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

In this week's show, Janna Benge and I talk to Lily Brooks-Dalton about the experience of having her novel adapted into a prominent Netflix flick, how to enjoy letting a story take a new life with another creator, what the running time of a film means for a film's meaning, what film adaptations can teach a novel writer, and what film and television writing can do for a writer's creative momentum.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_456.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 12:46am EST

In this week’s show, I talk to the novelist Elif Shafak about the importance of the structure of literary novels, the sublime oddity of the mind, how politics deepen literature (so long as politics don’t drive literature), how research itself generates creativity, and how inclusive literature is the richest literature.

TEXT DISCUSSED

https://youtu.be/KCr8s57hdzY

NOTES

Scribophile

TDO 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.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_455.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 7:27pm EST

This week, I talk to the novelist and graphic novel writer Sarah Kuhn about writing about Cassandra Cain for a YA audience, the demographics of fandom, the fun of the depth of the character pool of DC Comics, and collaborating with an amazing artist.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_454.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 1:26pm EST

The poet and memoirist Carolyn Forché discusses elegies, the role of the unconscious in composition, and being willing to avoid plans.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_453.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 2:01am EST

This week, I talk to historian Grace Elizabeth Hale about how Athens, Georgia helped launch an indie music revolution with the B52s, REM, Pylon, and other bands, and the art and college scene that spawned them.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_452.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 12:32pm EST

This week, I share a Miami Book Fair panel of poets with debut books: Tommye Blount, Ricardo Alberto Maldonado, & Joy Priest!

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_451.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 6:32pm EST

In this week’s episode, I talk with Julian Chambliss, Leslie Salas, Todd James Pierce, and Jeff Shuster about the legacy of Tron Legacy (2010) and Tron (1982) and Tron Uprising (2010) and many other things.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_450.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 9:03pm EST

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

TEXT DISCUSSED

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_449.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 1:49am EST

On #448, Dr. Peniel E. Joseph and I discuss the careers of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcom X, and how examining them together reveals the complexities of both of their evolving understandings of American history and politics.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_448.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 9:27pm EST

Candacy Taylor and I discuss her new book, Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America. We talk about how research can transform a project, and how our understanding of our family’s histories give us windows into understanding our nation’s history, including our own precarious, sometimes alarming moment in it. We also discuss how instrumental color-coded index cards can help us balance the complex work of presenting the long threads of history.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_447.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 12:30am EST

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 EST

On this week's show, poet and scholar Audi Barnes and I discuss the essays and poetry of Audre Lorde.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_445.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 12:34am EST

On this week’s show, Jeff Shuster and I discuss Jordan Peele's Us, and a lot of other things, too.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_444.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 12:30am EST

On this week’s show, Jeff Shuster and I discuss Richard Stanley's recent film of H.P. Lovecraft's The Color Out of Space.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_443.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 10:19pm EST

Photo by Leslie Salas.[/caption]

On this week’s show, Jeff Shuster and I discuss the genius of Richard Brake, the superior sound design of Rob Zombie’s films, the paradoxes of carnie victimhood, the nightmare underbelly of The Great Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution, mere survival as an inadequate story-goal, likable characters, all while talking about Rob Zombie's overlooked brutal 2016 masterpiece, 31.

TEXT DISCUSSED

 

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_442.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 11:59pm EST

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 EST

Photo by Jon Rendell.

On this week’s show, I talk to Dmetri Kakmi about existentialism in horror, the performance of identity, the structure of memoir, and many other things.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_440.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 11:22am EST

On this week's show, I talk to novelist Chuck Palahniuk about The Invention of Sound, Consider This: Moments in My Writing Life after Which Everything Was Different, Adjustment Day, the 18-month rule, how to stay productive, how to keep invested in the work, the genius of Ira Levin, the value of mentors, and how to remix Invisible Monsters.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_439.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 2:09am EST

 

On this episode, I talk to writer Michael Wheaton about Alfonso Cuaron's 2006 film, Children of Men, while I wait in vain for my ears to stop ringing.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_438.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 2:28pm EST

On this episode, I talk to poet Steve Davenport about poetry, collaboration, the body, and many other things.

TEXT DISCUSSED


NOTES

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

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_437.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 11:34pm EST

On this episode, personal essayist Alex Miller and I talk about the intimate power of the personal essay, pitches, politics, and universities in NYC.

