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

In this week’s episode, I talk about Douglas Glover's Attack of the Copula Spiders with Vanessa Blakeslee, plus Sam Slaughter writes about how Denis Johnson's Jesus' Son changed his life. Photo by Oxley Photography 2014 TEXTS DISCUSSED

Episode 118 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 verse novelist Holly Thompson, Plus Laryssa Wirstiuk writes about how Jonathan Saffron Foer's Eating Animals changed her life. TEXTS DISCUSSED NOTES Check out Functionally Literate Radio, which on the latest episode features my essay, "I Heart Smokey and the Bandit." From the Facebook page of Bob Lamb (episode 40), in regard to his informal "Worst First Sentence of a Bad Novel Contest": Okay, final verdict is in. First place--John King, although one of the judges worried that it was so funny that it could be used as the first sentence of a comic masterpiece rather than a bad novel. Yet, its originality, the sudden twists and turns of inspired lunacy, and the supermarket imagery cleverly woven into a surreal scene so impressed the judges that it really was no contest. Second place went to Steve Edwards--his economy, precision, and repetition of really bad metaphors obviously made his entry a powerful one, and the final metaphor of the peach pit as a tiny wooden brain had a certain je ne sais quois that evoked a peal of delightful revulsion. Third place went to Bob Lamb--although an unoriginal mockery of standard noir detective fiction a la Hammett, the judges felt that it's his goddamned contest and he ought to get some sort of a prize, especially given his fragile psyche and penchant for violence. The judges also awarded a distinguished parody prize to Eric Link for his brilliant satire of Hemingway writing a zombie novel. Although not technically a bad first sentence of a bad novel, and even though the judges could see this turning into a great parody of Hemingway and zombie fiction, they felt it was more appropriate for the old "Bad Hemingway" contest that used to run annually. Another entry, by Elizabeth Stuckey-French, was simply way too interesting and good to fit a bad first sentence contest. This often occurs when a real writer tries to write a bad sentence--their talent turns it into a sentence with potential. The judges found themselves wanting to read more, which is always a sign that your first sentence is not truly bad. The gutless wonder award goes to Mike Cocchiarale, who caused Bob Lamb to write concluding sentences to his bad novel, and then did not even participate. The judges felt that although Mr. Cocchiarale is an avid sports fan from Cleveland, and thus hopelessly trapped in a world of pain and confusion, he should have at least tried and failed, not unlike his beloved Browns. Lou Hickman and Tim Reynolds have been disqualified for cheating, and have received a five-year ban from participating in the contest. A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Kip Robisch, for his disruptive actions on this thread, and we expect to have him in custody shortly. We are working with law enforcement and immigration to have him deported. And here was my winning entry: When the were-pigs, gibbering in their porcine poetry and slapping the ground with their by-now clawed hooves, overran the supermarket, heaving their fleshy forms over the aisles of Cel-Ray sodas and bread and chick-peas, Clem knew that he better put down his inventory forms and drag the crossbow out of the safe again, but an icy sliver of revulsion, fear, and longing penetrated his spine, and he stood in front of the office window, watching the sounder below careen over the black and white tiles, demolishing the glass doors of the frozen food aisles, before their leader jumped onto the conveyor belt of check out line #7, and stared directly at him with wolf-like eyes, as if the giant porker was preparing to speak. _________ Episode 118 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 Pat Rushin, who authored the screenplay for the new Terry Gilliam film, The Zero Theorem, which opens in the U.S.A on September 19th, Pat Rushin and his wife Mary on the set of The Zero Theorem. Plus Craig-Paul Moreau writes about Randy Shilts's And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic. Photo by Demian Rosenblatt. TEXTS DISCUSSED NOTES Check out where The Zero Theorem will be playing in the U.S.A. here. Check out "My parents helped me to lose my virginity,” the new personal essay in The Guardian by Boris Fishman (Episode 107).

In this week’s episode, I interview Stephen Corey, Editor-in-Chief of The Georgia Review, Photograph by William Walsh. Plus August Evans writes about Marilynne Robinson’s Housekeeping. TEXTS DISCUSSED NOTES Margaret Atwood if the first entrant into the Future Library Project, with work to be printed in 2214, from trees in a forest planted this year (reported in a Guardian story by Alison Flood). Congrats to Bookmark It‘s first six months! In Orlando, check it out at theEast End Market.

On this week’s show, I answer some mail with my friend, David James Poissant, Plus Clint Peters writes about how reading Montaigne changed his life. NOTES Check out David James Poissant's wonderful story collection, The Heaven of Animals. According to NPR, Robert Hass has won the Wallace Stevens prize. According to The Guardian, Doris Lessing willed 3,000 books to a library in Harare, Zimbabwe. Meanwhile, Florida Polytechnic is opening with a library that has zero print books (Guardian). Also according to The Guardian, Martin Amis's controversial new book, Zone of Interest, is having some publishing difficulties. I incorrectly called Bullets and Burgers a shooting range, when according to The Times, Burgers and Bullets is the name of the tour guide service that brings people to a shooting range about 25 miles outside of Vegas, in Arizona, where a nine year-old girl accidentally shot her shooting instructor with an Uzi after he set the gun to repeater action.

On this week’s show, I talk to fiction writer and ghost writer extraordinaire, Maya Sloan. TEXTS DISCUSSED NOTES Learn more about the Kerouac House here.

On this week’s show, I talk to the poet Sarah Grieve, plus Rose Tran writes about what Sherman Alexie taught her about humor. TEXTS DISCUSSED

On this week’s show, I talk to Vanessa Blakeslee about what Aristotle's Poetics can teach us about fiction writing today, Plus Kevin Bray writes about reading John Gardner's On Becoming a Novelist. TEXTS DISCUSSED NOTES This new project--discussing relevant books about the craft of storytelling--is a continuation of a long defunct feature of the show. Two years ago, Jaroslav Kalfař and I discussed Stephen King's On Writing on episode 6 and John Gardner's The Art of Fiction on episode 2. Quoting George Orwell in an shockingly Orwellian way, Amazon has undertaken a weird counter-compaign to the Authors United movement, according to David Streitfield in The Times. Check out the statement from Authors United that led to this counter-campaign.

On this week’s show, I talk to the Trio Award-winner Iris Jamahl Dunkle, plus Jeffrey Ethan Lee reads his essay, "The Poet's Mother's Deathbed Conversion" at Fergie's Pub in Philadelphia. Books Discussed NOTES If in Philly, check out the Moonstone Poetry Series, at Fergie's Pub. My friends Jared Silvia and Ryan Rivas are new hosting a new show, Functionally Literate Radio, on WPRK.

On this week’s show, I talk to Ryan Rivas and Nathan Holic about the publication of Forget How You Found Us: 15 Views of Orlando, Volume III, plus I share readings from stories by Karen Best, Matt Peters, and Jonathan Kosik from the collection. TEXTS DISCUSSED NOTES Learn about the great youth programs offered by Page 15 in Orlando. Amazon is having a bad quarter, according to The New York Times. Next month, Third Man Books, the new print publishing wing of Third Man Records, will release an anthology called Language Lessons, Volume 1. Quentin Tarantino will be filming The Hateful Eight after all, according to Kurt Russell and the L.A. Times. Check out the amazing surf rock revival of The Bambi Molesters. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=expdxldXIa4