624 episodes
The Drunken Odyssey with John King: A Podcast About the Writing Life John King
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4.8 • 69 Ratings
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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.
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621: Tyler Mills!
In this week’s show, John talks with Tyler Mills about her extraordinary multimedia memoir, a poetic people’s history of America’s secretive relationship to the atomic bomb.
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620: A Discussion of Asteroid City, with Jared Silvia!
In this week’s show, John talks with Jared Silvia about the 2023 film, Asteroid City, and look at how Wes Anderson and co-writer Roman Coppola counterbalances surges of emotion with layers of artifice, which is a mixed metaphor, we know.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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)
Customer Reviews
Smart, Fun, and Relevant
Literary podcasts have a tendency toward dryness (which is why I don't often listen to them...), but this one doesn't -- like, at all. John King peppers his interviews with contemporary authors and poets (and the occasional graphic artist or screenwriter!) with wry humor, down-to-earth conversation about the writing life, and great music. The movie review shows and craft discussions on writing are special favorites. Comes highly recommended!
Great Writers, Great Discussions
Here’s a show featuring successful, working writers discussing what they do and how they do it. Come for the interesting people; stay for the nuggets of wisdom, ideas, and irreverent fun.
"And don't swallow the worm".
I listen to dozens of shows about the writing life. Only 3 really excite me when I see a new episode has been uploaded. TDO is one of them. Specifically, I enjoy John's tone, the connections he makes with the guests, the "vibe" of the show, and the undercurrent of humor that comes from John not taking any of it too seriously. Cheers!