The Drunken Odyssey with John King: A Podcast About the Writing Life
John King
Join author John King for eclectic interviews with writers from a variety of genres, including fiction writing, poetry, memoirs, and journalism. From literature to genre writing to the movies, all writing is up for discussion. In particular, The Drunken Odyssey features discussion of all aspects of the writing process—not just the published manuscript, pristinely presented to the entire literate world, but also the scrawled notes and tortured drafts that lead writers there. In long-form interviews, writers discuss their process and the way that writing has influenced their lives. Besides this interview, each episode also features a short memoir essay from a writer about a beloved book, plus John King responds to listener's questions and observations about the writing (and the drinking) life.
For more information, see our website at www.thedrunkenodyssey.com.
For more information, see our website at www.thedrunkenodyssey.com.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Nov 29, 2025 • 1h 13min
693: Emily Van Duyne
Emily Van Duyne discusses her remarkable tome of scholarship on Sylvia Plath, including a literary history of how Plath's legacy has been shaped. Emily also guides Rachael and John's attempts to de-Hughes-ify the available texts.
Nov 22, 2025 • 1h 53min
692: November 22, 2025 (Fire x Fire x Fire with Dianne Turgeon Richardson and Tod Caviness!)
John concocted a daft poetry game for friends with a body of work substantial enough to withstand randomization of theme and topic 'til our drunken voices and ears escape beyond the hurly-burly of the everyday and enter the ethereal mindscape of friendship. Here is one's nights Fire x Fire x Fire for your listening pleasure, featuring the verses of Dianne Turgeon Richardson and Tod Caviness.
Nov 16, 2025 • 54min
691: AJ Rodriguez!
On this week's show, John speaks with fiction writer A.J. Rodriguez, the June-July 2025 Kerouac Project of Orlando resident.
Nov 1, 2025 • 1h 3min
690: Ivonne Lamazares!
On this week's show, John speaks with Ivonne Lamazares about her new novel, The Tilting House.
Oct 25, 2025 • 59min
689: Schloctoberfest 2025 #4: A Discussion of Night of the Living Dead, with Jeff Shuster
At the end of Schloctoberfest 2025, Jeff Shuster and I discuss the 1968 horror masterpiece Night of the Living Dead because how could we not? Our foray into 1960s black and white films is now ended.
Oct 18, 2025 • 1h 3min
688: Schloctoberfest 2025 #3: A Discussion of Seconds, with Jeff Shuster
This time around, Jeff Shuster and John discuss John Frankenheimer's thriller Seconds from 1966.
Oct 11, 2025 • 55min
687: Schloctoberfest 2025 #2: A Discussion of The Sword of Doom, with Jeff Shuster!
On this week's show, Jeff Shuster and John King delve into an existentially strange antihero story that feels a bit crazy and not entirely complete.
Oct 4, 2025 • 58min
686: Schloctoberfest 2025 #1: A Discussion of Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! with Jeff Shuster
In October, The Drunken Odyssey crams Literature aside to consider wild, dark fun cinema with our curator of Schlock, Jeff Shuster! This year, John and Jeff discuss 4 black-and-white films from the 1960s. First up is this chili pepper of a film that arose the year before the Summer of Love.
Aug 30, 2025 • 1h 21min
685: A Discussion of Sylvia Plath's The Colossus and Other Poems (with Rachael Tillman)
Sylvia Plath is legendary for being a tragic poet mostly known for her novel, The Bell Jar. John and Rachael are fans of Plath's poetry and The Bell Jar, but hereby set out on a historical project to read Plath's work as the world would have known it first, and as she would have known it herself, without the legend imposing its darkest meanings onto every possible opportunity.
Aug 23, 2025 • 1h 33min
684: A Pop Poetry Conversation about Megan Fox's Pretty Boys are Poisonous
This conversation with Samantha Nickerson, Brian Salmans, and Rachael Tillman will give you some idea of the mischief you are missing out on, and the pain John is putting himself through.
