Denis Hale Johnson (July 1, 1949 – May 24, 2017) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and poet. He is perhaps best known for his debut short story collection, ''
Jesus' Son'' (1992). His most successful novel, ''
Tree of Smoke
''Tree of Smoke'' is a 2007 novel by American author Denis Johnson which won the National Book Award for Fiction and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. It is about a man named Skip Sands who joins the CIA in 1965, and begins working in Vi ...
'' (2007), won the
National Book Award for Fiction
The National Book Award for Fiction is one of five annual National Book Awards, which recognize outstanding literary work by United States citizens. Since 1987 the awards have been administered and presented by the National Book Foundation, but ...
. His other novels include ''
Angels
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...
'' (1983), ''
Fiskadoro
''Fiskadoro'' is post-apocalyptic novel by Denis Johnson published in 1985 by Alfred A. Knopf.
The story is set in the former state of Florida several decades after a global nuclear holocaust. An enclave of survivors, bereft of collective histori ...
'' (1985), ''
The Stars at Noon'' (1986), ''
Resuscitation of a Hanged Man'' (1991), ''
Already Dead: A California Gothic'' (1997), ''
The Name of the World
''The Name of the World'' is a novel by Denis Johnson published in 2000 by HarperCollins.
Plot
''The Name of the World'' is told from a first-person point-of-view by its narrator, Michael Reed. Reed is a 50-year-old adjunct professor at a Midw ...
'' (2000), ''
Nobody Move'' (2009), ''
Train Dreams
''Train Dreams'' is a novella by Denis Johnson. It was published on August 30, 2011, by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. It was originally published, in slightly different form, in the Summer 2002 issue of ''The Paris Review''.
The novella details the ...
'' (2011), and ''
The Laughing Monsters'' (2014). Johnson was twice shortlisted for the
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. His final work, a book of short stories titled ''
The Largesse of the Sea Maiden
''The Largesse of the Sea Maiden: Stories'' is a 2018 short story collection by Denis Johnson. It was published posthumously on January 16, 2018, by Random House. It consists of five short stories, three of which were previously published in ''Th ...
'', was published posthumously in 2018. Johnson also wrote plays, journalism, and nonfiction.
Early years
Denis Johnson was born on July 1, 1949, in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
, West Germany.
Growing up, he also lived in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, Japan, and the suburbs of
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
[Jesse McKinley]
"A Prodigal Son Turned Novelist Turns Playwright"
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', June 16, 2002. His father, Alfred Johnson, worked for the
State Department
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
as a liaison between the
USIA
Usia is a village in Kamsaar, Uttar Pradesh, India. It lies southeast of Ghazipur and east of Dildarnagar, close to the Bihar State border.USIA is a historical village of ghazipur as well as uttar pradesh, it was founded by 1. Barbal khan 2. ...
and the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
.
[David Amsden]
"Denis Johnson's Second Stage"
''New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
'', 2010. His mother, the former Vera Louise Childress, was a homemaker.
He earned a
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
in English (in 1971) from the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
and an
M.F.A. (in 1974) from the
Iowa Writers' Workshop
The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a celebrated graduate-level creative writing program in the United States. The writer Lan Samantha Chang is its director. Graduates earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative Wri ...
,
where he also returned to teach.
While at the Writers' Workshop, Johnson took classes from
Raymond Carver
Raymond Clevie Carver Jr. (May 25, 1938 – August 2, 1988) was an American short story writer and poet. He contributed to the revitalization of the American short story during the 1980s.
Early life
Carver was born in Clatskanie, Oregon, a mi ...
.
Career
Johnson published his first book, a collection of poetry titled ''The Man Among Seals'', in 1969 at the age of 19.
He earned a measure of acclaim with the publication of his first novel, ''Angels'', in 1983.
He came to prominence in 1992 with the short story collection ''
Jesus' Son'', which included vignettes originally published in ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'',
inspired by
Isaac Babel
Isaac Emmanuilovich Babel (russian: Исаак Эммануилович Бабель, p=ˈbabʲɪlʲ; – 27 January 1940) was a Russian writer, journalist, playwright, and literary translator. He is best known as the author of ''Red Cavalry'' ...
’s book ''
Red Cavalry
''Red Cavalry'' or ''Konarmiya'' (russian: Конармия) is a collection of short stories by Russian author Isaac Babel about the 1st Cavalry Army. The stories take place during the Polish–Soviet War and are based on Babel's diary, which h ...
''.
In a 2006 ''
New York Times Book Review
''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...
'' poll, ''Jesus' Son'' was voted one of the best works of American fiction published in the last 25 years. It has been variously described as: seminal, legendary, transcendent, a classic, and a masterpiece.
