The Drunken Odyssey with John King: A Podcast About the Writing Life (general)

On #560, Rachael Tillman and I discuss the art of persona writing through the lens of Philip Schultz's recent book, Comforts of the Abyss.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_560.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:40am EDT

This week I speak with the prose writer Jennifer Worley, the fall 2022 resident of The Kerouac Project of Orlando.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_558.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:13pm EDT

On this week’s show, Jeff Shuster and I discuss the 1992 Peter Jackson masterpiece of a family drama, Dead Alive.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_547.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:43pm EDT

This week, I speak with my friend and colleague Ryan Rivas about his exciting, new, experimental memoir, Nextdoor in Colonialtown.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_544.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:30am EDT

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_527.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:37pm EDT

In this week’s show, I speak with the poet Marisa Siegel about the value of combining poetry with graphic art, language poetry, discovering poetry early in life, and the Mills College MFA Program in Oakland.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_519.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:13pm EDT

In this week’s show, I speak with the poet Kimberly Ann Priest about purposeful ambiguity in poetry and the minor disturbing oddities in Hieronymus Bosch.

 

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_517.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:36am EDT

On #516 Rachel Tillman and I discuss the novels of Sally Rooney.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_516.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:48pm EDT

In this week’s show, I talk to Laura Costas about the pleasures of disorientation, the surprises of actual history, the complexity of myth, and postmodernism.
Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_514.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:45pm EDT

On today’s show, co-novelists Laura Blackett and Eve Gleichman talk about corporate cults, collaborative writing, and satire.
Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_508.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:00am EDT

On today’s show, I discuss Florida journalism, the tragic side of Florida Man, iguana hunters, bespoke mermaid tales, and other topics of great interest with Craig Pittman.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

 

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_498.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:11am EDT

On this week’s show, Jeff Shuster and I discuss the sensitive contribution to cinema that is Tokyo Gore Police.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

ScribophileTDO listeners can get 20% of a premium subscription to Scribophile. After using the above link to register for a basic account, go herewhile still logged in to upgrade the account with the discount.

Check out my literary adventure novel, Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame.


Episode 496 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on Apple podcastsstitcher, spotify, or click here to stream (right click to download, if that’s your thing).

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_496.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:29pm EDT

On this week’s show, Jeff Shuster and I discuss Repo! The Genetic Opera!

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_495.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:00am EDT

Direct download: TDO_Update_9.26.21.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:12pm EDT

In this week’s show, I talk to Disney historian Todd James Pierce about how Covid-19 and the home streaming of entertainment might affect the future of visual storytelling, plus we discuss his current historical work on Disney Legend John Hench.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_487.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:14pm EDT

In this week’s show, Jeff Shuster (our glorious Curator of Schlock) kick off summer by discussing two vintage summer camp films released in a two year span, Ivan Reitman's Meatballs (1979) and Tony Maylam's The Burning (1981).

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_477.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:00am EDT

In this week’s episode, theater scholar Raphael Cormack and I discuss the allure of Arabian music, the revolutionary times in Egypt between the world wars, and the women who dominated Cairo’s entertainment scene in the 1920s and 30s.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_463.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:18pm EDT

In this week’s show, Leslie Salas and I discuss Lynda Barry's composition book-inspired musings on art, Syllabus, and how not just craft, but creativity itself is a skill.

TEXT DISCUSSED

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_458.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:28pm EDT

Episode 457 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on Apple podcastsstitcher, spotify, or click here to stream (right click to download, if that’s your thing).

In this week’s show, Ryan Rivas talk about small press publishing, book design, and the value of MFA programs.

Ryan Rivas by Jared Alan Smith.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_457.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:20pm EDT

The fiction writer and veteran Phil Klay and I discuss finding the right form for a novel, war literature, the uplift of humor, and winning the National Book Award.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_446.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am EDT

On this week’s show, I talk with Jeff Shuster about Cosmos Panatos's 2018 classic horror film, Mandy, as part 1 of our series of discussions on horror films of the last decade.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_441.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:26pm EDT

This week, I talk to podcaster Kyle Eagle about music and everything.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_432.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:49pm EDT

This week, I speak to fiction writer Shane Hinton about his poetic, spooky apocalyptic novel, Radio Dark.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_409.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:27pm EDT

This week's show features another pair of episodes from Miami Book Fair International.


Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_398.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:23pm EDT

Music!

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_394.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:27am EDT

GKHiRes

In this week’s episode, I talk with historian and crime writer Gilbert King about the history of justice and journalism, the role of luck in research, experimenting with presentation until a passage feels right, and how to manage one's doubts when pursuing a writing project.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Beneath a Ruthless Sun.jpg

Devil in the Grove

NOTES

 

Check out my first interview with Gilbert back on episode 60!

 

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_385.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am EDT

In this week’s episode, I talk with creative writer and Disney historian Todd James Pierce about the new developments in role-play storytelling that were and perhaps still are planned for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios park at Walt Disney World.

Episode 384 Art

According to the end of the line cast member outside Oga's Cantina, you can't see all three of Batuu's suns, but you could certainly feel them, on a day called Heatstroke-in-the-Shade.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_384.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:30am EDT

Episode 382 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on Apple podcasts, stitcher, spotify, or click here to stream.

In this week’s episode, I talk with Rick Moody about his new book, The Long Accomplishment: A Memoir of Hope and Struggle in Matrimony.

Rick Moody by Laurel NakadatePhoto by Laurel Nakadate

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_382.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:48pm EDT

In this week’s episode, Chelsey Clammer, David James Poissant, Rion Amalcar Scott, and I discuss how to survive in the writing life before an AWP audience in Portland, Oregon.

AWP Panel

Chelsey Clammer

David James Poissant

rion-scott-author-photo-final-hi-res-23

1flip

NOTES

If you are anywhere near Miami, check out the O, Miami Poetry Festival.

Please review this show on iTunes.

My novel comes out next week.

Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame

 

 

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_362.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:20pm EDT

In this week’s episode, I go back to Jack Kerouac's house to talk to fellow fiction writer and NYU alum Sara Batkie about Realism, Magic Realism, historical fiction, the composition of a story collection, NYU's MFA program, the upsides of reading for literary magazines, and our evolutions as writers.

Sara Batkie

TEXT DISCUSSED

Better Times

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_361.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:47pm EDT

In this week’s episode, I talk to fiction writer Teresa Carmody about the joys of making books, the patterns needed for experimental work, and approaching the musicality of writing like meditation.

teresa carmodyPhoto by Jared Alan Smith.

 

 

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_355.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:33pm EDT

In this week’s episode, I chat with my friend Terry Ann Thaxton about poetry, parents, mortality, yard work, mud, and the underrated useful of writing prompts for professional writers. We were tired, but we laughed a lot.

Terry Ann ThaxtonJohn King and Terry Ann Thaxton at Jack Kerouac's house in Orlando. Jared Silvia is saying something behind us. Photo by Katherine J. Parker.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Mud Song.jpg

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_352.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:43am EDT

In this week’s episode, I speak with the war veteran, journalist, and novelist Elliot Ackerman about composition and revision strategies, and the emotional access points from our own experience to the stories we tell.

[caption id="attachment_23972" align="alignnone" width="4416"]elliot ackermanPhoto by Huger Foote.[/caption]

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Waiting for Eden.png

dark at the crossing

 

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_351.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:28pm EDT

Episode 347 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

This week is a cornucopia of poetry conversation with Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Juan Felipe Herrera, and Billy Collins!

Juan Felipe HerreraJuan Felipe Herrera

Billy CollinsBilly Collins

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Oceanic

JabberWalkingImagineThe Rain in Portugal

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_347.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:54pm EDT

Here's a present, something I acquired when collecting bootlegs in the 1990s. I hope you enjoy it while I get over this damned cold.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_346.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:27pm EDT

In this week’s episode, I talk with Vanessa Blakeslee about the new story anthology, A Very Italian Christmas, from New Vessel Press.

John Vanessa Italian Christmas

In our discussion, we manage to talk about yuletide loneliness, poverty, despair, prostitution, elk herds, Christmas, fascism, prostitution, friendship, Paul Auster's screenplay for Smoke, and David Sedaris's classic essay, "Dinah the Christmas Whore."

