In this week’s episode, I talk to the novelist Vu Tran about the appeal of detective fiction, the importance of literary substance over style, the problem with femme fatale characters, the Iowa MFA experience, and many, many other things,

plus Jared Silvia sings another Woody Guthrie number in honor of Labor Day, as part of his annual Labor Day musical project.

TEXT DISCUSSED

NOTES

On September 30th, Richard Blanco is coming to Valencia College for the Winter Park Writers' Festival.

Richard Blanco's reading is FREE, but you MUST reserve a seat via the Festival's Eventbrite page.

EVENT DETAILS

• Location: Winter Park Campus, Valencia College, Rooms 237/2424
• 4 PM: Community Writing Class with Richard Blanco
  
• 5:30 PM: Open Mic Reading (Emceed by John King)
  
• 7:00 PM: Richard Blanco Reading
  

In this week’s episode, I talk to the poet and novelist Ryler Dustin near the end of his residency at the Kerouac House in Orlando, after a weeklong tour of weddings.

We speak about the horrors of what happens to poetry in educational environments, the dawning sense of contemporary poetry as a form of play and life, as opposed to some kind of stillborn puzzle. Ryler also talks about the poetic impulse overtaking him before he even knew what poetry was, and walks me through his experience in slam poetry and MFA life, and the creative writing PhD, and the drive to move beyond genres. For some reason, I bring up my favorite bit of dialogue from the movie Major League despite Bull Durham being a much better movie. The role of honesty and novelty in writing also brilliantly come up. (We were both sober.)

NOTES

• On September 30th, Richard Blanco is headed to Valencia College for its 2016 Winter Park Writers Festival.
• Rest in peace, Mr. Sundrop (Episode 213), or else let your caterwauls join the heavenly chorus.

Episode 222 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

In this week’s episode, I share There Will Be Fan Fiction 2, a special edition of Jesse Bradley’s prose reading series, There Will Be Words.

[gallery ids="16266,16265,16263,4775" type="rectangular"]

This installment features the fan fiction of Shauna Basques (Jason Todd-era Batman), J. Bradley himself (The Mighty Ducks/Fatal Attraction crossover, obviously), Brontë Bettencourt (Frozen), A. C. Warner (Star Trek: The Next Generation, as read by me), and me (Flash Gordon).

NOTES

Check out the first installment of There Will Be Fan Fiction, which featured Teege Braun writing Small Wonder, Jared Silvia writing King of the Hill, Stephanie Rizzo writing about a post-apocalyptic Lewis and Clarke, Genevieve Anna Tyrrell writing Dexter, and me, that is John King, writing a Benny Hill Show/Ace Frehley crossover that includes David Foster Wallace, Yoda, My Little Pony, and a hint of Cthulu.

Also check out J. Bradley's latest book, Jesus Christ, Boy Detective, and here us talk about it back on episode 216.

Check out Brontë Bettencourt's blog, 21st Century Brontë.

In this week’s episode, I talk to my friend, fiction writer Sam Slaughter, who I met back in 2014, when he wrote a little something about Denis Johnson's Jesus' Son for the show. We talk about his short story collection, God in Neon, his chapbook, When You Cross That Line (inspired by Florida Man stories), alcoholism, how we evolve as writers, and the Orlando writing scene.

plus Tom McAllister of Book Fight fame reads his personal essay, "A Brief History of World Travel (Part 8): Notes on Baltimore, MD."

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

• Check out Sam Slaughter's website.
• Hear Sam read his essay about Denis Johnson's Jesus's Son back on episode 119.
• Or hear Sam read his essay about his misadventures in brewing beer back on episode 126.
• Or hear Sam reads his essay about helping himself to some sacramental wine as part of our Repeal Day 2014 show back on episode 129.
• Read the text of A Brief History of World Travel (part 8) - Notes on Baltimore, MD, or check out Tom McAllister's other essays in this series, and his other work, on his website.
• Consider pre-ordering Tom McAllister's forthcoming novel, The Young Widower's Handbook.

Listen to the music of The Bambi Molesters.

Episode 220 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

Save

Episode 219 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

In this week’s episode, I share a recording of Loose Lips, the monthly current events literary thing hosted by the inestimable Tod Caviness.

The line up on that evening was Ryan Rivas,

my awesome self,

 Mary McGinn,

Logan Anderson,

and Amy Watkins!

In this week’s episode, I talk to historian and creative writer Todd James Pierce,

plus Heather Whited reads her essay, "The General."

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTE

Check out the Disney History Institute.

In this week’s episode, I talk with Vanessa Blakeslee about On Writing, a book of selections from Charles Bukowski's letters,

plus poet Henry Hughes writes me a letter about his own correspondence with Bukowski back from 1989 and 1991.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

• On August 2nd, I'll be reading in Tod Caviness's Loose Lips reading series at L'il Indies.
• On August 9th, I'll be reading at THERE WILL BE FAN FICTION at The Gallery at Avalon Island.
• Check out Henry Hughes's website here.