[Italie, Hillel (May 27, 2017) ][Dwyer, Colin (May 25, 2017) ] It was adapted into the 1999
film of the same name, which starred
Billy Crudup
William Gaither Crudup (; born July 8, 1968) is an American actor. He is a four-time Tony Award nominee, winning once for his performance in Tom Stoppard's play ''The Coast of Utopia'' in 2007. He has starred in numerous high-profile films, inc ...
. Johnson has a
cameo role in the film as a man who has been stabbed in the eye by his wife.
''
The Stars at Noon'' (1986), a spy thriller, follows an unnamed American woman during the
Nicaraguan Revolution
The Nicaraguan Revolution ( es, Revolución Nicaragüense or Revolución Popular Sandinista, link=no) encompassed the rising opposition to the Somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the campaign led by the Sandinista National Liberation Fr ...
of 1984. It was adapted into the 2022 film ''
Stars at Noon'' by director
Claire Denis
Claire Denis (; born 21 April 1946) is a French film director and screenwriter. Her feature film ''Beau Travail'' (1999) has been called one of the greatest films of the 1990s, as well as of all time. Other acclaimed works include '' Trouble Ev ...
, starring
Joe Alwyn
Joseph Matthew Alwyn (born 21 February 1991) is an English actor. He made his feature film debut as the titular character in Ang Lee's 2016 war drama, '' Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk,'' and has since played supporting roles in films such as ...
and
Margaret Qualley
Sarah Margaret Qualley (born October 23, 1994) is an American actress and model. A daughter of actress Andie MacDowell, she trained as a ballerina in her youth. She made her acting debut with a minor role in the 2013 drama film ''Palo Alto'', a ...
.
''
Tree of Smoke
''Tree of Smoke'' is a 2007 novel by American author Denis Johnson which won the National Book Award for Fiction and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. It is about a man named Skip Sands who joins the CIA in 1965, and begins working in Vi ...
'' won the 2007
National Book Award for Fiction
The National Book Award for Fiction is one of five annual National Book Awards, which recognize outstanding literary work by United States citizens. Since 1987 the awards have been administered and presented by the National Book Foundation, but ...
[ and was a finalist for the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.] It takes place during the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, spanning the years 1963–70, with a coda set in 1983. In the novel, we learn the history of Bill Houston, a main character in Johnson’s first novel ''Angels'', the latter novel set in the early 1980s.
''Train Dreams
''Train Dreams'' is a novella by Denis Johnson. It was published on August 30, 2011, by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. It was originally published, in slightly different form, in the Summer 2002 issue of ''The Paris Review''.
The novella details the ...
'', originally published as a story in ''The Paris Review
''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Philip ...
'' in 2002, was published as a novella
A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...
in 2011 and was a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. However, for the first time since 1977, the Pulitzer board did not award a prize for fiction that year.Michael Cunningham
Michael Cunningham (born November 6, 1952) is an American novelist and screenwriter. He is best known for his 1998 novel '' The Hours'', which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award in 1999. Cunningham is a senior lectur ...
"Letter From the Pulitzer Fiction Jury: What Really Happened This Year"
''The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'', July 9, 2012.
Johnson's plays have been produced in San Francisco, Chicago, New York, and Seattle. He was the Resident Playwright of Campo Santo, the resident theater company at Intersection for the Arts
Intersection for the Arts, established in 1965, is the oldest alternative non-profit art space in San Francisco, California. Intersection's reading series is the longest continuous reading series outside of an academic institution in the state of ...
in San Francisco. In 2006 and 2007, Johnson held the Mitte Chair in Creative Writing at Texas State University
Texas State University is a public research university in San Marcos, Texas. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to the second largest university in the Greater Austin metropolitan area and the fifth largest university ...
in San Marcos
San Marcos is the Spanish name of Saint Mark. It may also refer to:
Towns and cities Argentina
* San Marcos, Salta
Colombia
* San Marcos, Antioquia
* San Marcos, Sucre
Costa Rica
* San Marcos, Costa Rica (aka San Marcos de Tarrazú)
...
, Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. Johnson also occasionally taught at the Michener Center for Writers The Michener Center for Writers is an interdisciplinary Masters of Fine Arts program in fiction, poetry, playwriting, and screenwriting at the University of Texas at Austin. It is widely regarded as one of the top creative writing programs in the wo ...
at the University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
.
Altogether, Johnson was the author of nine novels, one novella, two books of short stories, three collections of poetry, two collections of plays, and one book of reportage. The final book he published while still alive was a novel, ''The Laughing Monsters'', which he called a "literary thriller" set in Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Congo. It was released on November 4, 2014. Johnson's final work, a book of short stories titled ''The Largesse of the Sea Maiden
''The Largesse of the Sea Maiden: Stories'' is a 2018 short story collection by Denis Johnson. It was published posthumously on January 16, 2018, by Random House. It consists of five short stories, three of which were previously published in ''Th ...
