“Working-class males feel they are treated like scum by those in power” – John King Interviewed

John King, author of The Football Factory trilogy and Human Punk, discusses his literary trajectory and new novella Peekaboo Bosh in conversation with Tariq Goddard for The Quietus (February 2026). King’s work champions working-class consciousness traditionally excluded from literary fiction, employing raw psycho-realist prose that prioritizes lived experience over decorative aesthetics. The interview explores his evolution across nine novels and numerous stories, his commitment to socialist principles, and the ethical dimensions of cruelty—both animal and human—that permeate his oeuvre. King recounts a formative 1983 moment in a Greek prison where witnessing meat’s animalistic reality prompted his vegetarianism, later veganism (1993), experiences reflected in The Prison House. Peekaboo Bosh extends this sensibility through surreal narratives linking animal abuse to human indifference. As curator of the Human Punk club night, King synthesizes musical culture with literary practice, embodying an accessible, principled pragmatism resistant to both commercial sentimentality and intellectual pretension.

Original article published on The Quietus — AI-generated summary.