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

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

TEXTS DISCUSSED

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.

In this week's episode, I interview actor and author Lisa Wolpe about her one woman show, Shakespeare and the Alchemy of Gender, plus Mistie  Watkins reads her essay "Why I Write."

Save

Episode 213 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

In this week’s episode, I share a recording of a joint production of The Drunken Odyssey, The Functionally Literate Reading Series, and the In Between Series: an experimental show called The Pink Fire Revue.

This featured the musicians John Curtis, Derek Duda (Dudagruv), Jared Silvia (Pressurewave), and visual artist Ginger Leigh (Synthestruct),

and the writers, namely myself,

Nicole Oquendo,

Mary McGinn,

Tod Caviness,

&, by proxy, The Terrible Mr. Sundrop.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

If you like in the city beautiful that is Orlando, do check out Bright Light Books, my favorite local used book store, especially for their overstock sales every Saturday.

Episode 213 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

In this week’s episode, I interview fiction writer and humorist Erik Deckers,

plus Emma Atkinson reads her essay, "The Little Maybe."

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

Follow Erik's humor columns here, his professional blog here, or on twitter.

Check out Chuck Cannini's review of New York Classical Theatre's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

In this week’s episode, we have a roundtable discussion of Hunter S. Thompson.

The participants included Geoffe Benge, Frank Messina, Josh Dull, Shawn McKee,

and Dianne Turgeon Richardson.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

In this week’s episode, I interview fiction writer and philosopher Ron Cooper,

plus I chat with actor Jeremy Palko, who many of you might recognize as Andy from season 6 of The Walking Dead.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

In this week’s episode, I share a recording of the latest live performance of The Drunken Odyssey All Stars, in The Ink Show.

This performance included your humble host,

Teege Braune,

Nicole Oquendo,

Mistie Watkins,

Adrian Alexander,

Stephanie Rizzo,

Tom Lucas,

and Amy Watkins.

NOTES

Infinite thanks to Beyond Ink Tattoos in Winter Park.

Listen to the powerful surf rock of The Intoxicators.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

In this week’s episode, I interview fiction writer Mark Leyner,

plus Catherine Carson writes about how Kelly Groome's I Wore the Ocean in the Shape of a Girl changed her life.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

The music accompanying Catherine Carson’s essay is “Wingspan” by Carlton Melton, from their album “Photos of Photos.”

Check out the music of The Tequila Worms.

In this week’s episode, I interview the novelist and poet Jeffrey Ethan Lee,

plus Heather Whited reads another travel memoir essay, "Masada."

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

• Check out Jeffrey's first appearance on TDO, back on Episode 111.
• The Pink Fire Revue is a Modular Collective Art event on June 4th at 7pm at the Gallery At Avalon Island.  Poetry by John King, Nicole Oquendo, Tod Caviness, and Mary McGinn. Visualizations by Synthestruct. Improvised electronic music by Jon Curtis, Dudagruv, and Pressure wave. The Pink Fire Revue is presented by Functionally Literate, The Drunken Odyssey, and The In-Between Series. This event is free and open to the public.
• Follow The In Between Series here.oad.

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.

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.

In this week’s episode, I talk about Wallace Stevens's "The Noble Rider and the Sound of Words" with Vanessa Blakeslee,

Plus Tom McAllister reads his essay, “A Brief History of World Travel, Part 1: Notes on Portland Maine.”
 

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

Check out The Two Cities Review, as well as its podcast.

If you want to read Tom McAllister's “A Brief History of World Travel, Part 1: Notes on Portland Maine,” go here.

Check out my review of Book Fight, or Book Fight itself.

In this week’s episode, I throw myself into the Star Wars universe from a writer's perspective.

NOTE: This show was not authorized by Lucasfilm or any other company.

NOTES

Learn more about Marcia Lucas's influence on 2.5 of the early Star Wars films here.

In this week’s episode, I interview poet Campbell McGrath about XX, his tenth book of poetry.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

All 7 panels from Litlando 2016 are now available on youtube here.

Read Amy Watkins's review of XX here.

My creative nonfiction piece, "Just Barely," recently appeared in the Fantastic Floridas section of Burrow Press Review.

My flash fiction, "Gentle Spirit," appeared in THAT Literary Review #1.

On May 10th, I'll be reading with Jared Silvia, Tom Lucas, and Karen Price in The Best of There Will Be Words.

Check out "The Battle Over the Sea Monkey Fortune" at The New York Times Magazine.

The Picasso film I reference is The Mystery of Picasso, from 1956, which is not actually in the 1970s at all.