'', was published posthumously in January 2018.
Personal life
Johnson was twice divorced and lived with his third wife, Cindy Lee, in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...
, at the time of his death. They also shared a home in Idaho. Johnson had three children, two of whom he homeschooled
Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...
; in October 1997, he wrote an article for the website ''Salon
Salon may refer to:
Common meanings
* Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments
* French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home
* Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment
Arts and entertainment
* Salon (P ...
'' in defense of homeschooling.[Denis Johnson]
"School is Out"
''Salon
Salon may refer to:
Common meanings
* Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments
* French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home
* Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment
Arts and entertainment
* Salon (P ...
'', October 1, 1997.
For most of his twenties, Johnson was addicted to drugs and alcohol and did not do much writing. In 1978, he moved back to his parents' home in Scottsdale, Arizona
, settlement_type = City
, named_for = Winfield Scott
, image_skyline =
, image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg
, image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg
, nick ...
, to sober up and find direction. He stopped drinking alcohol in 1978 and quit recreational drugs in 1983.
In his essay "Bikers for Jesus," Johnson described himself as "a Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
convert, but one of the airy, sophisticated kind."
Death
Johnson died on May 24, 2017, from liver cancer
Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...
at his home in The Sea
Ranch, a community near Gualala, California, at the age of 67.[
]
Awards
* 1981 – National Poetry Series The National Poetry Series is an American literary awards program.
Every year since 1979, the National Poetry Series has sponsored the publication of five books of poetry. Manuscripts are solicited through an annual open competition, judged and cho ...
award (selected by Mark Strand
Mark Strand (April 11, 1934 – November 29, 2014) was a Canadian-born American poet, essayist and translator. He was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1990 and received the Wallace Stevens Award in 2004 ...
), for ''The Incognito Lounge''
* 1983 – The Frost Place
The Frost Place is a museum and nonprofit educational center for poetry located at Robert Frost's former home on Ridge Road in Franconia, New Hampshire, United States. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
...
poet in residence
* 1986 – Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...
* 1986 – Whiting Award
* 1993 – Lannan Fellowship in Fiction
* 2002 – Aga Khan Prize for Fiction
The Aga Khan Prize for Fiction was awarded by the editors of ''The Paris Review'' for what they deem to be the best short story published in the magazine in a given year. The last prize was given in 2004. No applications were accepted. The winner ...
from ''The Paris Review
''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Philip ...
'', for ''Train Dreams''
* 2007 – National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors.
The Nat ...
, for ''Tree of Smoke
''Tree of Smoke'' is a 2007 novel by American author Denis Johnson which won the National Book Award for Fiction and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. It is about a man named Skip Sands who joins the CIA in 1965, and begins working in Vi ...
''["National Book Awards – 2007"]
National Book Foundation
The National Book Foundation (NBF) is an American nonprofit organization established, "to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing in America". Established in 1989 by National Book Awards, Inc.,Edwin McDowell. "Book Notes: 'The Joy Luc ...
. Retrieved 2012-03-27. With interview, acceptance speech by Johnson, and essay by Matthew Pitt from the Awards 60-year anniversary blog.
* 2008 – Pulitzer Prize for Fiction finalist, for ''Tree of Smoke''[Ben Sisario]
"Arts, Briefly: Channeling Noir, Dickens-Style,"
''New York Times'', June 11, 2008.
* 2012 – Pulitzer Prize for Fiction finalist, for ''Train Dreams''
* 2017 – Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction (formerly the Library of Congress Creative Achievement Award for Fiction and Library of Congress Lifetime Achievement Award for the Writing of Fiction) is an annual book award presented by the Librarian ...
(awarded posthumously)
Bibliography
Novels
* ''Angels
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...
''(Knopf, 1983) ''
* ''Fiskadoro
''Fiskadoro'' is post-apocalyptic novel by Denis Johnson published in 1985 by Alfred A. Knopf.
The story is set in the former state of Florida several decades after a global nuclear holocaust. An enclave of survivors, bereft of collective histori ...
'' (Knopf, 1985)
* '' The Stars at Noon'' (Knopf, 1986)
* '' Resuscitation of a Hanged Man'' (Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer ...
SG 1991)
* '' Already Dead: A California Gothic'' (Harper Collins, 1997)
* ''The Name of the World
''The Name of the World'' is a novel by Denis Johnson published in 2000 by HarperCollins.
Plot
''The Name of the World'' is told from a first-person point-of-view by its narrator, Michael Reed. Reed is a 50-year-old adjunct professor at a Midw ...
