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.

  • 1 hour 12 minutes
    661: Kathy Fish!

    In this episode, John interviews the notable flash fiction writer Kathy Fish about the anxious nuances of that medium and genre. Is flash fiction just a very short story, with all the rules of fiction at work? Or is flash fiction a less traditional, immersive fictional happening that takes somewhere between the length of a flash of lightning and the length of time needed to smoke a cigarette? The complicated answer is yes and yes in this delightful conversation recorded at The Kerouac Project of Orlando.

    22 February 2025, 9:00 am
  • 54 minutes 30 seconds
    660: A Discussion About John D. MacDonald, with Andrew Gulli and Maynard MacDonald

    In this episode, John discusses the career of crime novelist John D. MacDonald (1916-1986) in light of a new posthumous short story, “The Accomplice.” In this interview, John speaks with with Andrew Gulli, editor of The Strand Magazineabout the rigors and ethos of editing and publishing and MacDonald’s son and literary executor Maynard about propagating a great writer’s legacy without compromising that writer’s standards despite the lucrative promise of a classic literary character like Travis McGee.

    15 February 2025, 9:00 am
  • 1 hour 2 minutes
    659: Duy Đoàn!

    In 659, John talks to poet Duy Đoàn about his latest collection, Zombie Vomit Mad Libs, the poetic provocations of horror films, and experimenting with erasure and fragmentation.

    8 February 2025, 9:00 am
  • 1 hour 20 minutes
    Replay: Episode 99: Kseniya Melnik (2014)!

    In this week’s replay episode, John talks with fellow classmate, the fiction writer Kseniya Melnik.

    1 February 2025, 9:00 am
  • 1 hour 6 minutes
    658: Denise Duhamel!

    In this week's show, John talks to the delightful poet Denise Duhamel about the nuts and bolts of poetry, the construction of themed collections, Barbie, and other matters of literary interest.

    25 January 2025, 11:17 pm
  • 1 hour 14 minutes
    657: Daniel Handler, Griffin Dunne, and Ridley Pearson!

    This week’s show collects three interviews with prose writers Daniel Handler, Griffin Dunne, and Ridley Pearson in joyful, fun conversations conducted last November at Miami Book Fair.

    19 January 2025, 10:03 pm
  • 1 hour 49 minutes
    656: Fire by Fire by Fire with Dianne Turgeon Richardson and Tod Caviness!

    John convenes with Loose Lips hosts Dianne Turgeon Richardson for a poetry game in which three friends draw themed cards and read original poems somehow connected to those themes. Alcohol was consumed, too.

    11 January 2025, 9:48 pm
  • 1 hour 20 minutes
    655: Steve Chang!

    On this week's show, John talks to recent Kerouac Project resident Steve Chang about writing humor with vulnerability, complicating the absurdity of the world through grounded fiction, editing fiction for Okay, Donkey, and other literary urgencies.

    4 January 2025, 9:00 am
  • 1 hour 2 minutes
    654: David Kirby, Traci Brimhall, & Robert Pinsky

    This week’s show collects three interviews with poets David Kirby, Traci Brimhall, and Robert Pinsky in joyful, fun conversations conducted last November at Miami Book Fair.

    28 December 2024, 9:00 am
  • 45 minutes 38 seconds
    653: Dobby Gibson, interviewed by Chrissy Kolaya!

    On this week’s show Chrissy Kolaya talks to Dobby Gibson about his latest poetry volume, Hold Everything, now out with Graywolf Press.

    21 December 2024, 10:35 pm
  • 58 minutes 37 seconds
    652: Jonathan Lethem!

    In this week’s show, John speaks with Jonathan Lethem about the pull of Brooklyn and obsession, the craft of guiding the reader through unusual storytelling, and bold balancing acts as storytellers.

    14 December 2024, 9:00 am
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