TEXTS DISCUSSED

A Very Italian ChristmasHolidays on IceSmokeVeryFrenchChristmas-FrontCover

NOTES

Check out Vanessa and I talking about A Very French Christmas from last year.

Check out my interview with Davis Sedarisback on episode 50.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_343.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:52am EDT

In this week’s episode, I talk to poet and memoirist Linda Buckmaster about how our subjects sometimes choose us, the wondrous weirdness of Florida, and how the find form in the flux of composition.

Linda Buckmaster

TEXT DISCUSSED

space heart

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_342.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:26pm EDT

In this week’s episode, I am joined by Dale Lucas, Tom Lucas, and Elise McKenna for a deep dive into Stephen King's 1981 treatise on the horror genre, Danse Macabre.

Danse Macabre 2Photo by Katherine J. Parker.

TEXT DISCUSSED

Danse MacabrePhoto by Katherine J. Parker.

NOTES

Check out Don Peteroy's amazing essay on how to read the entire Dark Tower series while still having a life.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_337.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

In this week’s episode, I talk to fiction writer Jane Ridgeway about our stories and characters choosing us instead of the other way around, the delicious problem of historical fiction, and what teenagers today like to read, among other topics.

[caption id="attachment_23534" align="alignnone" width="2048"]Jane RidgewayJane Ridgeway by Steve Erwin.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_335.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:02am EDT

This week, I interview Dale Lucas, the author of the Fifth Wardand Doc Voodooseries of novels about exploring ethics in long-form narrative, world-building (and when to stop), how to keep writing the novel in maddening isolation, and other stuff, too.

Dale-Lucas-cr-JP-Wright

Books Discussed

Fifth Ward Friendly FireFirst-Watch-cover-768x1148Doc Voodoo CrossfireDoc Voodoo Aces and EightsDale Lucas No Surrender

NOTES

Check out Dale's essayabout having Simon Vance perform the audiobook of his novel, The Fifth Ward: First Watch.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_328.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:32pm EDT

In this week’s episode, I talk with Vanessa Blakeslee about short story writing over the long haul, and about her brand new book, Perfect Conditions.

Vanessa Blakeslee Author Photo.jpg

Plus James Chapin writes about how the King James Bible changed his life.

James Chapin

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Perfect_Conditions_Front_Cover

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_324.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:01pm EDT

On this week’s program, The Drunken Odyssey enjoys perhaps its final Bloomsday live show, and its perhaps final visit to The Gallery at Avalon Island.

Bloomsday 2018 Jeremy DaCruzJeremy DaCruz by Steve Erwin.Bloomsday 2018 Music!Matthew Davis, Alisha Erao, and Sarah Morrison by Steve Erwin.Bloomsday 2018 Octavia FinchOctavia Finch by Steve Erwin.Bloomsday 2018 Elise McKennaElise McKenna by Steve Erwin.Bloomsday 2018 Erik BranchErik Branch by Steve Erwin.Bloomsday 2018 John KingJohn King by Steve Erwin.Bloomsday 2018 Emmi GreenEmmi Green by Steve Erwin.Bloomsday 2018 Pat GreenePatrick Greene and Jeremy DaCruz by Steve Erwin.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_320.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:30pm EDT

On this week’s program, I talk to poets Gerald Stern and Victor Hernandez Cruz, plus we hear John McMahon's prologue to his work in progress, A Boy from Nantucket.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_312.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:10pm EDT

On this week’s show, I talk to essayist Chelsey Clammer about the lyric essay, finding humor in trauma, and being honestly surprising.

Chelsea Clammer AWP

BOOKS DISCUSSED

Circadian.jpgBodyhome

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_310.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:13pm EDT

On this week’s show, I share my interview with poet Sean Patrick Mulroy,

Sean Patrick Mulroy

plus I chat with my veteran friend Joshua Dull (on the right) about his plans to do more mission work in Costa Rica.

Joshua Dull in Costa Rica

NOTES

If you can, throw a few bucks into the can to send Joshua back to Costa Rica to work on clean water projects.

The Kerouac Project of Orlando is accepting applications for its 3-month residency program until April 16th.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_306.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:01am EDT

On this week’s show, I share interviews I did with the short story writer Jim Shepard

Jim Shepard

and one of my favorite novelists, Jennifer Egan.