'' (Harper, 2000)
* ''Tree of Smoke
''Tree of Smoke'' is a 2007 novel by American author Denis Johnson which won the National Book Award for Fiction and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. It is about a man named Skip Sands who joins the CIA in 1965, and begins working in Vi ...
'' (FSG, 2007)
* '' Nobody Move'' (FSG, 2009)
* ''Train Dreams
''Train Dreams'' is a novella by Denis Johnson. It was published on August 30, 2011, by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. It was originally published, in slightly different form, in the Summer 2002 issue of ''The Paris Review''.
The novella details the ...
'' (FSG, 2011) – a novella first published in ''The Paris Review'' 002 002, 0O2, O02, OO2, or 002 may refer to:
Fiction
*002, fictional British 00 Agent
*''002 Operazione Luna'',
*1965 Italian film
*Zero Two, a ''Darling in the Franxx'' character
Airports
*0O2, Baker Airport
*O02, Nervino Airport
Astronomy
*1996 ...
and in ''Europe'' 004ref name="utexas.edu"/>
*'' The Laughing Monsters'' (FSG, 2014)
Short fiction
* '' Jesus' Son'' (FSG, 1992)
* ''The Largesse of the Sea Maiden
''The Largesse of the Sea Maiden: Stories'' is a 2018 short story collection by Denis Johnson. It was published posthumously on January 16, 2018, by Random House. It consists of five short stories, three of which were previously published in ''Th ...
'' (Penguin/Random House, 2018)
Poetry
* ''The Man Among the Seals: Poems'' (Stone Wall Press, 1969)
* ''Inner Weather'' (Graywolf Press
Graywolf Press is an Independent publisher, independent, non-profit publishing, publisher located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Graywolf Press publishes fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.
Graywolf Press collaborates with organizations such as the Co ...
, 1976)
* '' The Incognito Lounge and Other Poems'' (Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
, 1982)
* ''The Veil'' (Alfred A. Knopf
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...
, 1987)
* ''The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations Millennium General Assembly: Poems Collected and New'' (Harper Perennial
Harper Perennial is a paperback imprint of the publishing house HarperCollins Publishers.
Overview
Harper Perennial has divisions located in New York, London, Toronto, and Sydney. The imprint is descended from the Perennial Library imprint foun ...
, 1995)
* "Last Night I Dreamed I Was in Mexico" (Ploughshares 36.4, 2010, p. 58)
* "The Trees Leaning into One Another, Green and Horrible" (Ploughshares 36.4, 2010, p. 59)
Plays
* ''Hellhound on My Trail: A Drama in Three Parts'' (2000)
* ''Shoppers: Two Plays'' (Harper, 2002) - includes ''Hellhound on My Trail''
* ''Des Moines'', San Francisco premiere in October 2007
** ''Des Moines'', New York premiere in November 2022
* ''Soul of a Whore and Purvis: Two Plays in Verse'' (FSG, 2012)
Screenplays
* ''The Prom'' (1990) (directed by Steven Shainberg
Steven Shainberg (born February 5, 1963) is an American film director and producer. He is the nephew of author Lawrence Shainberg. Both are part of the Shainberg family of Memphis, Tennessee, founder of the Shainberg's chain of stores, which is ...
)[Staff writers (2/2/2015) ]
* '' Hit Me'' (1996) (directed by Steven Shainberg
Steven Shainberg (born February 5, 1963) is an American film director and producer. He is the nephew of author Lawrence Shainberg. Both are part of the Shainberg family of Memphis, Tennessee, founder of the Shainberg's chain of stores, which is ...
, adapted from the novel ''A Swell-Looking Babe'' by Jim Thompson)
Nonfiction
* (contributor) ''One Man By Himself: Portraits of John Serl'' (Hard Press, 1995)
*
*
*
*
*
*
* '' Seek: Reports from the Edges of America & Beyond'' (essays) (HarperCollins, 2001)
References
External links
Denis Johnson Papers
at the Harry Ransom Center
The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pur ...
*
*
Intersection for the Arts, San Francisco
KCRW Bookworm Interview
Profile at The Whiting Foundation
Denis Johnson profile and poems at Academy of American Poets
Denis Johnson
at Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
Authorities — with 25 catalog records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Denis
1949 births
2017 deaths
20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
20th-century American novelists
20th-century American poets
20th-century American short story writers
20th-century American male writers
21st-century American dramatists and playwrights
21st-century American novelists
21st-century American poets
21st-century American short story writers
21st-century American male writers
American male dramatists and playwrights
American male novelists
American male poets
American male short story writers
Deaths from cancer in California
Deaths from liver cancer
Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni
National Book Award winners
PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction winners
Postmodern writers
The New Yorker people
O. Henry Award winners