Check out the music of The Bambi Molesters. Their songs "Rising East" (As the Dark Wave Swells) and "Chaotica" (from Sonic Bullets: 13 from the Hip) are heard on this episode.

In this week’s episode, I share Litlando 2016's publishing panel, featuring Danita Berg, Lisa Roney, Raquel Henry, and Ryan Rivas.

plus Chris Bedell writes about how Sara Shephard's Pretty Little Liars: Toxic changed his life.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

Check out the music of The Tequila Worms.

In this week’s episode, I present my lecture, Postmodernism for Creative Writers.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

_

In this week’s episode, I talk to the poet and memoirist Brian Turner,

plus Heather Whited reads her essay, "Scotland Break Up."

TEXTS DISCUSSED NOTES

According to The Guardian, some readers were not amused by Calvin Trillan's "Have They Run Out of Provinces Yet?".

In this week’s episode, I talk to the New York Times bestselling novelist Ridley Pearson from Walt Disney World,

plus Mistie Watkins writes about how The Night Circus changed her life.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

TEXTS DISCUSSED

In this week’s episode, I talk about Carole Maso's Break Every Rule with Vanessa Blakeslee,

plus Jeremy DaCruz writes about a lucky day on the Econlockhachee River.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Episode 196 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing, literature, and drinking, is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

In this week’s episode, I interview the actor Joe Vincent,

Plus John McMahon writes about how Moby Dick changed his life.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

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

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

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Sarah Viren's My Murderer's Futon.

NOTES

Learn more about Sarah Viren here.

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

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

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

TEXTS DISCUSSED

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

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

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

Check out Beverly Army Williams's site, Mothershould.

Get 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.

If you live in Orlando, check out Orlando Shakespeare Theater's 2016 production of The Tempest.

This week features our 4th annual Erotic Poetry Night, featuring Jesse Bradley, Teege Braune, Stephanie Rizzo, Danielle Kessinger, Amy Watkins, David James Poissant, Ashley Inguanta, Sarah Viren, and (ahem) John King.

In this week’s episode, I interview poet Erin Belieu,

plus I share the Miami Book Fair International reading she participated in with Carl Phillips, Rowan Ricardo Phillips, and Kevin Young.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

• Check out my first interview with Erin Belieu back on episode 44, when we talked about VIDA and the count.
• On Superbowl Sunday, February 7, 7 P.M., The Drunken Odyssey will be Super Balling at Writer’s Atelier. More info is here.

Get tickets for Litlando here.

In this week’s episode, I interview Adrian Todd Zuniga, the host of Literary Death Match,

plus Heather Whited writes about how Susanna Clark's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

Learn More about Literary Death Match here.

Get tickets for Litlando here.

In this week’s episode, I talk about Lawrence Ferlinghetti's Poetry as Insurgent Art with Vanessa Blakeslee,

Plus Alice Lowe writes about how Virginia Woolf's A Writer's Diary changed her life.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

Coney Island was much more interesting in 1907 than it turned out to be in 2007 when I visited.

Parachute Literary Arts managed a much better poetic experience at Coney Island.

_____

Episode 189 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

In this week’s episode, I interview memoir writer J.J. Anselmi,

Plus Patty Hawkins eulogizes David Bowie.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

Check out Drew Perlmutter's kickstarter campaign for his upcoming documentary, US Highway 98: The Florida I Never Knew. He was my cinematographer for The Drunken Odyssey's first documentary, The Weeki Wachee Spectacular.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7Cg6lFnfl4

Patty Hawkin's recommends Bowie's Jazzin for Blue Jean.

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

In this week’s episode, I interview fiction writer Kelly Link,

Plus I share the reading she participated in, "Short Stories, Tall Tales," also featuring Adam Johnson and Padgett Powell.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

• A Quaker high school in Philadelphia has removed Huckleberry Finn from its curriculum.
• Mein Kampf will be published in Germany for the first time in 70 years.
• Neil Gaiman straightened out an impatient George R. R. Martin fan back in 2009, which is perhaps why fans are being nicer to Martin right now, after he missed a deadline for the latest installment of A Song of Ice and Fire.

In this week’s episode, I interview the poet and memoirist Nick Flynn,

Plus I share the reading he participated in about 45 minutes after our interview, a reading that also included Ed Skoog and Denise Duhamel (Episode 134).

TEXTS DISCUSSED

In this week’s episode, I interview Teege Braune,

who reads short story, "Top Takes a Top," which just appeared in Bridge Eight.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

Scott McCloud and Cory Doctorow: A Conversation is now available on TDO's youtube channel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqwnK1I2Xhg

In this week’s episode, I interview Cory Doctorow

and Amy Hempel,

plus Shawn McKee reads his personal essay, "A Confession."