Essays by Alex Miller

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_436.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 6:33pm EST

Photo by Carlie Hoffman.

On this episode, poet Ariel Francisco and I talk about Florida's wildness, Miami, Hollywood (Florida), multilingualism, Anna Nicole Smith, a sinking state, Jack Kerouac, FIU's MFA program, and many other important matters.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_435.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 5:23pm EST

Episode 434 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on Apple podcasts, stitcher, spotify, or click here to stream (right click to download, if that’s your thing).

On this episode, Nick Flynn and I talk about memoirs, boundaries, and getting the writing done.

 

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_434.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 1:00am EST

Darin Strauss and I discuss the utility of outlines, the utility of abandoning outlines, love, pain, stream-of-consciousness, love, Lucille Ball, Fred Trump, Coney Island, the semiotic intimacy of television, and love.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_433.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 10:32pm EST

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 EST

In this week's show, Vanessa Blakeslee and I discuss two online pieces on the subject of sex writing, and the conversation roves from there.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_431.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 3:24pm EST

 

Jared Silvia and Gear

In this week’s show, I talk to writer, musician, and producer Jared Silvia about the connections between music and writing, the history of synth-pop, and the role of randomness and patterns to experience.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_430.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 12:58pm EST

Ellis.2.credit Emily VanDerWerffPhoto by Emily VanDerWerf.

In this week’s show, I talk to novelist and video essayist Lindsay Ellis about science fiction; the structure of novels; exploring character interiority; alien invasion narratives; Chomskyian linguistics; the joys of making academic arguments about pop culture outside the academy; Transformers; and author platforms.

Music by Modal Plane, used with permission.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_429.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 11:12pm EST

In this week’s show, I talk to my friend David James Poissant about novel-writing, sex scenes, The X-Men, graphic art, focus, and many other things.

This episode is sponsored by the excellent people at Scribophile.

TDO 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.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_428.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 1:36pm EST

In this week’s show, I talk to my friend, the philosopher Bruce Janz, about how to calm our monkey brains in the time of the pandemic, and what the pandemic can teach us about life before the pandemic.

NOTES

This episode is sponsored by the excellent people at Scribophile.

TDO 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.

Learn more about Queerbomb over at its Facebook page.

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

 

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_427.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 4:48pm EST

 

Scott Hoffman

In this week's show, I talk to my friend, the historian Scott Hoffman, about the evolution of Purdue's Outfest, Chicago Pride, Austin Pride, Queerbomb, Orlando pride, respectability politics, and other matters of interest.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_426.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 2:58pm EST

NOTES

This episode is sponsored by the excellent people at Scribophile.

TDO 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.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_425.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 9:12pm EST

RRAuthorPhotoPhoto by David Whitaker.

In this week's show, I talk to novelist Ronan Ryan about the dramatic uses of gallows humor, how loss teaches us about our priorities, how elusive reality is, and how to match style to story.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_424.mp3
Category:Writing -- posted at: 9:48pm EST

This week, my intern, Alexander Pate, and I discuss the Salisbury, NC protests that he has participated in, and discuss this point in history.

IMG_7864Heavy activity around a confederate statue with an angel.[/caption]

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_423.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 4:23pm EST

Episode 422 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on Apple podcasts, stitcher, spotify, or click here to stream (right click to download, if that’s your thing).

Michael Merriam

This week, Michael Merriam and I discuss the 2010 cult film, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, and in this conversation we address the classic structure of film; the importance of the perfect flaw for a protagonist and antagonist; Joseph Campbell (naturally); the Bible; why Reality Bites bites; video games and the psychological logic of true boss fights; the abundance of super hero actors in this film; comic book adaptations; tropes in anime; and how comedies can house tales with deeply serious content, for those who can look past the jokes.

 


 

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_422.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 4:26pm EST

Didier_Ghez

This week I talk with Disney historian Didier Ghez about the joys of research and forging one's own path as a historian.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_421.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 3:35pm EST

Tom Papa_credit Sam Jones
This week I talk with comedian, actor, sourdough aficionado, and essay writer, Tom Papa!