[caption id="attachment_22997" align="alignnone" width="1430"]Jennifer-Egan-c-Pieter-M.-Van-Hattem-blue Jennifer Egan © Pieter M. van Hattem.[/caption]

TEXTS DISCUSSED

The World to ComeManhattan Beach

NOTES

Please leave a review of the show on iTunes.


Episode 305 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_305.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:09am EDT

On January 19th, 2018, Dianne Turgeon Richardson hosted an evening of protest poetry at Milk Bar in Orlando, Florida!

Dianne Turgeon Richardson

The readers included on this recording are Talor Carr, Rachel Fox, Lana Ghannam, Drew Weinbrenner, John King, Dianne Turgeon Richardson, Lisa Roney, Troy Cunio, Laurie Uttich, and Sean Patrick Mulroy.

Lana Ghannam Lana Ghannam.

Lisa Roney Lisa Roney.

Bar Dogs! Bar dogs.

NOTES

  • For help with getting Voter IDs, for yourself or others, please check out IDignity.
  • Learn more about Exodus United.

 

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_298.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:59pm EDT

JavaBHOF2017

On this week’s show, I catch up with Jason Croft about the continuing evolution of pin up and burly-q culture, Bunny Yeager's legacy, the awesomeness of Medusirena, writing for pulp magazines, the joys and struggles of editorship, and the 10th anniversary of Bachelor Pad Magazine, where some of my work has been published.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

PrintBPM023cover_originalBPM028_cover_REV5

NOTES

If you can contribute to my indiegogo fundraiser, please go here.

On Sunday, August 13th at 3 PM, join me and the other authors of Other Orlandos to celebrate its book launch!

Other Orlandos


Episode 273 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

 

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_273.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

On this week’s show, I talk to fiction writer, Shasta Grant, the Kerouac House resident from the spring of 2017.

Shasta Grant

NOTES

Shasta's chapbook is now available from Split Lip Press.

On June 16th, I am hosting a fundraiser for the S.A.F.E. Words poetry slam at Writer's Atelier.

On July 28th, I am hosting a reading by Jaimal Yogis at the Kerouac House.

 

 

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_266.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:00pm EDT

In this week’s episode, I talk to J. Bradley about his new novel, Jesus Christ, Boy Detective,

Jesse Bradley

plus Tom McAllister reads his essay, "A Brief History of World Travel, Part 6."

Tom McAllister Alaska

TEXTS DISCUSSED

j_bradley-jesus_christ_boy_detective-front_coverFR_40_1 - front cover

NOTES

  • For those of you who'd like to read "A Brief History of World Travel, Part 6," or follow Tom McAllister in general, go here.
  • Subscribe to The Florida Review for only $15 a year.
Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_216.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:24pm EDT

In this week’s episode, I share a recording of latest Best Of show in Jesse Bradley’s prose reading series, There Will Be Words, in which I was a reader, along with Tom Lucas, Jared Silvia, and Karen Price.

TWBW Jesse
J. Bradley. Photo by John King.
Photo by Shawn McKee.
John King. Tom Lucas is at crotch height. Photo by Shawn McKee.
Tom Lucas. Photo by Shawn McKee.
Tom Lucas. Photo by Shawn McKee.
Jared Silvia. Photo by Shawn McKee.
Jared Silvia. Photo by Shawn McKee.
Karen Price. Photo by Shawn McKee.
Karen Price. Photo by Shawn McKee.

NOTES

If you live in the City Beautiful, that is Orlando, come see me collaborate with others in The Pink Fire Revue on Saturday, June 4th.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_206.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:52pm EDT

In this week’s episode, I interview the creative nonfiction writer Sarah Viren,

Sarah Viren

Plus Amy Oestreicher writes about a book that changed her life.

Amy Oestreicher B&W 2006

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Sarah Viren's My Murderer's Futon.

 
The Courage to Heal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOTES

Learn more about Sarah Viren here.

Learn more about Amy Oestreicher, including upcoming dates of her one-woman show, Gutless and Grateful, here.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_195.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:07pm EDT

In this week’s episode, I interview the poet J. Scott Brownlee,

J Scott Brownlee

plus Dan Lauer reads his memoir essay, "Helen of Troy."