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV9zW3ou0tM

In this week’s episode, I interview 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.

In this week’s episode, I interview fiction writer Elizabeth McCracken,

and share her reading at Miami Book Fair International 2015,

plus Dallas Woodburn reads her personal essay, "First, Please Yourself."

NOTES

David Henry Hwang is apparently going to be okay after being seriously attacked with a knife in Brooklyn.

Special thanks to Lisa Martens, Don Royster, and Racquel Henry for sharing their impressions of NANOWRIMOing.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

In this week’s episode, I interview fiction writer Rick Moody

plus Ryan Rivas reads his essay, "Reporting from Inside the Vortex of Miami Book Fair," which first appeared on lithub.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Check out Rick's new band, The Unspeakable Practices.

Episode 181 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

In this week’s episode, I interview fiction writer Cate McGowan,

plus Shawn McKee reads his piece, "Job Letter."

& Racquel Henry discusses her experience with NANO-WRIMO.



TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Read some of J. C. Sevcik's essays here, here, and here.

NOTES

Miami Book Fair is coming up: November 15-22.

TDO is now on Instagram.

This week is a live show for Horror Movie Poetry Night 2, starring The Drunken Odyssey All Stars, brought to you several days early for your Halloweening pleasure.

On this occasion, The Drunken Odyssey All-Stars included:

• Tom Lucas (The Mouth of Madness)
• Teege Braune (The Creature from the Black Lagoon)
• Anna King (House of 1,000 Corpses/The Devil's Rejects)
• Mark Purcell (Rosemary’s Baby)
• Genevieve Anna Tyrrell (The Exorcism of Emily Rose)
• Vincent Crampton Satan
• Susan Fallows (Carrie)

Special thanks to Writer's Atelier for granting us a venue!

If you live in Orlando, check out WA's website here for information about its workshops and events.

In this week’s episode, I interview bizarro fiction writer Tom Lucas,

plus Dallas Woodburn writes about how reading Aimee Bender'’s The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake changed her life.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

The Drunken Odyssey: A Podcast About the Writing Life presents another evening of verse inspired by that most poetic of film genres: horror!

Featuring

Mark Purcell
Teege Braune
Anna King
Vincent Crampton
Genevieve Anna Tyrrell
Tom Lucas
Susan Fallows
& your host, John King.

Absinthe ceremony to follow?

October 28, 2015

Writer's Atelier (336 Grove Avenue, Winter Park, FL)

See facebook event page here.

In this week’s episode, I share a recording of a Halloween show in Jesse Bradley’s prose reading series, There Will Be Words, in which I was a reader.

Besides moi, the show featured

Raymond McKee

Will Garland

Danita Berg

J. C. Sevcik

Peg Martin

Catherine Carson,

and Tom Lucas.

NOTES

Check out Michael Hearst's new album, Film Music and Other Scores, Vol. 1.

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

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

TEXTS DISCUSSED

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.

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.

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

Present for this discussion were Jared Silvia,

Shawn Whittington,

Dianne Turgeon Richardson,

Matt Peters,

and Teege Braune,

NOTES

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

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

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.

In this week’s episode, I talk to chronicler of the rambling life, Michele Roldán Shaw,

plus Nancy Caronia reads her essay, "Deserving Angels."

NOTES

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

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

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.

In this week’s episode, I talk about Jorge Luis Borges's This Craft of Verse with Vanessa Blakeslee,

plus Jared Silvia performs Peter Seger's "Hobo's Lullaby."

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

Check out the great perks for The Drunken Odyssey’s fundraiser here. Gator finger puppets not included.

In this week’s episode, I talk to prose writer and educator, Danita Berg,

plus Catherine Carson reads her poem, "Reverse Evolution, or Sex in the Environment."

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

If you live in Orlando, check out Meg Sefton’s upcoming workshop on the fundamentals of flash fiction here. It will take place on September 27, 2015.

Check out the great perks (such as TDO T-shirts) for The Drunken Odyssey’s fundraiser here.

To read about the feminism panel at the Decatur Book Festival, read the Guardian article here, or the Electric Literature account here.

To read about the Michael Derrick Hudson/Best American Poetry 2015 controversy, read Sherman Alexie's explanation here, Rich Smith's smart take over at The Stranger, or The Washington Post's reportage here.

In NYC, to attend the book launch event for Best American Poetry 2015, go here.

In this week’s episode, I talk to fiction writer J. R. Miller,

plus C.T. McMillan writes about the unsettling moral complexities of Untold Tales of the Punisher Max.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

• Check out the great perks for The Drunken Odyssey’s fundraiser here.