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Cover.You're Doing GreatYour Dad Stole My RakeEl Superbeasto

 

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_420.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 11:01pm EST

 

Mike Onorato

On this week's show, I speak with Mike Onorato, Vice President of Publicity at Smith Publicity, about how publicity works behind the scenes for writers, and how COVID-19 is affecting the books business.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_419.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 2:26pm EST

 

The Hero With a Thousand Faces JV

Vanessa Blakeslee and I discuss the classic of comparative mythology, Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces. While this is a work of scholarship not directly intended for creative writers, its lessons are of immense value to anyone writing adventure, fantasy, or science fiction. We reference Star Wars, The Matrix, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, The Bible, and Pinocchio, among other works, and mention the trials of academic discourse that are meant to be confused with the belly of the beast.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_418.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 10:19pm EST

This week I talk with the novelist Jason Z. Morris about structuring a novel, learning the confidence to write a novel, how the peer review process in science helps in receiving creative writing criticism, and the fun, diverse conversations to be had at the faculty cafeteria at Fordham at Lincoln Center.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_417.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 12:30am EST

This week I talk with the poet Kimiko Hahn about the mysteriousness of objects, the mourning involved in memory, the strange penchant of Dr. Chevalier Quixote Jackson, and discovering the scheme of a book of poetry.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_416.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 12:20am EST

This week I talk with poet EmilyBrandtabout her new book Falsehood by After Hours Press. We delve into her personal connection with the poems and her growth from taking a poetry class as a one-off to her experience in NYU's MFA program to published poet.We also discuss the effect her students have had on her writing and her life, which range from high school students to veterans of the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Emily Brandt

TEXT DISCUSSED

Falsehood

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_415.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 9:51am EST

In this week’s episode, I talk with creative writer and Disney historian Todd James Pierce about the new Disney's Hollywood Studios attraction that let's guests cross into the screen of a cartoon experience.

Todd Pierce Studios CROPPED June 2018

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway SignMickey Minney Railway Podcast Photo

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_414.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 12:00am EST

mwm_pixel_non_cutout

In this bonus, mid-week episode of The Drunken Odyssey, the game-writing expert Michael Merriam and I read and discuss Escape from Fire Island, a lost classic from the 1990s. Somehow, we touch upon Dragon's Lair, The Canterbury Tales, Hamlet (naturally), He-Man and The Masters of the Universe, and The Hero with a Thousand Faces.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Escape from Fire IslandCanterbury TalesThe Hero with a Thousand Faces

 

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_413.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 12:01am EST

This week, my occasional co-host, Vanessa Blakeslee, and I discuss Douglas Glover's latest collection, The Erotics of Restraint: Essays on Literary Form. We explore his insights on time and plot construction, as seen the works of Alice Munro, Jane Austen, Ernest Hemingway, and others.

John & Vanessa Flash 2

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_412.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 1:11am EST

This week I sit down with novelist and memoirist Paul Lisicky to discuss his new memoir, Later: My Life at The Edge of The World. We dive into the process of memory in writing memoir, the ways of poetically complicating how time works in narrative, and the influences that let him know what was possible to be at home in memoir. We also discuss his formative experiences living in Provincetown in the 1990s, and discovering queer identity during the times of the AIDS epidemic.

Lisicky credit- Beowulf Sheehan (7)Paul Lisicky. Photo by Beowulf Sheehan.[/caption]

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Later My Life at the End of the Worldthe-narrow-door

Ninety nine Stories of GodCalamatiesTruth Serum

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_411.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 1:38pm EST

This week, I speak to actor, show writer, and memoirist Ron Schneider about the show business life, theme park creativity, and learning to master new creative challenges.

Ron Schneider

TEXTS DISCUSSED

From Dreamer to Dreamfinder

NOTES

This episode is sponsored by the excellent people at Scribophile.

Scribophile

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_410.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 1:05pm EST

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 EST

Episode 408 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.)

This week, my occasional co-host, Vanessa Blakeslee, and I discuss Paul Fussell's entertaining treatise, Class: A Guide Through the American Status System. While this is clearly not a craft book, a sociological understanding of the American class system can add layers to your characterization, or so John found when he discovered this gem back in the early 1990s. Paul Fussell (1924-2012) possessed a gorgeously sardonic wit when not hiding in academia.

John Vanessa SailboatSomeday John will own a sailboat, and become truly, deeply, fatally lost, and happy.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_408.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 9:25pm EST

This week, I talk to my friend and colleague Nathan Holic about his new novel that is a true epic of our hometown (Orlando), Bright Lights, Medium-Sized City.

Nathan HolicNathan Holic at an undisclosed location in Orlando, without a beer.

This is Nathan's 8th appearance on TDO!

