The Drunken Odyssey with John King: A Podcast About the Writing Life
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.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 71 minutes
- Episodes
- 694
- Years Active
- 2012 - 2025
414: Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway Review, with Todd James Pierce!
In this week’s episode, I talk with creative writer and Disney historian Todd James Pierce about the new Disney's Hollywood Studios attraction that let's guests cross into the screen of a cartoon exp…
413: Escaping from Fire Island!
In this bonus, mid-week episode of The Drunken Odyssey, the game-writing expert Michael Merriam and I read and discuss Escape from Fire Island, a lost classic from the 1990s. Somehow, we touch upon …
412: A Discussion of Douglas Glover's The Erotics of Restraint, with Vanessa Blakeslee!
This week, my occasional co-host, Vanessa Blakeslee, and I discuss Douglas Glover's latest collection, The Erotics of Restraint: Essays on Literary Form. We explore his insights on time and plot cons…
411: Paul Lisicky!
This week I sit down with novelist and memoirist Paul Lisicky to discuss his new memoir, Later: My Life at The Edge of The World. We dive into the process of memory in writing memoir, the ways of poe…
410: Ron Schneider!
This week, I speak to actor, show writer, and memoirist Ron Schneider about the show business life, theme park creativity, and learning to master new creative challenges.
TEXTS DISCUSSED
NOTES
This…
409: Shane Hinton!
This week, I speak to fiction writer Shane Hinton about his poetic, spooky apocalyptic novel, Radio Dark.
408: A Discussion of Paul Fussell's Class with Vanessa Blakeslee!
Episode 408 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on Apple podcasts, stitcher, spotify, or click here to stream (right click to download, if…
407: Nathan Holic!
This week, I talk to my friend and colleague Nathan Holic about his new novel that is a true epic of our hometown (Orlando), Bright Lights, Medium-Sized City.
Nathan Holic at an undisclosed location …
405: Corwin Moore on Richard Pryor!
This week, I talk to my friend Corwin Moore, who is a comic and comedy writer.
Our proposed topic of discussion was the greatness of Richard Pryor, which we cover at length in a conversation that to…
404: Susan Lilley!
This week, I talk to my friend, and Orlando's poet laureate, Susan Lilley!
TEXT DISCUSSED
403: Jericho Brown & Richard Blanco!
This week, I talk to two poets.
First, I speak with the joyous Jericho Brown about his complex relationship to poetic tradition, identity, and music. Frankly, I kept making tangents to music. Perhaps…
402: A Craft Discussion of T.S. Elliot's "Tradition and the Individual Talent" and "Hamlet and Its Problems"!
This week, Vanessa Blakeslee and I assail more essays on the craft of literature, this time two by T.S. Eliot.
TEXTS DISCUSSED
"Hamlet and Its Problems" can be found here; "Tradition and the Individ…
401: Steve Almond and Carolyn Forché!
This week, I offer another round of conversations from Miami Book Fair International, in which I talk to Steve Almond about his favorite novel, Stonerby John Williams,
plus I speak with poet Carolyn…
400: Nathan Englander!
This week, I talk to fiction writer Nathan Englander about the pressurized form of fictional worlds, giving the reader something worth their time and money, getting to the pain as soon as possible, c…
399: Rion Amilcar Scott!
This week, I talk to fiction writer Rion Amilcar Scott about his extraordinary fiction collection, The World Does Not Require You. We discuss the academic world, African-American folklore, religion, …
398: E. Jean Carroll and Jonathan Safran Foer!
This week's show features another pair of episodes from Miami Book Fair International.
397: Tim O'Brien, Chris Ware, & Chip Kidd!
On today's show, I share two interviews. The first is with the fiction writer and memoirist Tim O'Brien about how to live in this world.
The second is with the comic creator Chris Ware and his editor…
396: A Very Scandinavian Christmas!
In our discussion, Vanessa Blakeslee and I manage to talk about yuletide fellowship, hallucinogens, the possibility of St. Patrick's Day cookies, and other perennial holiday topics.