• If you live in Orlando, check out Meg Sefton’s upcoming workshop on the fundamentals of flash fiction here. It will take place on September 27, 2015.
• The Dinty Moore piece referenced in our interview was his essay, Son of Mr. Green Jeans: An Essay on Fatherhood, Alphabetically Arranged.
• I finally saw this, and it was good. Great, actually.

Check out the great perks for The Drunken Odyssey’s fundraiser here.

In this week’s episode, I talk to the poet and novelist Eleanor Lerman,

plus Nancy Caronia reads her essay, "Quiet."

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

Check out the great perks for The Drunken Odyssey’s fundraiser here.

Check out Meg Sefton’s upcoming workshop on the fundamentals of flash fiction here.

To read about Kate Gale’s controversial piece about AWP’s diversity issues, check out this LA Times story. To read her apology, go to her personal blog.

In this week’s episode, I share a recording of a fan fiction installment of Jesse Bradley’s prose reading series, There Will Be Words.

The There Will Be Fan Fiction featured

Teege Braune

Jared Silvia

Stephanie Rizzo

Genevieve Anna Tyrrell

and moi.

NOTES

Check out the great perks for The Drunken Odyssey’s fundraiser here.

Check out There Will Be Words.

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

plus Christopher Booth reads "The Disappointment,"

by Aphra Behn.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

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

Check out the great perks for The Drunken Odyssey's fundraiser here.

In this week’s episode, I talk to the journalist Brian Spears,

plus Eugenio Negro writes about the adventure of reading Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses.

BOOKS DISCUSSED

NOTES

On Tuesday, August 11, at 7:00 P.M. at The Gallery at Avalon Island in downtown Orlando, Jared Silvia, Stephanie Rizzo, Teege Braune, Genevieve Anna Tyrell, and I will read original fan fiction for that month’s installment of J. Bradley’s prose reading series, There Will be Words.

Check out Meg Sefton's upcoming workshop on the fundamentals of flash fiction here.

An Albuquerque school adds 13,000 books to library and will not be using the Dewey Decimal system.

Check out the great perks for The Drunken Odyssey's fundraiser here.

This week features a live Event on the theme of childhood, with Wilson Santos, Ashley Inguanta, Vincent Crampton, Amy Watkins, and moi, as your humble emcee.

This reading was in honor of Wilson Santos's spoken word film, My Verse, which I talked to him about back on episode 138.

NOTES

Check out more about Wilson Santos’ Dominican Republic project, including how to donate, here.

In this week’s episode, I talk to the journalist David Z. Morris,

plus Shin Yu Pai writes about how Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake changed her life.

BOOKS DISCUSSED

NOTES

Rest in Peace, E.L. Doctorow.

Check out David Z. Morris's site, here. Check out his Art Basel essay here. Check out his Iowa City music essay, "Only What is Dead Can Live Forever," here.

Check out Shin Yu Pai's poetry and other work here.

On Tuesday, August 11, at 7:00 P.M. at The Gallery at Avalon Island, Jared Silvia, Stephanie Rizzo, Teege Braune, Genevieve Anna Tyrell, and I will read original fan fiction for that month’s installment of J. Bradley’s prose reading series, There Will be Words.

Episode 162 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

In this week’s episode, I talk to the novelist Charles Blackstone,

plus Don Campell about how finding a copy of John Krakauer’s Into the Wild on the Appalachian Trail changed his life.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

The Week You Weren't There

NOTEs

On Tuesday, August 11, at 7:00 P.M. at The Gallery at Avalon Island, Jared Silvia, Stephanie Rizzo, Teege Braune, Genevieve Anna Tyrell, and I will read original fan fiction for that month's installment of J. Bradley's prose reading series, There Will be Words.

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

Plus Amy Watkins reads her poem "Playa Linda."

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

James Tate, rest in very weird peace.

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

Plus Amy Watkins reads her poem "Playa Linda."

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

James Tate, rest in very weird peace.

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

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

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

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.

In this week’s episode, I talk to myself and share some music. Musicality affects my writing a lot. Perhaps I cherish sound since I nearly went deaf as a child. It took awhile for Sinatra to enter my imagination, but since taking up residency there, Frank hasn't left. So this mixtape is devoted to this man and his music, and a few other people along the way.

In this week’s episode, I talk to the historian Julian Chambliss,

Dmetri Kakmi writes about how reading Paul Bowles’s The Sheltering Sky taught him how to write about psycho-geographic dis-associations.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

Check out Julian Chambliss's site here.

Check out John Sims' site devoted to the Confederate flag project.

Check out the news coverage of the Flag Funerals Project by (in order of decreasing journalistic competence) WESH, WKMG Local 6, and WFTV.

Read The Association for the Study of African American Life and History's statement about the Massacre at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church here.