 

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_407.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 11:59am EST

This week, I talk to my friend and colleague Amy Watkins about becoming more systematic about submitting work, and about conceiving of book-length projects of poetry.

Amy Watkins

TEXTS DISCUSSED

wolfdaughterLucky

NOTES

  • TDO Listeners can get 20% of a premium subscription to Scribophile. After using the above link to register for a basic account, go here while still logged in to upgrade the account with the discount.
Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_406.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 3:47pm EST

This week, I talk to my friend Corwin Moore, who is a comic and comedy writer.

Corwin Moore

Our proposed topic of discussion was the greatness of Richard Pryor, which we cover at length in a conversation that took many turns.

NOTES

This episode is sponsored by the excellent people at Scribophile.

TDO 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.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_405.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 2:39pm EST

This week, I talk to my friend, and Orlando's poet laureate, Susan Lilley!

Susan Lilley

TEXT DISCUSSED

Venus in Retrograde

 

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_404.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 3:04pm EST

This week, I talk to two poets.

First, I speak with the joyous Jericho Brown about his complex relationship to poetic tradition, identity, and music. Frankly, I kept making tangents to music. Perhaps too many. But this was one of my favorite interviews from Miami Book Fair International.

Jericho Brown MBFI 2019

Second, I speak with Richard Blanco about the poetry of we, and the importance of giving an audience an entertaining performance, and writing poetry that makes me cry in yet another of my favorite interviews from MBFI.

Richard Blanco

TEXTS DISCUSSED

The TraditionHow to Love a Country

NOTES

This episode is sponsored by the excellent people at Scribophile.

TDO 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.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_403.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 1:06am EST

This week, Vanessa Blakeslee and I assail more essays on the craft of literature, this time two by T.S. Eliot.

TS Eliot TDO

TEXTS DISCUSSED

"Hamlet and Its Problems" can be found here; "Tradition and the Individual Talent" can be found here.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_402.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 11:03pm EST

This week, I offer another round of conversations from Miami Book Fair International, in which I talk to Steve Almond about his favorite novel, Stonerby John Williams,

Steve Almond

plus I speak with poet Carolyn Forché about her memoir, All You Have Heard is True.

Carolyn_Forché_NBCC_2011_Shankbone.jpg

TEXTS DICSUSSED

Stoner

What You Have Heard is True

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_401.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 2:49pm EST

This week, I talk to fiction writer Nathan Englander about the pressurized form of fictional worlds, giving the reader something worth their time and money, getting to the pain as soon as possible, continuing to learn about one's craft deep into one's career, Judaism in literature, and the wisdom of our friend Darin Strauss.

Nathan EnglanderNathan Englander and your humble host in The Confucius Institute at Miami Dade College.[/caption]

Books Discussed

Kaddish dot comWhat We Talk About When We Talk About Anne FrankFor the Relief of Unbearable Urges

 

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_400.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 1:50am EST

This week, I talk to fiction writer Rion Amilcar Scott about his extraordinary fiction collection, The World Does Not Require You. We discuss the academic world, African-American folklore, religion, music, science fiction, and post-modernism.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_399.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 12:00am EST

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 EST

On today's show, I share two interviews. The first is with the fiction writer and memoirist Tim O'Brien about how to live in this world.

The second is with the comic creator Chris Ware and his editor at Pantheon Books, Chip Kidd, with whom we discussed how design meshes with the content of a story.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_397.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 9:49pm EST

In our discussion, Vanessa Blakeslee and I manage to talk about yuletide fellowship, hallucinogens, the possibility of St. Patrick's Day cookies, and other perennial holiday topics.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_396.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 7:58pm EST

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_395.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 10:42pm EST

Music!

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

In this week’s episode, I talk once again with the graphic novelist, Peter Kuper, this time about his latest literary adaptation, Heart of Darkness. 

NOTES

This episode is sponsored by the excellent people at Scribophile.

TDO 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.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_393.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 5:01pm EST

In this week’s episode, I talk with podcaster, editor, journalist, and journeyman writer Jonathan Small about how to build a career as a writer who gets paid and merges into the cultural styles of the magazines one writes for.

Jonathan Small

Check out Jonathan's excellent podcast, Write About Now.

NOTES

This episode is sponsored by the excellent people at Scribophile.TDO 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.

Please check out my Indiegogo campaign to help get me down to Miami for Miami Book Fair International this year. T-shirts will be available.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_392.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 3:15pm EST

 Machado, Carmen (Art Streiber AUGUST)Photo by Art Streiber.

