the authors who accompanied guests on the already released episodes include Carmen Maria Machado, William Burleson, Alison Bechdel and Jennifer Finney Boylan – all featured because their books greatly influenced each guest in memorable ways.
Der Boghossian is a former broadcast journalist and journalism instructor who eventually left the industry for more hands-on work. Now a full-time chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer at Normandale Community College, he works daily to create an environment that is inclusive and equitable.
But he also wanted to work more within the queer community. “For me, I want something that gets me more connected to the community and talking while being around queer people,” he said.
The number of anti-LGBTQ bills proposed in 2022 is record-setting; most bills target transgender people and youth. At least five states passed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which cancels conversations and curriculum in schools about gender identity and sexual preferences. According to the National Coalition Against Censorship’s Youth Censorship Database, at least 82 attempts were made by challengers to remove books from school libraries – mostly with LGBTQ content. All of this, topped with the overall daily gender-based discrimination the LGBTQ community often faces, helped Der Boghossian decide to use his love of books and storytelling to launch the podcast.
“We are living in an environment where we need life-giving books,” said Der Boghossian. “We need life-saving stories. I thought it would be neat to have folks talk about the book that saved their life and then have a conversation with the author.”
Raised in an Armenian-American family, the St. Anthony resident said it was tough to be openly queer because of traditional Armenian ideals and values, and the stigmas and stereotypes associated with the rise of HIV/AIDS during the mid-eighties.
Storytelling and finding cultural commonalities within the Armenian queer community was a key to meaningful conversation, and the impetus to create one of his first projects, The Queer Armenian Library. The online platform showcases queer Armenian artists, writers, photographers and filmmakers while providing a vehicle for readers to connect with other LGBTQ people and their work.
Storytelling is a tradition in the LGBTQ community, said Der Boghossian. The storytelling process has changed over the years and reflects more than just a coming-out story. Happy endings do exist, and the narrative does not always have to portray queer people in an antagonistic way, but rather as normal, everyday, and equal people.
“There’s more visibility and access to queer stories,” said Der Boghossian. “I think narratives in the 20th century were really focused on navigating stigma and internalized shame, violence, or navigating coming-out as the primary source of conflict. Yes, coming out is important, and this is one of the fundamental aspects. But we’ve seen writers, artists, filmmakers, and TV show producers begin to look at other aspects of queer life.”
“Being the host of the podcast and hearing people telling me their stories really helps me reflect on my own story and life and how I’m processing my own history, pain and joy as it relates to being a queer person in the world,” said Der Boghossian.
Der Boghossian records his podcasts through the Buzzsprout tool in the closet of his St. Anthony home, joking that the space has the best acoustics in the house. Word play aside, “This Queer Book Saved My Life!” podcast has already garnered a large audience spanning most continents, placing it in the top 25% of all Buzzsprout podcasts.
Der Boghossian will record the season finale of “This Queer Book Saved My Life!” in front of a live audience at LUSH lounge and theater on Aug. 24. With plans for a second season beginning in October, he already has selected guests and plans to continue to help interested queer folks tell their stories through the books that saved them.
“They can ban us from public spaces, but that’s not going to ban the stories. We have such a rich history of telling our stories and getting them out there. This podcast is one way of doing that.”
To listen to season one episodes from “This Queer Book Saved My Life!” and for more information about the upcoming live recorded season finale podcast visit: https://thisqueerbook.com/events.
Below: JP Der Boghossian’s podcasts discuss books by queer authors and how they affect lives. (Photo by Artyom Tonoyan)