In this week’s episode, I talk to fiction writer Shane Hinton,

plus Sayantani Dasgupta writes about how Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea changed her life.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

Tuesday, June 16th, is Bloomsday. Celebrate wherever you are by listening again to a bang-up, in-studio, Bloomsdaying production on episode 104,

or if in NYC celebrate the day on which Ulysses is set in person with Colum McCann, Aedin Moloney, and quite probably Chris Booth at Ulysses Folk House.

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

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

In this week’s episode, I talk about Longinus's "On the Sublime," with Vanessa Blakeslee,

Plus LindaAnn Loschiavo writes about how Louisa May Alcott's Little Women changed her life.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

New York Classical Theatre's production of The Taming of the Shrew, which is free, will wander its way across Central Park (Thurs through Sun, May 26 - June 28), Prospect Park (Tues. & Wed., June 23, 24, 30 & July 1), and Teardrop/Battery Park City (Wed, July 8, Fri through Sun, July 10, 11 & 12).

On June 14, come celebrate The Drunken Odyssey’s 3rd birthday on a monorail line pub crawl.

In this week’s episode, I interview the poet Cailtin Doyle,

plus Jeremy Da Cruz writes about reading James Joyce's "Eveline" on Amtrak.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

In Orlando, check out Wordier Than Thou, the open mic night that is roving across Florida. On Wednesday, May 27, it's at Stardust Coffee and Video.

On June 14, come celebrate The Drunken Odyssey's 3rd birthday on a monorail line pub crawl.

A teacher in South Windsor, Connecticut was forced to resign after allowing his class to listen to Allen Ginsburg's "Please Master."

Episode 153 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

In this week’s episode, I interview the iconoclastic Disney author Leonard Kinsey,

plus Terry Barr writes about leaning not to teach The Catcher in the Rye.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

In this week’s episode, we have a roundtable discussion of Kattenstoet, the Belgian cat holiday that may or may not be a retroactive apology for medieval atrocities against felines.

Present for this discussion were Teege Braune, Lisa Roney, and Jared Silvia.

[embed]https://vimeo.com/40029049[/embed]

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Alicia Ostriker's "The Orange Cat."

In this week’s episode, I talk to comedian, podcaster, and now, author, Greg Proops,

plus Rochelle Spencer writes about the liberating politics of Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

 NOTES

Read Teege Braun's review of Greg Proops's comedy special, Live at Musso and Frank, here.

In this week’s episode, I talk to the fantasy, science fiction, and nonfiction writer Melissa Crandall,

Plus Síofra Shaman Skye shares a letter she wrote to J.D. Salinger.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

[embed]https://youtu.be/hJFtCfHDFfw[/embed]

Check out Melissa Crandall's blog, The Caretaker's Wild Ride, here.

NOTES

Check out more about Wilson Santos’ Dominican Republic project, including how to donate, here.

In this week’s episode, I talk to the memoirist, Chelsey Clammer,

plus Susan Brennan shares her poetry sequence, Chromoluminarism, based on the last days of the pointillist, George Seraut.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

If you live in the city beautiful (Orlando, in case you don't know), come out to see a great show and support a great cause on May 1st.

Check out Jennifer Hoppe-House’s Bad Dog, playing at Orlando Shakespeare Theater through May 3rd.

On May 8th, experience Poetry-O-Rama on the historic Wonder Wheel in Coney Island. Be sure to buy tickets in advance.

In this week’s episode, I talk to the playwright Jennifer Hoppe-House, whose extraordinary debut play is experiencing its world premiere at Orlando Shakespeare Theater,

plus Lori D'Angelo writes about discovering The Scarlet Letter as a teenager, and reading it in a way probably not endorsed by her high school curriculum.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

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

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

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

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

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

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

In this week’s episode, I host a roundtable discussion with Vanessa Blakeslee, David James Poissant, and Boris Fishman, in which we critique the essay collection, MFA vs. NYC,

Plus J. Bradley reads a selection from his new prose poem book, A Wild Swing of the Knife.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

Buy It is a Wild Swing of the Knife here.

Patrick Hawkins (Episode 145) and his fellow Geeks of Comedy will be performing at Megacon on April 10th and 11th in Orlando. Check out here for more info.

In this week’s episode, I engage in an epic, manic conversation about the creative appeal and history of comic books and superhero storytelling with Patrick Hawkins.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Four important panels that John came across early in his reading life:

from The Incredible Hulk #182.

NOTES

Patty Hawkins is a geek theorist & humorist which is politer and more marketable than calling himself a fatuous gasbag who has seen & read far too much media involving capes, swords & ray guns. He makes no claims other then speaking the truth as he sees it about geek culture without sucking up or snarking down.

Sometimes he succeeds.

He is the producer & host of Come Get ∑ [pronounced 'come get sum'] a new TV/webcast set to debut in 2015 focusing on geekdom as a social culture instead of an exploited clichéd demographic of basement dwellers & cosplayers.

