Florida Book Club: Recent Episodes
Christopher Nank
Exploring the forgotten, undervalued, underrated, misrepresented, and oddball books, movies, media, music, and assorted pop-cultural relics of Florida. Learn more at https://www.floridabookclub.com.
Gambling, murder, and desperation plague the small town of Hockta, Florida over a several-day period in the 1950s in Lori Roy's compelling new novel Lake County. There's also a (fictionalized) celebrity involved! Lori joins us in conversation about her book to kick off season 10 of Florida Book Club.
Florida Weird is a zine that will remind some readers of a rougher-around-the-edges Islandia Journal. The creator and driving artistic force behind Florida Weird, Mara Beneway, joins us to discuss the zine's creation and how Florida has inspired her, as a non-native. (Also, find out – what is a zine?)
Further Reading
- Visit Mara's website
- Follow Mara on Instagram
Ariel Francisco joins us today to discuss his bilingual volume of poems, A Sinking Ship Is Still a Ship, which features haikus, lots of poems about insomnia, and haunting imagery of the sea reclaiming Florida. He also talks a bit about his own translation work!
Printmaker and illustrator Russell Beans' work depicting cryptids, exotic animals, and rare endangered plants has graced the pages of Islandia Journal since its inception. He joins us to talk about his creative process, the inspiring wonder of the Everglades and south Florida, and where else you can see his work!
Michael Wheaton's Home Movies is hard to classify. It's basically a memoir-essay-treatise of novella length, I guess? And it covers the evolution of media consumption, whether art or creativity matter, land development in Florida, and the value of nostalgia. And the author talks about all that with us today on Florida Book Club!
Ryan Rivas is a regular at the Clubhouse; he joins us today to talk about his novella Lizard People, conspiratorial thinking, ideas of white identity, and the marketability of the short novel as a form (and those are all closely related topics here!).
Flash fiction, micro fiction, prose poems, and so-called "short-short stories" may all be technically different forms, but if you like tiny stories of any stripe, you will love Andrea Rinard's 2023 collection Murmurations. She joins the Florida Book Club to discuss her work in this genre, getting inspiration from her students, and her affinity for 1980s settings!
Mistie Watkins joins us to talk about her alluring and compelling work Hiraeth, a collection of poetic, often-surreal vignettes detailing her childhood and family life in Central Florida. There are fairly equal doses of pathos, determination, hope, and beauty in this book, and in our talk!
We kick off Season 9 of Florida Book Club with a wide-ranging conversation covering education in Florida, the Tampa death metal scene of the late 80s-early 90s, and what it was like growing up in the Bay Area during that time. Las Vegas-based author (and Florida native) Jarret Keene joins us for this episode.
After 60+ episodes (and over a dozen blog posts), my producer and I take a look back at three years of Florida Book Club and maybe offer some vague hints as to what's ahead for the podcast!
Shane Hinton's 2015 collection Pinkies is full of bizarre gems: surreal settings, ominous images, and an absolutely terrific title story where giant predatory pythons roam a suburban community attacking and devouring humans. He joins us today to discuss Pinkies, his work as an editor, what he's got coming up, and memories of his childhood pet.
On a week where a major hurricane is heading toward Florida, author Heather Sellers joins us to discuss her 2022 Florida Book Prize winning poetry collection Field Notes from the Flood Zone, a somber meditation on Florida's ecological fragility and the ghosts of the past.
We welcome back Alicia Thompson to discuss her new novel With Love, From Cold World, the romance genre more generally (again), how her life has changed since the publication of her previous novel (Love in the Time of Serial Killers), and the value of content warnings.
The Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, FL, went by several names in its 100-year history. Under any name, it represents a blighted, ugly chapter in Florida history. University of South Florida anthropologist Erin Kimmerle joins us today to discuss We Carry Their Bones, her compelling account of the work she and her team undertook to bring the atrocities committed there to wider public attention and to bring the remains of those who never left back to their families.