Dan Lauer
TEXTS DISCUSSED


Requiem for Used Ignition Cap

Sex Drugs and Cocoa Puffs

Break Every Rule

 

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_194.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:04am EDT

In this week’s episode, I interview fiction writer Mary Gaitskill, and share her reading from Miami Book Fair International,

Mary Gaitskill

plus Beverly Army Williams and I discuss Mary Gaitskill's new novel, The Mare.

FullSizeRender-5

TEXTS DISCUSSED

The MareVeronicaNOTES

Check out Beverly Army Williams's site, Mothershould.

Litlando-PosterGet tickets for Litlando here.

The music used in this show was by Michael Hearst. "Alprazolam" (Songs for Fearful Flyers) and "Nicht Lustig Fight" (Film Music and Other Scores, Vol. 1) appeared in the opening, and "Theme From Magic Camp" (Film Music and Other Scores, Vol. 1) at the close.

Check out his wonderful music.

Film Music and Other ScoresSongs for Fearful FlyersIf you live in Orlando, check out Orlando Shakespeare Theater's 2016 production of The Tempest.

Greg Thornton (Prospero) and Lisa Wolpe (Antonia) star in Orlando Shakespeare Theater’s production of William Shakespeare's The Tempest. (Photo by Luke Evans.)
Greg Thornton (Prospero) & Lisa Wolpe (Antonia) in OST's The Tempest. (Photo by Luke Evans.)
Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_193.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:47pm EDT

In this week’s episode, I interview Mary Karr,

Mary Karr

and share her talk at Miami Book Fair International 2015, plus I share a Miami Bookfair Event I was in,

Tiffany Razzano's Saved by the Sunshine State.

Tiffany Razzano
Tiffany Razzano ruling over The Swamp!

 

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_183.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:19pm EDT

In this week’s episode, I interview my occasional co-host Vanessa Blakeslee about her new novel, Juventud,

Photo by Ashley Inguanta.
Photo by Ashley Inguanta.

plus James Stewart III writes about how reading David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest changed his life.

James Stewart III

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Juventud

Infinite Jest

NOTES

Come see Vanessa on book tour, including her upcoming appearance on October 18th in the Sunday Salon series with Orlando Ferrand, Anu Jindal, and Asali Solomon. The reading starts at 7 P.M. at Jimmy's #43 at 43 E 7th Street, NY, NY.

Vanessa Blakeslee Book Tour

Svetlana Alexievich has won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Elvis, the king cobra who has roamed Orlando for the last 5 weeks, has been found.

In turns out, Publix Supermarkets don't recycle human skulls.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_174.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:06pm EDT

In this week’s episode, we have a roundtable discussion of Edgar Allen Poe.

PoeRT02

Present for this discussion were Jared Silvia,

PoeRT25

PoeRT23

Shawn Whittington,

PoeRT10

Dianne Turgeon Richardson,

PoeRT28

Matt Peters,

PoeRT13

and Teege Braune,

PoeRT08(1)PoeRT18

PoeRT27
Jared, put THAT damned knife away.
PoeRT19
So you're saying my thesis isn't solid? Really?

PoeRT26

NOTES

Check out the sweet swag in The Drunken Odyssey‘s fundraiser here.

Tom Lucas Sporting a TDO T-shirt

Check out these Burrow Press events. Literary Death Match will be judged by Billy Collins.

fund-slide

Saturday October 3rd  |  Functionally Literate Presents:

PADGETT POWELL  |  REBECCA EVANHOE  |  BETH McKEE
Lowndes Shakespeare Center  |  812 E. Rollins Street
7pm  |  FREE  |  No ticket necessary.

Wednesday October 7th  |  Literary Death Match Presents:

ERICA DAWSON  |  DAVID JAMES POISSANT
KRISTIN HARMEL  |  KRISTEN ARNETT
Mad Cow Theatre  |  54 W. Church Street, 2nd Floor
Doors at 7pm  |  Show at 8pm
$12 pre-sale  |  $15 at the door.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_173.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:07pm EDT

In this week’s episode, I talk about Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own with Vanessa Blakeslee,

Photo by Ashley Inguanta.
Photo by Ashley Inguanta.

plus Christopher Booth reads "The Disappointment,"

Chris Booth

by Aphra Behn.