He is one of the founding members & manager of The Geeks Of Comedy, a touring confederation of geek comedians who hack into all facets of fandom & fanDUMB with blistering honesty & self-effacement instead of lame ass Aquaman jokes.

He is also Patrick The Uneducated Critic and reviews films at his own caprice when they roll over on his Netflix queue (YES I'm one of the weirdoes that still pays to get the damn discs mailed to me).

He is a contributing panelist on the MarkWho42WHOniverse, a Dr. Who discussion podcast that bridges the generational gaps between Whovians which is not as easy as it sounds...

In his day jobs his is co-owner of TyFy Studios, an audio production facility, an Ideator at Ideas To Go, & is an Equity actor for Walt Disney World.

Go back and listen to Patrick perform some geek comedy as part of The Drunken Odyssey's Nerd Love live show back on episode 47.

In this week’s episode, I talk flash fiction, mythology, Cosmopolitan, the meeting of graphic and written art, and experimental writing with the fabulous Katie Farris,

plus Jesse Back writes about his spiritual, romantic, and personal evolution through Will Durant's The History of Philosophy.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

The music used with "Forgetting Christianity" is “Bleached Beach” by Noveller, a one person band, that band being the amazing Sarah Lipstate.

The music at the start and finish of this episode was "Rising East" and "Chaotica" by The Bambi Molesters, an amazing surf rock band out of Croatia. "Rising East" is from their 2010 album, As the Dark Wave Swells, and "Chaotica" is from their 2004 album, Sonic Bullets: 13 From the Hip.

In this week’s episode, I share a recording of a live event featuring Boris Fishman reading from his novel, A Replacement Life

and your humble host reading poetry.

Texts Discussed

Read the New Yorker profile of Merle Haggard here.

In this week’s episode, I catch up with Lisa Roney, who has just released her creative writing textbook, Serious Daring, and a poetry chapbook, The Best Possible Bad Luck,

plus, Liz Haberkorn writes about Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five, starvation, and eating disorders.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

Rest in peace, Michael Brachfeld.

This week, it's this writing podcast's third mixtape.

In this week’s episode, I talk to the memoirist, novelist, and journalist Marya Honrbacher,

plus J.J. Anselmi reads his personal essay, "Atrophy,"

and I offer a tribute to the late Philip Levine.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Read Marya Hornbacher's wonderful Smithsonian profile of Oscar Peterson here.

NOTES

J.J. Anselmi's "Atrophy" first appeared online in Cleaver Magazine.

Rest in peace, Philip Levine.

Read Aaron Belz's discussion of his correspondence with Philip Levine here.

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

This week features our third annual Erotic Poetry Night,

with moi and The Drunken Odyssey All-Stars:

Danielle Kessinger

Teege Braune

Genevieve Anna Tyrrell

Anna King

Erica Dawson.

Many thanks to our most excellent venue,

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

TEXTS DISCUSSED

http://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.

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.

Episode 137 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

In this week’s episode, I talk to Annemarie Ní Churreáin about Irish literature, poetry, and the call of nature,

plus Will Garland reads his essay, The Art of Telling a Story About Southern Family Living in a Small Southern Town.

NOTES

The music used with The Art of Telling a Story About Southern Family Living in a Small Southern Town is “Color Cave” by Noveller, a one person band, that band being Sarah Lipstate. Check out the link for more info on her upcoming show at The Tinnitus Music Series in Brooklyn.

Orlando Shakespeare Theaters production of The Merry Wives of Windsor begins this week.

Episode 136 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

In this week’s episode, I talk to Walter Mosley about crime fiction, characterization, the subconscious work of the writer, and the radical aesthetics of Amiri Baraka,

and I also talk to Petra Mason about Bettie Page, Bunny Yeager, and the legacy of pin up culture.

Plus, Rose Tran reads her personal essay, "Intermission."

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

For more information about the Terribly Girly studio, check out their website.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtSNufs8BWw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6LPeq7pbxs

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Episode 136 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

In this week’s episode, I talk about James Wood's How Fiction Works with Vanessa Blakeslee,

Plus Amy Penne writes about how David Foster Wallace's Consider the Lobster and Other Essays changed her life.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsbKT50ud04

NOTES

On Tuesday, January 20th, 7 P.M., Leslie Salas will lead a workshop on imagery at the Orlando Public Library, Herndon Branch.

On Saturday, January 24th, 11 A.M., J. Bradley will host a love poem workshop at the Orlando Public Library.

In this week’s episode, I share another Miami BookFair International interview, this one with fiction writer and poet Stuart Dybek,

and I also talk to the poet Denise Duhamel,

plus Jim Ross writes about how Moss Hart's Act One changed his life.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

In Orlando, come hear me, Kimberly Lojewski, Robert Metcalf, and Tiffany Razzano read prose at There Will Be Words on January 13th.