Plants that eat people, shout-outs to Zydrunas Ilgauskas, metaphors involving the NES version of Contra, meditations on classical composers, and much more feature in P. Scott Cunningham's 2018 poetry collection Ya Te Veo. He joins us to discuss it, his work with O, Miami, translating poetry from Spanish, and what else he's got going on.
You may have seen "Eerie Florida" author Mark Muncy discussing paranormal history on the Travel Channel or Discovery. Or you may have visited his Hellview Cemetery in St. Petersburg. Or listened to his podcast, Eerie Travels. He's passionate about his work. But today, he took some time to join Florida Book Club to discuss that work with us!
Generally we think of the "apocalypse" as a bad thing. But Erika Lance and Valerie Willis of 4 Horsemen Publications eagerly strive to bring it about! (in the publishing world, that is) They join us to talk about their business model, their press' unique focus and particular mission, and writing under pseudonyms!
Do you like autobiographies? Memoirs? Biopics? True crime? Reality TV? Or any "real-life" adjacent narratives? Then you'll love the works published by Orlando-based Autofocus Books. Founder and publisher Michael Wheaton joins us to talk about how Autofocus got off the ground, his interest in "artful autobiographical writing", and more!
Nextdoor.com (specifically the Colonialtown North forums of Nextdoor.com) serves as the raw material for Ryan Rivas' fascinating collage of neighborhood photos and excerpted, rearranged, and reassembled posts from the site. He joins us to discuss his creative process, among other things, in our season 7 finale.
If you like poetry adorned with robot voices, QR codes, webcam videos, and generous references to Britney Spears, Monica Geller, and climate change, join us on this episode as we welcome Tyler Gillespie back to the podcast to discuss his soon-to-be-released collection, the nature machine!.
Who doesn't love sandwiches? Join me and self-described "sandwich obsessives" Andy Huse, Barbara Cruz, and Jeff Houck, all with their own unique set of culinary and historical credentials, as we discuss their new, Florida Book Award Gold Medal winning book The Cuban Sandwich: A History in Layers!
Native Floridian Nichole Reed returns to the Florida Book Club to discuss Oxygen's deceptively trashy-looking true crime series from 2021, Florida Man Murders.
Author Jonathan Escoffery joins us today to discuss his amazing collection of interlinked short stories, If I Survive You, essential reading for anyone who enjoys indelible characters, skillful shifts in perspective and narration, and portraits of south Florida before, during, and after Hurricane Andrew.
According to Tim Gilmore, creator and author of JaxPsychoGeo, Jacksonville has always had a hard time telling its stories. Join us as we delve into some of those stories, a lot of which are unsavory and violent, but revelatory about larger cultural forces in not just Jacksonville, but the South in general!
We here at the Florida Book Club love a good storm story. So does Joey Hedger, author of the 2018 novella In the Line of a Hurricane, We Wait. He joins us today to talk about it and about storm narratives in general.
Tune in for the season seven premiere to hear Chris get schooled on the romance genre by Alicia Thompson, Florida native and author of the novel Love in the Time of Serial Killers, a surprising, true crime-steeped rom-com set in the doldrums of a Florida summer.
Further Reading Buy Love in the Time of Serial Killers* via Bookshop.org * Visit Alicia Thompson's website
Fiction writer Laura van den Berg joins us to talk about her most recent collection, I Hold a Wolf By the Ears, midnight logic, and why Florida is a great setting for eerie and unsettling stories. We also get to meet her dog briefly!
This big pink book with the puffy cover is better than any Florida travel guide or chamber of commerce video. Editor Gabrielle Calise returns to the Florida Book clubhouse to discuss the rewarding and sometimes-grueling process of making it all come together!
https://www.floridabookclub.com
University of South Florida MFA graduate Courtney Clute's The Fermi Paradox features flash fiction — stories that are incredibly brief but substantive. We discuss the book and the genre more broadly with the author herself on this episode.
Learn the difference between a battle and a skirmish, along with the events surrounding Florida's secession and its role in the Civil War as we discuss Robert Redd's new book on these topics and others with the author himself!
We're joined today by poet and fiction author Enid Shomer to discuss her 2020 poetry collection Shoreless, which examines themes of nature and human frailty and has killer cover art!