In this week’s episode, I talk with the amazing Carmen Maria Machado about her new experimental memoir, In the Dream House, as well as her masterful debut, Her Body and Other Stories.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

In the Dream HouseHer Body and Other Stories

NOTES

This episode is sponsored by the excellent people at Scribophile.

Scribophile

TDO 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.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_391.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 11:03am EST

 

Batalogues with Patty

In this week’s episode, I share the talk Patty Hawkins and I had about Todd Phillip's Joker. We put it in a Batman context, and frankly stray far afield from talking about the movie, but frankly the movie is worth straying from, too.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_390.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 1:48pm EST

In this week’s episode, I interview Ron Cooper about Florida literature, research, the cultural tensions of Florida, and the mystery of existential characters.

NOTES

This episode is sponsored by the excellent people at Scribophile.

 

TDO 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.

If you are in Orlando on November 2nd from 6 to 9 PM, be a part of the book partyfor my literary adventure novel, Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame.

There will be a raffle for those who show up, no purchase necessary. Raffle items include autographed books, a t-shirt, a gift package from bachelor Pad Magazine, a gift certificate for a medium sized literary tattoo, plus a framed, autographed poster featuring the book cover of Walter Mosley’s Debbie Doesn’t Do it Anymore.

 

Guy Psycho Book Launch Party

6-9 PM

1418 Clouser Ave, Orlando, FL 32804-6209

https://www.facebook.com/events/619433221793908/

Check out my earlier interview with Ron, back on Episode #210.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_389.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 4:37pm EST

In this week’s episode, I interview Erik Deckersabout how he finished the novel he began as a resident at the Kerouac Project of Orlando.

 Erik Deckers headshot 800x800.jpg

TEXT DISCUSSED

Mackinac Island Nation.jpg

NOTES

This episode is sponsored by the excellent people at Scribophile.

Scribophile

TDO 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 this early first episode of my new web series talk show about the history of Batman!

https://youtu.be/3TFvC8F37E0

 

If you are in Orlando on November 2nd from 6 to 9 PM, be a part of the book party for my literary adventure novel, Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame.

Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame Cover

There will be a raffle for those who show up, no purchase necessary. Raffle items include autographed books, a t-shirt, a gift package from bachelor Pad Magazine, a gift certificate for a medium sized literary tattoo, plus ...

Guy Psycho Raffle

this framed, autographed poster featuring the book cover of Walter Mosley's Debbie Doesn't Do it Anymore.

IMG_0304.JPG

Guy Psycho Book Launch Party

6-9 PM

1418 Clouser Ave, Orlando, FL 32804-6209

https://www.facebook.com/events/619433221793908/

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_388.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 7:14pm EST

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_387.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 3:08pm EST

In this week’s episode, I wear an ugly shirt from outer space  to speak with Vanessa Blakeslee and Lisa Roney about Flannery O'Connor's Mysteries and Manners.

NOTES

This episode is sponsored by the excellent people at Scribophile.

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

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_386.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 3:44pm EST

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 EST

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 EST

In this week’s episode, I talk with crime novelist Scott Phillips, author of The Ice Harvest, Cottonwood,Rake, The Adjustment, and other books.

Scott Phillips

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_383.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 2:01pm EST

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 EST

In this week’s episode, I talk with the fiction writer and essayist Deirdre Coyle about why fantasy can be more real than realism, the video game experience that happens inside our minds, and the joys of cutting extraneous words from manuscripts.

 

 

 

 

 

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_381.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 6:40pm EST

In this week’s episode, I talk with the novelist Binnie Kirshenbaum about finding one's voice, finding the right point-of-view, avoiding boredom, and the occasional hell of marketing literature.

[caption id="attachment_24695" align="alignnone" width="1243"]Binnie KirshenbaumPhoto by Tina Boyadjieva.[/caption]

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Rabbits for FoodThe Scenic Route

A Disturbance on One Place.pngOn Mermaid Avenue

NOTES

This episode is sponsored by the excellent people at Scribophile.

Scribophile

TDO 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.

Art Spiegelman chose not to censor his essay on Marvel Comics, in which he likens the president to the Red Skull. Instead, he gave the essay to The Guardian.