On Tuesday, January 20th, 7 P.M., Leslie Salas will lead a workshop on imagery at the Orlando Public Library, Herndon Branch

On Saturday, January 24th, 11 A.M., J. Bradley will host a love poem workshop at the Orlando Public Library.

On Saturday, January 24th, 7 P.M., come hear Boris Fishman read from his novel, A Replacement Life, and me read poetry at the Gallery at Avalon Island.

In this week’s episode, I share another Miami BookFair International interview, this one with writer and filmmaker John Waters.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

 NOTES

In Orlando, come hear me, Kimberly Lojewski, Robert Metcalf, and Tiffany Razzano read prose at There Will Be Words on January 13th.

On Tuesday, January 20th, 7 P.M., Leslie Salas will lead a workshop on imagery at the Orlando Public Library, Herndon Branch

On Saturday, January 24th, 11 A.M., J. Bradley will host a love poem workshop at the Orlando Public Library.

On Saturday, January 24th, 7 P.M., come hear Boris Fishman read from his novel, A Replacement Life, and me read poetry at the Gallery at Avalon Island.

In this week’s episode, I interview novelist and memoirsit Joanna Rakoff,

and then talk once again with the poet Tony Hoagland,

plus Brittany McIntyre writes bravely about how a book I never expected to learn more about changed her life.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

Carlton Melton's "Country Ways" accompanied Brittany McIntyre's essay.

In Orlando, come hear me, Kimberly Lojewski, Robert Metcalf, and Tiffany Razzano read at There Will Be Words on January 13th.

Learn more about J. Bradley's love poem workshop at the Orlando Public Library here.

Check out the dreamy surf rock of The Bambi Molesters.

This week’s episode got a bit out of hand. Jared Silvia tells me that, for legal reasons, this needs to be called a radio play.

Anyway, I talk to Santa, have an interview you have to hear to believe--maybe you still won't believe it--plus

I replay Melissa Crandall's personal essay about A Christmas Carol.

NOTES

Pre-order Nathan Holic’s new novel, The Things I Don’t See, here for only $6.

In this week’s episode, I interview author and editor Jaquira Díaz.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

Read Jaquira Díaz's "Cami" at Story South.

Read Jocelyn Bartkevicius's "Out of the Garden" at The Missouri Review.

NOTES

Pre-order Nathan Holic's new novel, The Things I Don't See, here for only $6.

In this week’s episode, I present a rambunctious reading honoring Repeal Day, which I think might be one of the twelve days of Christmas.

The Drunken Odyssey All Stars on this occasion included Dianne Turgeon Richardson, Tod Caviness, Anna King, Jared Silvia, Sam Slaughter, Danita Berg, Matt Peters, Teege Braune, and Vanessa Blakeslee.

Episode 128 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

In this week’s episode, I interview the musician, Michael Hearst.

Plus Danita Berg reads her essay, "A Note on my Skin."

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

Watch Whoopie Golberg's one-woman Broadway show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CDSak1Pcbs

The music accompanying Danita Berg's essay is Carlton Melton's "Smoke Drip," from their album Photos of Photos.

Read Madison Bernath's review of Miami Bookfair International here.

Daniel Handler (who sometimes when he writes is known as Lemony Snickett) made a remarkably dense joke about self-consciousness about racial stereotypes after Jacqueline Woodson won the National Book Award Young People's Literature Prize for her book, Brown Girl Dreaming. Handler was not nearly self-conscious enough to know that Woodson's allergy to watermelon was precisely psychological in nature as a reaction to racism. Read Jacqueline Woodson about this event here at The New York Times. To read about Handler's appropriate apology, read this story in The Washington Post.

Here is Jacqueline Woodson's acceptance speech for this award:

[embed]https://vimeo.com/112642169[/embed]

Here is a link to the Indiegogo campaign for We Need Diverse Books.

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Episode 128 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

Episode 126 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

In this week’s episode, I talk about Horace's Ars Poetica with Vanessa Blakeslee,

plus Sam Slaughter talks about the ignominious beginning of Two Drunken Writers Brewery.

 NOTES

At 3 P.M., on Tuesday, November 18, the memoirist and novelist Marya Hornbacher will read at the University of Central Florida. Get info here.

Congrats to Tiffany Razzano, on the successful launch of Florida Bookstore day!

TEXTS DISCUSSED

NOTES

The music accompanying Ian Rogers's Essay is The Lovely Moon's "And We Danced Into the Night."

The music in the introduction ("Central Coast Swing")and conclusion ("Baia") of this episode was by the immortal Croatian surf rock band, The Bambi Molesters.