Join us for a conversation with Owen Robertson of Tampa's LAB Theater, as he tells us about their playwright-centric focus and commitment to producing original works, the theater scene in Tampa, and the history and future of LAB. We'll also preview the next production, which opens on October 20!
Florida's "town without pity" and a variety of obscure Florida history, memoir, and true-crime books that border on pulp are the topics we discuss with Jason Vuic, author of The Swamp Peddlers, as he drops in to talk about the book he's currently working on. I also reference the exact same passage from Shelley Katz's Alligator for a second week straight.
"Come for the poetry, stay for the paranormal!" That is how Islandia Journal's founder and publisher, native Miamian Jason Katz, wants you to think of his passion project, which features accounts of cryptids, folklore, myth, and obscure history from Florida and the greater Caribbean region. Contemporary themes and issues are never far out of the picture, though, and the special issue of Islandia looking back at Hurricane Andrew seems especially poignant as we wrap up the 2022 storm season. Join us for this conversation!
No one would ever confuse Burt I. Gordon for a staunch environmentalist, and if you listen to the commentary on the DVD of his film "Empire of the Ants," even casual viewers might know more about the film than the auteur himself. Join me as I ruminate on this peculiar classic, which has a lot of insights to reveal about the Florida sugar industry both then and now.
Buffalo chicken sundaes, hospital restaurants, forest castles, why local news matters, and more await in this week's episode. 100 Things to Do in Tampa Bay Before You Die author Kristen Hare joins me to talk about the third edition of her book, obscure Tampa Bay gems, and her work with the Poynter Institute.
WLRN environmental reporter Jenny Staletovich talks about her career covering some of Florida's most pressing and urgent issues — and how python stories are, ideally, the "gateway drug" luring audiences in to learn about more mundane but much more important ecological and climate issues!
Python hunters, reptile traders, and people you might know from a meme or bizarre headline are who you might think of when you consider Florida's citizenry, but there's so much more to them and to this state, as you'll find out in this episode, where Tyler Gillespie and I discuss his 2021 book, The Thing About Florida.
The traumas endured by World War I vets during and after the conflict have mostly faded from public historical memory. Rebecca Johnston joins me to discuss her new novel, Not To Keep, which follows the lives of a tight group of North Florida friends from their rustic childhoods through their experiences war and its painful aftermath.
Craig Pittman has been called a Florida Institution, and you can see why when you read his work. He discusses his latest book, a collection of essays and columns culled from a 30-plus year career in journalism, with us on Florida Book Club.
John Davis Jr. explores a dark period in his home state's history in his Florida Book Award-winning poetry collection The Places That Hold, but there are some lighthearted and thoughtful ruminations on parenthood in there, too. He discusses his work with me on this episode of Florida Book Club.
Gianna Russo, Tampa's Wordsmith (yes, that's a real office) presents to us in the recently published book All I See is Your Glinting: "Nature and the collective human experience that we all went through" in the later months of 2020, accompanied by striking photos by Jenny Carey.
If you can survive Florida, you are the fittest. Season 5 of Florida Book Club is coming Wednesday, May 18!
Jane Austen and the Buddha are not thinkers one would normally consider together, right? Or, on the surface, we might not think they offer lenses to consider each others' works through. But Kathryn Duncan, a professor of English at St. Leo University and our guest today on Florida Book Club, has literally written the book on that very subject, and she'll discuss it with us on our final episode of Season 4!
Don't be fooled by the asinine title. Or the ludicrous plot. Or the fact that it stars Tiffany and Debbie Gibson. Or the dollar-store CGI effects. Instead, enjoy Mega-Python vs Gatoroid for its unintentional and accidentally poignant subtexts about Florida wildlife.
Florida film historian Lisa Bradberry joins me to talk about the rich history of Florida filmmaking, the years early in Oliver Hardy's career when he lived and worked in Jacksonville, and her favorite Florida movies! There's a link to an episode of Florida Crossroads on our website where Lisa appears in a segment beginning at about 12:45, also!