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

Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame Cover

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_380.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 12:07pm EST

In this week’s episode, I talk with the memoirist Katherine Smyth about how literature fills our lives, and is there for us in peculiarly reassuring ways when we lose everything.

Katharine-Smyth_portrait_FFDenny_0389Photo by Frances F. Denny.[/caption]

TEXTS DISCUSSED

All_The_Lives_We_Ever_Lived_r1.indd

To the Lighthouse.png
The Voyage Out

NOTES

This episode is sponsored by the excellent people at Scribophile.

Scribophile

TDO 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.

RIP, Toni Morrison.

The Bluest Eye

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_379.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 10:59am EST

In this week’s episode, I talk with the poet Tim J. Myers about spirituality, open systems of belief, and the passion of our favorite music and favorite people.

 

Check out my first interview with Tim all the way back on episode 63.

Check out the AWP panel on life balance back on episode 362.

Or check out Tim's listicle, "Improved Terms for Some Currently-Known Stuff."

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_378.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 1:45am EST

In this week’s episode, I talk with Liz Prato about being the best haole possible in Hawaii, the mixing of history and memoir, respecting the natural environment, and other important matters.

liz-prato-author-volcanoes-palmtrees-privilegePhoto by Jill Harriman Browning.

TEXT DISCUSSED

volcanos palm trees privilege

NOTES

This episode is sponsored by the excellent people at Scribophile.

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

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_377.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 7:58pm EST

In this week’s episode, I talk with Kendra DeColo about poetry, bohemian misadventures, editing, performing, and more.

Kendra DecoloPhoto by Lindsey Rome.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_376.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 11:35am EST

In this week’s episode, I talk with Chet Weise, the publisher of Third Man Books.

WeiseAuthorPhotoSmallbyJamieGoodsellPhoto by Jamie Goodsell.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Lucy Negro Redux CoverAscend Ascend Covermary wants to be a superwomanMy Dinner with Ron Jeremy

NOTES

This episode is sponsored by the excellent people at Scribophile.

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

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

 

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_375.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 1:38am EST

In this episode, I share the most recent Loose Lips, the monthly current events literary thing run by Burrow Press, who selected me to curate and emcee this installment.

This installment featured Deirdre Coyle, Erik Deckers, Bethany DuVall, Corwin Moore, and Tom Lucas. Photos by Katherine J. Parker.

NOTES

This episode is sponsored by the excellent people at Scribophile.

Scribophile

TDO 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 debut novel, Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame.

Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame Cover

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_374.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 5:32pm EST

In this week’s show, I talk with the great Erica Jong about writing in one's voice, being in love with language, the discipline of literature, revision, 18th century fiction, living healthy, and sonnets and other poetry,

Erica Jong

plus Vanessa Blakeslee and I discuss Erica Jong's book on writing, Seducing the Demon: Writing for my Life.

John & Vanessa Flash 2

TEXTS DISCUSSED

The World Began with YesSeducing the DemonFear of Flying cover

NOTES

This episode is sponsored by Scribophile.

Scribophile

TDO 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 debut novel, Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame.

Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame Cover

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_373.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 12:26am EST

In this week’s show, I talk with the fiction writer, children's book writer, and revision guru Arielle Haughee.

Arielle Haughee by Sona PhotographyPicture by Sona Photography.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

The Complete Revision Workbook

Grumbler.jpg

NOTES

This episode is sponsored by Scribophile.

Scribophile

TDO 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 debut novel, Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame.

Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame Cover


Episode 372 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_372.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 3:43pm EST

In this week's show, C.H. Hooks and I sit down with some questionable red wine to discuss Florida, Florida literature, and the uses we make of writing.

Christopher Hooks for 8 x 11 300 dpi DSC08626Photo by Miriam Berkley.

TEXT DISCUSSED

Alligator Zoo-Park Magic

NOTES

This episode is sponsored by Scribophile.

Scribophile

TDO 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 adventure novel, Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame.

Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame Cover

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_371.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 2:19pm EST

This week, we go to Walt Disney World with Nathan Holic and David James Poissant in order to discuss Cory Doctorow’s science fiction novel, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom.

 

 

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_370.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 3:15pm EST

In this week’s episode, I talk to the poet Deborah Landau about her wonderful new poetry collection, Soft Targets,

[caption id="attachment_24396" align="alignnone" width="4288"]Deborah Landau AWP 2019.jpgDeborah Landau reading at AWP 2019. Photo by John King.[/caption]

plus I share Copper Canyon's poetry reading from the 2019 AWP Conference, which featured Javier Zamora, Ellen Bass, Deborah Landau, and Jericho Brown.