Aphra_Behn

TEXTS DISCUSSED

A Room of One's Own

Virginia Woolf Feminism and the Reader

NOTES

Check out The Drunken Odyssey’s fundraiser and related perks here.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_166.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:44pm EDT

In this week’s episode, I talk to the poet Ciara Shuttleworth,

Photo by Drew Perlmutter.
Photo by Drew Perlmutter.

plus Don Royster writes about how Isaac Asimov helped him to appreciate Shakespeare.

Don Royster

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Camus NotebooksThe Great Shark HuntAsimovs Guide to ShakespeareNOTES

To read about Ciara's post-residency road-tripping with Flat Jack, here is part 1 and part 2.

To read Thomas Jefferson's original draft of The Declaration of Independence, go here.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_160.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:06pm EDT

In this week’s episode, I talk to fiction writer and poet Stacy Barton,

Stacy Barton

plus Shawn Whittington writes about how The Hobbit changed his life.

Shawn Whittington 2

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_156.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm EDT

In this week’s episode, I talk to the poet Scott Bailey,

Scott Bailey
Scott Bailey and Raquel Obando.

plus Chad W. Lutz writes about Stephen King's novella "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption."

Chad Lutz

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Thus Spake Gigolo

Different Seasons

Life StudiesNOTES

The music accompanying Chad W. Lutz's essay was "Crater" by The Spanish Donkey.

Bad Dog
Ginger Lee McDermott as Molly in Jennifer Hoppe-House's Bad Dog (Photo by Tony Firriolo).

Check out Jennifer Hoppe-House's Bad Dog, playing at Orlando Shakespeare Theater through May 5th.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_147.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:22pm EDT

In this week’s episode, I talk to the novelist Darcey Steinke,

"Sister Golden Hair" author Darcey Steinke

plus I share a spoken word poem by Wilson Santos, and a brief interview about his crowdfunding project for literacy in the Dominican Republic.

Wilson SantosTEXTS DISCUSSED

Sister Golden HairSuicide Blondehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkrDE5oYjRs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPhp5M3n0O0

NOTES

Check out more about Wilson Santos' Domican Republic project, including how to donate, here.

Check out Orlando Shakes' wonderfully colorful production of Merry Wives, with runs from February 4 to March 7, 2015.

MW_6_lr
Photo by Tony Firriolo.

Michael Chabon is a lyricist for Mark Ronson's new album, Uptown Special, as covered by The Guardian.

Harper Lee's lost novel, Go Set a Watchman, will be published later this year. The Atlantic reports on the story of its discovery. In an attempt to allay fears of Lee's competence, she has apparently released a statement through her lawyer, saying, "“I’m alive and kicking and happy as hell with the reactions to ‘Watchman,’ ” according to The New York Times.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_138.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:02pm EDT

On this bonus episode, I guide listeners through a lovely tour of Ulysses on today, which is Bloomsday.

Bloomsday 2014 Poster

TEXT DISCUSSED

ulysses-james-joyce

NOTES

Check out Black 47's music here, or wherever you buy music. "I Got Laid on James Joyce's Grave" appears on Trouble in the Land.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_104.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:55pm EDT

On this week’s show, I talk to the multidisciplinary wonder that is J. Bradley,

Jesse Bradley

Plus Molly Gleeson writes about reading Anthony Trollope while teaching in Saudia Arabia.

Molly Gleeson

TEXTS DISCUSSED

The Bones of Us

Dodging Traffic Hear J. Bradley read his "You + Me = Awwwwwww Yeah" + "Pussycat Interstellar Naked Hotrod Mofo Ladybug Lust Blaster" by Derrick Brown on the second erotic poetry live show of The Drunken Odyssey.

He Knew He Was Right

Chronic City

NOTES 

I recommend Orlando Shakespeare Theater’s production of Julius Caesar, playing until April 20th.

Check out Beating Windward Press’s call for essays for its forthcoming essay collection, The Things They Did For Money: How Writers, Artists, and Creatives Support the Habit.

In England, authors are protesting a new measure that prohibits inmates from getting access to books in the mail (BBC).

Beckett once directed his own plays, in performances featuring San Quentin inmates.