Harry Morgan of Ernest Hemingway's 1937 novel is probably the worst protagonist ever. But there's possibly more to this novel, which I'd rank as Hemingway's worst. Rebecca Johnston of the Florida Hemingway Society joins me to discuss the positives in this story of Depression-era Key West I may have overlooked.
Fans of Richard Linklater's Slacker or Harmony Korine's Gummo will find a lot to like in Errol Morris' 1981 documentary Vernon, Florida. I'm joined by Wanda Duncan to discuss this quirky little film, which she is really a fan of.
First story with a female narrator set in Florida! First story set in Key West written by a woman! Well, maybe. "The Storm" COULD be those things, but it sat unread in an archive for 150 years. I'll talk about its origins and significance with Keith Huneycutt of Florida Southern College in this episode.
Today we're revisiting "The Strange Country" of Ernest Hemingway (otherwise known as 1930s Florida), tracing the possible route Hemingway might have taken through the state and how it's reflected in the posthumously-published story. Alec Kissoondyal of University of Florida and Henry Johnston of the Rochester Institute of Technology join me to discuss their plans to discover and memorialize Hemingway's Florida road trip.
You probably know Kristen Arnett from her bestselling 2019 novel Mostly Dead Things. But I first discovered her work in the pages of Felt in the Jaw, her 2017 collection of short stories documenting "the lives of queer women and their families in the light of the bleak Florida sun." There's so much more of the grotesque and ominous in these tales, though; they'd do Flannery O'Connor proud. I'll discuss them with the author herself on this first episode of Season 4.
Zaat really might be the worst movie ever. It's definitely down near the bottom of the barrel, if not at the absolute bottom. Join me as I discuss this venerable film with Wanda Suttle Duncan — in whose hometown Zaat was filmed! — and film critic Steve Jarrett on this season's final episode of Florida Book Club.
I can't imagine buying property out-of-state sight unseen. But that's what a lot of shady land "developers" were able to convince people do in the 1950s and 60s, selling unimproved patches of Florida swampland. Join me as I discuss the unsavory and environmentally damaging legacy of some of these companies with Jason Vuic, author of The Swamp Peddlers.
Orlando's Burrow Press has published some of Florida's most well-known and renowned authors -- Kristin Arnett, Laura van den Berg, Sarah Gerard, and John Henry Fleming among them. Today I’m joined by the founder and publisher of Burrow Press, Ryan Rivas, to talk about the early years of the press, how its mission has evolved, and his views on the changing Florida literary scene.
Tragic and violent comeuppance born from hubris is as old as Ancient Greece. Join me as I discuss Lori Roy's sinister Florida noir tale "Chum in the Water," which appears in the Akashic Books collection Tampa Bay Noir, with the author herself on this episode of the Florida Book Club.
This time around, we've got the author himself on board to discuss phantom panthers, skunk apes, beach monsters, and other Florida cryptids that may or may not be lurking in your development or favorite park.
The marketing of Florida’s once-pristine springs has a long and mostly ignoble history. Today I’m joined by Rick Kilby, author of the 2013 book Finding the Fountain of Youth and the 2020 volume Florida’s Healing Waters, to discuss this history, and what the future of these precious natural resources might look like.
She’s interviewed Carole Baskin, researched the history of a spaceship atop a Tampa strip club, and above all, she wants you to see your local newspaper as a vital and trusted community resource. Join me as I talk about these topics and more with Tampa Bay Times Life and Culture reporter Gabrielle Calise.
Wanda Suttle Duncan’s account of her small north Florida hamlet is subtitled “A Florida Woman’s Memoir,” but Cracker Gothicis not what you might think — it’s a heartfelt, often touching, and displays great humor and turns of phrase while documenting the author’s return to her hometown amid heartbreaking circumstances. On the season three premier, I'm joined by the author herself to discuss her process in writing Cracker Gothic and a few anecdotes about Green Cove Springs, Florida, that didn't make it into the book. Visit FloridaBookClub.com.
