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
Apr 6, 2024 • 1h 21min
619: Jessie Ren Marshall!
In this week’s show, John talks with Jessie Red Marshall about her extraordinary short story collection, Women! In! Peril! The topics discussed include how story collections are like mixtapes, how thematic unity occurs brilliantly by accident, and how the interesting questions to ask ourselves in writing fiction is often what about ourselves, as writers, is problematic to ourselves.
Mar 30, 2024 • 45min
618: A Book Discussion of Kenneth Patchen's Memoirs of a Shy Pornographer, with Nick Georgoudiou!
In this week’s show, John and Nick Georgoudiou discuss Kenneth Patchen's surreal postmodern novel, Memoirs of a Shy Pornographer, before a small crowd gathered at the Kerouac Project of Orlando.
Mar 23, 2024 • 52min
617: Marie Mutsuki Mockett!
In this week’s show, John talks to Marie Mutsuki Mockett about her exquisite new novel, The Tree Doctor, which leads us to the topics of Japanese literature, The Tale of Genji, and how the ancient world is surprisingly like our own.
Mar 16, 2024 • 1h 48min
616: A Book Discussion of George Saunders's A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, with Rachael Tillman!
On today's show, Rachael and I discuss George Saunders's discussion of seven short stories by Russian authors. Since Saunders's book is the result of teaching these stories in MFA craft courses over multiple decades, this book and today's discussion simulates an important part of the MFA experience, for those who wonder what that might be like. The stories: Anton Chekhov's "In the Cart" (1897) Ivan Turgenev's "The Singers" (1852) Anton Chekhov's "The Darling" (1899) Leo Tolstoy's "Master and Man" (1895) Nikolai Gogol's "The Nose" (1836) Anton Chekhov's "Gooseberries" (1898) Leo Tolstoy's "Alyosha The Pot" (1905)
Mar 9, 2024 • 1h 17min
615: Diane Seuss!
This ep. features a conversation with Pulitzer prize-winning poet Diane Seuss about her latest book of verse, Modern Poetry. With bursts of internal rhyme about thorny subjects, Modern Poetry awaits the reader with a spirit of mourning and loss and self-creation, which is, for this reader anyway, joyous.
Mar 2, 2024 • 51min
Replay: Episode 570 with Kathleen Rooney
Thanks to Brian Salmons for bumpering this replay episode.
Feb 24, 2024 • 59min
614: Celeste Ng & Ben Fountain, interviewed by Samantha Nickerson!
On today’s show, Samantha Nickerson interviews the fiction writers Celeste Ng and Ben Fountain!
Feb 17, 2024 • 54min
613: Jamel Brinkley and M. Evelina Galang!
On #613, Chelsea Alice speaks with Jamel Brinkley about his new short story collection Witness, plus John King speaks with M. Evelina Galang about her new short story collection, When the Hibiscus Falls. Special Thanks to Miami Book Fair.
Feb 10, 2024 • 56min
612: A Discussion of Anaïs Nin's Little Birds, with Samantha Nickerson
Samantha Nickerson and I delve into Anaïs Nin's posthumously published slender volume of erotica, Little Birds.
Jan 27, 2024 • 56min
611: Matt Mason!
On today’s show, John King chats with poet Matt Mason about the poetic necessity of engaging with the popular culture that is part of the fabric of our American life, including rock music and obviously, obviously, the Disney phenomenon.