Here's an image of the Chronic City finale poster.

ChronicCity_Poster

 
Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_92.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:10pm EDT

On this week’s show, I talk to fiction writer David James Poissant,

Jamie Poissant by Ashley Inguanta

Plus Max Bakke writes about Nick Hornby's High Fidelity.

Max Bakke

TEXTS DISCUSSED

The Heaven of Animals

High Fidelity

Read David James Poissant's "I Want to be Friends with Republicans" here.

NOTES

OST's William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar can be seen from March 19 - April 20, 2014. Go here for more details.

Caesar
Anne Hering, Esau Pritchett, Paul Bernardo, from Orlando Shakespeare Theater's forthcoming production of Julius Caesar.
Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_89.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:57pm EDT

On this week’s show, I talk to fiction writer and memoirist Kevin Sampsell,

Kevin Sampsell
Photo by Ellis Christopher.

Plus Kevin Bray writes about finding Men on Divorce.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

This is Between Us

A Common Pornography

Creamy Bullets

Men on Divorce

NOTES

Find Burrow Press's releases here, & check out the discounted subscription rate.

Train Shots Release Party

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_86.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:09pm EDT

On this week’s show, I talk to the poet Susan Lilley,

Susan Lilley

Plus Anthony Jacobson writes about how the books of Irvine Welsh changed his life.

Anthony Jacobson
Irvine Welsh is on the left, Tony on the right.

NOTES

Quentin Tarantino vows to shelve his upcoming film project, The Hateful Eight, after the screenplay's first draft was leaked (according to Deadline).

The Florida Writers' Conference goes from February 13th-15th, ending with the Florida premiere of Terry Giliam's new film, written by Pat Rushin, The Zero Theorem. Click here to learn how to register for the conference.

zero theorem

Carlton Melton's "Smoke Drip," from their album Photos of Photos, accompanied Anthony Jacobson's "Hang-Up at the Gorgie Venture Hostel for Exceptional Young Men."

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Satellite Beach

Night Windows

Trainspotting

Maribou Stork Nightmares

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_82.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:38pm EDT

On this week’s show, I present my interview with Edwidge Danticat,

Edwidge Danticat

and my interview with Koren Zailckas,

Koren Zailckas

plus Samantha Stemler writes about Neil McKenna's The Secret Life of Oscar Wilde.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Claire of the Sea Light

Mother Mother

Fury

Smashed

The Secret Life of Oscar Wilde

NOTES

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5I_3co-6Dw

The Drunken Odyssey now has a youtube channel.

According to the Kids' Right to Read Project, 2013 has been a record year for attempts to ban books in libraries in schools. The Diary of Anne Frank, you know, is too pornographic for American children to be exposed to. This was reported in The Guardian.

The Heaven of Animals, the forthcoming collection from friend-of-the-show David James Poissant, is available for pre-order. Please support the launch of his book, which is wonderful reading.

The Heaven of Animals

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_78.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:13pm EDT

On this week’s show, I talk to the poet Tim J. Myers,

Tim Myers

Plus Dan Lauer explains the impact Spalding Gray's Swimming to Cambodia had on him.

Dan Lauer

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Dear Beast Loveliness

Swimming to Cambodia

Impossible Vacation

The Heaven of Animals

NOTES

Walter Pater: "All art constantly aspires towards the condition of music" (From The School of Giogione).

Think about helping Beating Windward Press fund new art for its Doc Voodoo pulp fiction series. The swag is considerable, like this t-shirt.

DocVoodooT

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_63.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:08pm EDT

On this week’s show, I answer some mail with my friend, David James Poissant,

David James Poissant

Plus Cathy Day Addresses The Man Who Called Her On the Phone Asking for Advice About How to Get Published.

Cathy Day

Notes

Cathy Day's essay first appeared on her blog, right here.

If you are in Central Florida on June 16th, come celebrate Bloomsday with us!

Bloomsday 2013

Book Fight's Exceedingly Accurate Blurb:

The Drunken Odyssey with John King: A Podcast About the Writing Life is a supernova, an interstellar jamboree of colors and lights, like the twirling dresses of a troupe of champion folk dancers, like being imprisoned in Ace Freeley’s amp, throbbing like the veins in Jehovah’s hard-on.  You can look, but you can’t touch, and also, you can’t look, because if you do, you will turn to stone, and your guts will turn to marble.”