There’s a proud lineage of monstrous, gigantic alligators terrorizing humans in pop culture (just see previous episodes of this podcast). But that tradition stretches back to the earliest colonial days. White Europeans have always been fascinated by alligators. Join me as I discuss Alexandre Aja’s 2019 alligator film Crawl through the lens of William Bartram’s and Jacques LeMoyne’s centuries-old accounts of their Florida explorations. Stick around for a special guest at the end!
“The world is less tame than you’d imagined.” So says John Henry Fleming to the unwary visitor arriving to Florida by plane or cruise ship, or as they leave the boundaries of the theme park. Join me in welcoming back Florida native Amanda Young to this episode, where we discuss Fleming’s 2009 bestiary Fearsome Creatures of Florida and ponder how many of these fictional (?) beasts we may have unknowingly encountered.
There’s a long tradition of making cheesy promotional videos to lure people to Tampa Bay area. One of them, from the 1960s, even features an alien visitor who decides to relocate to St. Pete Beach after seeing all the dazzling attractions the town has to offer! Today, I’m joined by Andy Huse, Special Collections Librarian at University of South Florida, to discuss these old promotional films (and a bit of Tampa Bay culinary history).
There are certain books most people readily associate with Florida, such as The Yearling or Their Eyes Were Watching God. And more recently, Patrick Smith’s 1984 epic A Land Remembered. I’m joined today by Andre Frattino, whose 2018 graphic novel adaptation of A Land Remembered captures in vivid visual detail all the heartbreak and loss of the MacIvey family across 100 years along with their triumphs, and we see the dynamics of how Florida was settled and, eventually, overpopulated.
The exciting, glamorous world of independent publishing, it turns out, actually involves a lot of frustration, hard work, and luck. And during a pandemic year, well... it can still be really rewarding! And as a reader, I can tell you you’ll find some real gems among the offerings from most indie publishers. Join me for a conversation with Matt Peters, founding publisher of Orlando’s Beating Windward Press. Visit us on the web at FloridaBookClub.com.
Florida was as violent a place as anywhere in the US in the early 1800s as in the 21st century. “Stand your ground” was the dominant ethos, there was a distrust of law and government, belief in self-determination and personal “rights,” and tons of guns and booze, just like now! My guest today is James Michael Denham, author of A Rogue’s Paradise: Crime and Punishment in Antebellum Florida. We’ll discuss the frontier era of Florida and the violent legacy it bequeathed to future generations of criminals and law enforcement.
Will monstrous invasive pythons soon be roaming the streets of suburban Florida? Probably not. But that doesn’t mean they don’t represent a pressing ecological crisis. Larry Perez, a former ranger at Everglades National Park and my guest today, wrote a book in 2012 that warned readers about this issue spreading beyond the Everglades, where the snakes have become established. Has it gotten worse? Join us for the conversation and find out!
“Grotesque, Florida Man-type stories” is how my guest today, Florida College English Association president Christina Connor, describes Vicki Hendricks’ 2010 collection Florida Gothic Stories. Does that appeal to you? There are hurricanes, iguanas, identical twins, murders, and rather unconventional human/animal relationships on hand, too. Join us for the discussion!
Coming March 31. Nature's revenge. Twisted Gothic tales of murder. Creatures hiding in the Florida wilderness. Blood-soaked streets and lawless frontier towns. Sound interesting? This is a taste of what awaits you in Florida Book Club Season 2.
"Alligator" looks like the cheapest kind of pulp horror novel upon first glance. The cover, the summary, the title – they all do it no favors in terms of perception. But it is a remarkably compelling book about an economically struggling Everglades town and the hunt for a comically-large killer gator in the local swamps. There’s sneaky depth to it, though, I promise. Join me in the Season 1 finale as I talk about Shelley Katz’s Alligator and issue an invitation to interested readers. *Stick around for a special guest afterward! Further reading at www.FloridaBookClub.com.
Shane Hinton’s 2019 novel "Radio Dark" doesn’t seem like the kind of book one would want to read in 2020. It’s about a plague that effectively ends society, it uses its Florida settings to present some truly ominous and disturbing imagery, and generally seems to think humans are doomed. But it’s pretty good! I’m joined by avid reader Tony Litvinas to talk about Hinton’s novel. Further reading at www.FloridaBookClub.com.
