715: Henry Hughes!
episode
The Drunken Odyssey with John King: A Podcast About the Writing Life
58 min
3 speakers
8 chapters
transcribed 1 month ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What is the introduction and background of Henry Hughes and the episode’s theme?
Fly fishing in Ukraine. Far from missile strikes and tank blasts. Carpathian browns and grayling spin the stream along the goat trail to the pine shack of old Boris and his pet bear. I fed the bare apples while Boris snipped greasy fur for streamer wings, his gypsy wife stinged with silk. River Voices. Chickens, your leaky leather accordion, sometimes gunshots. Don't worry, you'd left. Only Dimitri shooting pigs. gutted before us and roasted in the yard is vinya. Yellow pickles and moonshine. No internet. Riding horses to the bosky banks, fish rising all morning. Pray it's over soon. Text. Many refugees at dairy farms. But your room will be ready. I remember little girls petting a calf and that plunging blue pool behind the barn where I cast.
to an orange spotted trout that changed my life.
Or so I thought.
Welcome to The Drunken Odyssey with John King, a podcast about the writing life.
Tell us. Oh you About a man whose mind and career has careened far and wide and upside down, whose computers are seared with crimes against grammar. Whose typographical aggressions are legion, whose words flow into the very mouth of time, and more than a few bottles. A man Julie owns a typewriter. Perhaps even a soul.
And now your host, John King.
Welcome to episode seven hundred and fifteen of the world's greatest creative writing podcast. I still am John King. And on today's show, I talked to my friend, the poet Henry Hughes. about his latest volume of poetry, Sergeant Dark. I think I also trapped myself into a fishing excursion if Henry ever gets his ass over here to Florida. Behind the scenes here at the secret headquarters of the Drunken Odyssey, there is lots of hurly burly. The Southern Fried Poetry Slam is being held this year in Orlando this weekend. I'm gonna try and get out there. Which means I don't really have time to figure out what writing I've done this week to disclose that to you, which in turn then discloses that to me in case I didn't notice.
And my normal habit of discussing literary news seems I don't know Almost irresponsible when I look at you know, the news news. So let this podcast base Today be a respite from all that. Let's get to my conversation with Henry. I hope you enjoy it.
And now the interview of the day.
Henry Hughes grew up in Long Island, New York. After completing an MA in creative writing at Purdue University in nineteen ninety, he spent five years working in Japan and China. He returned to the US, completed a PhD in American Literature at Purdue in 2002, and began teaching at Western Oregon University. He's the editor of the Everyman's Library Anthologies, The Art of Angling, poems about fishing, fishing stories, and river poems. He's a professor of literature at Western Oregon University. He is the author of five collections of poetry, Sergeant Dark His Latest, Yuzes on War, The Natural World, Booziness, and Bearing Witness to the Vivid Surprises of the World. Henry, so great to be talking with you once again.
John King, thank you so much for having me back to a Drunken Odyssey. I love your program. It's an honor, really.
So for anyone doing the math, if they know my story, hearing your intro, they might get the wrong idea that we knew each other at Purdue. Which depends on how we define the word new. Like we knew of each other. And I just remember one sentence that you said to me that was really transformative for me as a creative writer. And it's been a while since you and I have talked about this. So I'm just going to bring it up one more time, which is to say I was on a lit track. I was not on a creative writing track. But I was writing creative writing, fiction, belly aching that I couldn't get published. And you, who Barely knew me at all, said Don't worry about that, John. Don't worry about rejection. Get excited about writing the new thing.
And then after I don't know, a day or so of mentally bitching and moaning about you,
How did Henry Hughes’ early life and academic career shape his poetry?
I absorbed the advice and it changed my whole attitude towards creative writing and it no longer seemed like a literary activity that wasn't about people trying to communicate to each other.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the introduction and background of Henry Hughes and the episode’s theme?
0:01–5:34
2
How did Henry Hughes’ early life and academic career shape his poetry?
5:34–10:45
3
What is the new poetry collection “Sergeant Dark” about and who inspired its characters?
10:45–20:58
4
How does Henry Hughes connect fishing, nature, and animal observation to his writing?
20:58–30:55
5
What insights does Henry share about teaching creative writing and mentoring students?
30:55–39:48
6
How does Henry approach the craft of poetry—revision, language, and musicality?
39:48–48:09
7
What is Henry’s perspective on Charles Bukowski’s influence and literary reputation?
48:09–55:50
8
What final advice and reflections does Henry give about writing and life?
55:50–58:50
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from The Drunken Odyssey with John King: A Podcast About the Writing Life
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