Denis Johnson

This article is about the American writer. For the UK inventor, see Denis Johnson (inventor). For the Irish writer, see Denis Johnston. For others with similar names, see Dennis Johnson (disambiguation).
Denis Johnson
Denis Johnson photographed by Oliver Mark, Berlin 2003
Denis Johnson photographed by Oliver Mark, Berlin 2003
BornDenis Hale Johnson[1]
(1949-07-01)July 1, 1949
Munich, West Germany
DiedMay 24, 2017(2017-05-24) (aged 67)
Gualala, California, U.S.
Occupation
  • Novelist
  • poet
  • playwright
EducationUniversity of Iowa (BA, MFA)
Period1969–2017
GenreFiction, nonfiction
Notable worksAngels
Jesus' Son
Train Dreams
Tree of Smoke
Notable awardsNational Book Award; National Poetry Series award

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 (2007), won the National Book Award for Fiction.[2] Johnson was twice shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.[3] 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.[4] His final work, a book of short stories titled The Largesse of the Sea Maiden, was published posthumously in 2018.

  1. ^ Sandomir, Richard (26 May 2017). "Denis Johnson, Who Wrote of the Failed and the Desperate, Dies at 67". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  2. ^ Carlson, Michael (June 6, 2017). "Denis Johnson obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  3. ^ Kean, Danuta (May 26, 2017). "Tree of Smoke author Denis Johnson dies aged 67". The Guardian. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference penguinrandomhouse.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).