George Long Brown was no Harriet Beecher Stowe. I mean, he bought slaves when he settled in Florida after emigrating from New England, and Stowe was a fervent abolitionist. But like her, he left us a document of Florida frontier life in the 1800s — and Newnansville, Florida, was indeed frontier back then. I’m joined by Keith Huneycutt, professor of English at Florida Southern College and editor of The Letters of George Long Brown, to discuss the book and Brown’s life. Further reading and full transcript at www.FloridaBookClub.com.
Frogs aren’t really scary. Well, unless they’re telepathically controlling lizards, alligators, snakes, and other reptiles and commanding them to attack humans. I mean, these are humans with lots of hubris and a very unfavorable view of Nature in general, so I guess the victims in George McCowan’s 1972 eco-horror film "Frogs" deserve it. But how true to reality are the settings and wildlife depicted in this movie, set and filmed in the Florida Panhandle? I’m joined by two Florida natives who viewed the film and share their thoughts. Further reading and full episode transcript at www.FloridaBookClub.com.
Walt Disney World, it could be argued, has not had a net positive effect on Central Florida, environmentally speaking at least. University of Central Florida professor of art history Keri Watson joins me to discuss her article “From the Sideshow to Walt Disney World: Florida Reimagined,” paying special attention to how Walt Disney went out of his way to shut out the natural environment and attract a certain kind of patron to his planned Orlando-area megapark. Full transcript and further reading at www.FloridaBookClub.com.
There is a book out there filled with sexual anecdotes and stories that in some cases are so embarrassing, frightening, or… well, ordinary, that they make for pretty entertaining reading. “Condoms and Hot Tubs Don’t Mix” was published by Orlando’s Beating Windward Press in 2018, and all the proceeds from its sales go to Planned Parenthood. In this episode, the book’s coeditors, Jennie Jarvis and Leslie Salas, talk about the experience of putting it together. Further reading and a full episode transcript at www.FloridaBookClub.com.
Florida before air-conditioning was still somehow considered paradise by a lot of people, including "Uncle Tom’s Cabin" author Harriet Beecher Stowe, who wrote a book on it! Join me as I discuss her 1873 travelogue "Palmetto Leaves" with Florida Institute of Technology professor Debbie Lelekis. Find further reading and a full transcript at FloridaBookClub.com
Ernest Hemingway’s association with Florida is most commonly defined by his time spent in Key West during the 1930s. However, in “The Strange Country,” published posthumously as part of “The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway,” the protagonist and his much younger girlfriend embark on a road trip odyssey from Miami to New Orleans, stopping in many distinct Florida locales along the way and catching up on news of the Spanish Civil War. In this episode, I’m joined by my brother, John Nank, an erstwhile Hemingway fanboy, to talk about “The Strange Country.” Find further reading and a full transcript at FloridaBookClub.com.
Hi, I'm Christopher Nank, and I'd like to introduce Florida Book Club, a new podcast focusing on the forgotten, undervalued, underrated, misrepresented, and weird literature, film, media, music, and assorted other pop cultural relics of the Sunshine State. In each episode, myself and occasional assorted guests—sometimes writers, sometimes egghead academics like myself, but mostly just ordinary book and film lovers and fans—will dish on and debate and discuss works we're passionate about. So if you saw book club in the title and were instantly turned off, don't be. We'll take frequent detours into other mediums. That no budget, eco-horror movie you saw when you were a kid? Some obscure death metal album recorded in Tampa in the late 1980s? Old Florida ruins inhabited by shadow people? Yeah, we'll likely get into that sort of stuff, too.
Of course, we'll also dig into the literary history of the state. Does Florida have a literary canon? If so, does a 1970s pulp novel about a giant alligator belong in it? Is it too soon to put Colson Whitehead's "Nickel Boys" in the Florida canon? Is there a definitive Florida novel, story, or poem? And so on. Our first season will launch in November 2020. Join me and these potential various guests for some intellectually stimulating and entertaining discussions. Hopefully you'll come out of it with a new reading list and an appreciation for Florida's wildly diverse artistic and cultural heritage.