TEXT DISCUSSED

Soft TargetsThe TraditionUnaccompanied

Like A Beggar

NOTES

This episode is sponsored by Scribophile.

Scribophile

TDO 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.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_369.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 2:22pm EST

In this week’s episode, I talk to Mitchell S. Jackson about finding joy in voice while dwelling on painful material in a memoir and novel.

[caption id="attachment_24376" align="alignnone" width="1000"]Jackson_Mitchell_Photocredit_John+RicardMitchell S. Jackson by John Ricard.[/caption]

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Survival MathThe Residue Years

NOTES

This episode is sponsored by Scribophile.

Scribophile

TDO 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.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_368.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 8:36pm EST

In this week’s episode, Vanessa Blakesleeand I discuss Eudora Welty's "Place in Fiction" (1955).

John & Vanessa Flash 2.JPG

TEXTS DISCUSSED

The Eye of the Story

NOTES


This episode is sponsored by Scribophile.

Scribophile

TDO 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 adventure novel, Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame.

Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame Cover

And check out Vanessa's books, too.

Perfect_Conditions_Front_CoverJuventudTrain Shots

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_367.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 8:30pm EST

In this week’s episode, I share my first mixtape in almost 2 years.

Mixtape 10.png

Happy writing. Let me know what you think below.

NOTES

Please buy me.

Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame Cover

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_366.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 11:41pm EST

In this week’s episode, I talk with poet Campbell McGrath about his his new book, Nouns & Verbs, from a luminous lobby in Portland.

Campbell McGrathPhoto by Freesia McKee.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Nouns & Verbs

NOTES

Check out my previous interview with Campbell from 3 years ago, back on episode 203.

If a literary adventure might be your jam, please consider buying my exciting new novel.

Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame Cover

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_365.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 6:26pm EST

In this week’s episode, I talk with poet and essayist Elisa Gabbert about the excitement of short-form essays, the glories of book design, not reading Moby Dick, and other literary confessions. 

Elisa Gabbert

 

TEXTS DISCUSSED

The Word Prettymoby dick bill sienkiewicz.jpg

NOTES

If you are into literary adventure stories, please pick up a copy of my debut novel, Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame.

Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame Cover

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_364.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 3:43pm EST

In this week’s episode, David James Poissant turns the tables on John King and interviews him about the miraculous release of his epic novel, Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame.

1flip

TEXT DISCUSSED

Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame

Here is the original Guy Psycho short story.

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_363.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 12:00am EST

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 EST

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 EST

In this week’s episode, Karen Price, Erik Deckers, Terry Ann Thaxton and I read Jack kerouac's poetry to the accompaniment of Ben Deckers's walking bass.

Poetry Jazz BBQBreaking down the show. Photo by Steve Erwin.[/caption]

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Kerouac Book of HaikusMexico City BluesKerouac Scattered PoemsA Coney Island of the Mind


Episode 360 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_360.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 1:00am EST

In this week’s episode, I talk to Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman about classical music, social class, memoir, and authenticity.

Jessica HindmanPhoto by Vanessa Borer.

TEXT DISCUSSED

Sounds Like Titanic.jpg

NOTES

TDO will be sharing a table with Black Fox Literary Magazine at AWP at table T14104, plus I am moderating a panel on life-balance, which I clearly know nothing about.

AWP PanelAlso, my novel has a release date of April 16, 2019.

Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame.jpg


 

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_359.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 6:11pm EST

In this week’s episode, I talk again with Mark Blake, biographer of Peter Grant, about what happened to Led Zeppelin after Led Zeppelin.

Mark BlakePhoto by Ross Halfin.[/caption]

TEXT DISCUSSED

Bring it On Home

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_358.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 1:50am EST

In this week’s episode, I talk to music writer Mark Blake about his new biography of Peter Grant, the man who empowered Led Zeppelin to become the most popular rock band of all time.

Mark BlakePhoto by Ross Halfin.[/caption]

TEXT DISCUSSED

Bring it On Home

NOTES

I will be at AWP. Leave a comment if you are attending and would like a TDO meet and greet.

AWP Panel

 

Direct download: The_Drunken_Odyssey_Episode_357.mp3
Category:Arts/Culture/Writing -- posted at: 12:35am EST