According to The Times, there was controversy over the spelling of the word that won the national spelling bee championship.  Is this anti-semitic orthography?

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_51.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:03am EDT

Episode 45 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing, literature, and drinking, is available.

This week, I talk to the poet Terry Ann Thaxton,

Terry Ann Thaxton

Plus Madison Bernath reviews 360 GLAZED DONUT VODKA!

Madison Bernath

Texts Discussed

Getaway Girl

The Terrible Wife

360 Glazed Donut Vodka

15-views-cover-full

Notes

Madison's review of 360 Glazed Donut Vodka first appeared on McSweeney's Internet Tendency.

Wikipedia decides that women aren't "American novelists," according to this Times story.

I'll be reading with Philip Deaver, Monica Wendel, and Enid Schumer on May 11th at the Timucua Arts White House.

Functionally Literate

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_46.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:13pm EDT

On episode 43 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing, literature, and drinking, I talk to the poet Lillian-Yvonne Bertram,

Lillian Yvonne Bertram

Plus James Best discusses Gatsby.

James Best

Texts Discussed

Carlton Melton's Photos of Photos.

Photos Of Photos

Notes

Orlando Shakespeare Theater’s Titus Andronicus runs through April 28.

titus andronicus

Music for this week’s essay provided by Carlton Melton.

Daybreak

Princess Parizade

TheDrunkenodyssey1

Grrr: Amazon buys Goodreads.com.

The Tequila Worms have generously offered their album Cantina as a free download.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_43.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:38am EDT

On this week’s show, I talk to the poet Steve Davenport,

Steve Davenport

Joe Conley plums Cormac McCarthy's Child of God,

Joe Conley

Plus I answer some mail...

Texts Discussed:

Overpass

Uncontainable NoiseDavenport Nine Poems and Three Fictions

Child of God

Laurence Sterne and the Visual Imagination

Print

Notes:

Othello

Orlando Shakespeare Theatre presents Othello, now through March 16th.

Winter with the Writers

Throughout February, Rollins College will be hosting its annual author series, Winter with the Writers.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_37.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:08pm EDT

Episode 26 of The Drunken Odyssey features the Martin Amis event at Miami Book Fair International, November 17, 2012.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_26.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:43pm EDT

On Episode 20 of The Drunken Odyssey, John discusses Florida literature with the literary scholar Anna Lillios, then Alison Barker discusses Lydia Yuknavitch's The Chronology of Water, and John answers mail while listening to The Tequila Worms.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_20.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:17am EDT

On Episode 18 of The Drunken Odyssey, John speaks to the novelist Richard Manchester, then Adam Walck discusses House of Leaves and Moby Dick, and John answers mail while listening to the Necronomkids.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_18.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:23pm EDT

On Episode 15 of The Drunken Odyssey, John discusses the Disney Thing vis-a-vis himself, then talks to Disney historian Jeff Kurtti, plus Catherine Harnett discusses James Salter's Light Years.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_15.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:58pm EDT

On Episode 14 of The Drunken Odyssey, John talks to novelist Susan Hubbard, plus Nate Rankin discusses David Foster Wallace's The Pale King, and John answers mail.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_14.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:40am EDT

On Episode 13 of The Drunken Odyssey, John talks to Mikita Brottman about her new book 13 Girls, plus J.J. Anselmi discusses Lauren Slater, and John offers a cocktail recipe.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_13.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:37pm EDT

On Episode 10 of The Drunken Odyssey, John talks to the poet Laren McClung, plus Claude Clayton Smith discusses John Updike, and John answers mail.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_10.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:29pm EDT

On Episode 4 of The Drunken Odyssey, John talks to the Shakespearean actor/director/scholar Kevin Crawford, plus Adam Michael Walk discusses Gravity's Rainbow, and John answers mail.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_4.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:41am EDT

On Episode 3, John interviews the fabulous Lisa Claire Roney, plus Vanessa Victoria Volpe discusses Deborah Landau’s The Last Useable Hour.

Direct download: Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_3.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:03pm EDT

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