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

This week’s episode got a bit out of hand. Jared Silvia tells me that, for legal reasons, this needs to be called a radio play. Anyway, I talk to Santa, have an interview you have to hear to believe--maybe you still won't believe it--plus I replay Melissa Crandall's personal essay about A Christmas Carol. NOTES Pre-order Nathan Holic’s new novel, The Things I Don’t See, here for only $6.

In this week’s episode, I interview author and editor Jaquira Díaz. TEXTS DISCUSSED Read Jaquira Díaz's "Cami" at Story South. Read Jocelyn Bartkevicius's "Out of the Garden" at The Missouri Review. NOTES Pre-order Nathan Holic's new novel, The Things I Don't See, here for only $6.

In this week’s episode, I present a rambunctious reading honoring Repeal Day, which I think might be one of the twelve days of Christmas. The Drunken Odyssey All Stars on this occasion included Dianne Turgeon Richardson, Tod Caviness, Anna King, Jared Silvia, Sam Slaughter, Danita Berg, Matt Peters, Teege Braune, and Vanessa Blakeslee.

Episode 128 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 musician, Michael Hearst. Plus Danita Berg reads her essay, "A Note on my Skin." TEXTS DISCUSSED NOTES Watch Whoopie Golberg's one-woman Broadway show. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CDSak1Pcbs The music accompanying Danita Berg's essay is Carlton Melton's "Smoke Drip," from their album Photos of Photos. Read Madison Bernath's review of Miami Bookfair International here. Daniel Handler (who sometimes when he writes is known as Lemony Snickett) made a remarkably dense joke about self-consciousness about racial stereotypes after Jacqueline Woodson won the National Book Award Young People's Literature Prize for her book, Brown Girl Dreaming. Handler was not nearly self-conscious enough to know that Woodson's allergy to watermelon was precisely psychological in nature as a reaction to racism. Read Jacqueline Woodson about this event here at The New York Times. To read about Handler's appropriate apology, read this story in The Washington Post. Here is Jacqueline Woodson's acceptance speech for this award: [embed]https://vimeo.com/112642169[/embed] Here is a link to the Indiegogo campaign for We Need Diverse Books. _______ Episode 128 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

Episode 126 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 talk about Horace's Ars Poetica with Vanessa Blakeslee, plus Sam Slaughter talks about the ignominious beginning of Two Drunken Writers Brewery. Photo by Oxley Photography 2014 NOTES At 3 P.M., on Tuesday, November 18, the memoirist and novelist Marya Hornbacher will read at the University of Central Florida. Get info here. Congrats to Tiffany Razzano, on the successful launch of Florida Bookstore day!

Episode 125 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 novelist Kent Wascom, Plus Ian Rogers writes about reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. TEXTS DISCUSSED NOTES The music accompanying Ian Rogers's Essay is The Lovely Moon's "And We Danced Into the Night." The music in the introduction ("Central Coast Swing")and conclusion ("Baia") of this episode was by the immortal Croatian surf rock band, The Bambi Molesters.

This week is a live show for Horror Movie Poetry Night, starring The Drunken Odyssey All Stars. Drew Johnson, Photo by Leslie Silvia. (That's a blurry John King in golden mouse ears, far left.) On this occasion, The Drunken Odyssey All-Stars included: Amy Watkins (The Walking Dead) Vincent Crampton Dr. Josef Heiter (The Human Centipede) Anna King (The Silence of the Lambs) Drew Johnson (The Shining) Jeff Shuster (The Blair Witch Project) Melanie Neale (Jaws) Teege Braune (Werewolves) Karen Price (Rosemary's Baby) Stephanie Rizzo (Gremlins)

On this week's show, I present a discussion of and readings from work that resulted in the companionship of Lord Byron, his physician John Polidori, and the Shelley's during the Year without a Summer, in which a ghost story challenge was undertaken. Mary Shelley Mary Shelley, by Richard Rothwell. John William Polidori John William Polidori as painted by F.G. Gainsford. Lord Byron Lord Byron, engraving by person unknown, colored by person unknown, as of press time. Notes Please give thanks to the amazing talents and efforts of this episode's two readers: Chris Booth August Evans

In this week’s episode, I share a recording of a Halloween show in Jesse Bradley's prose reading series, There Will Be Words, in which I was a reader. The There Will Be Words Fourth Annual Flash Fiction Spooktacular featured KAREN BEST KEITH GOUVEIA MATT PETERS JOHN KING WHITNEY HAMRICK BRETT PRIBBLE TEEGE BRAUNE JARED SILVIA Karen Best (Photo by Leslie Silvia).