Denis Johnson

Denis Johnson was a renowned American author, poet, and playwright, born in Munich, West Germany, in 1949. He spent his childhood in various parts of the world, including Tokyo, Manila, and Washington, due to his father's job as a liaison between the CIA and USIA. His mother was a homemaker. Johnson earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1971 from the University of Iowa and later received his master's in fine arts from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. During his time at the workshop, he took classes from Raymond Carver, a notable short-story writer and poet.

Throughout his career, Denis Johnson received numerous awards for his work, including a Lannan Fellowship in Fiction in 1993, a Whiting Writer's Award in 1986, and the Aga Khan Prize for Fiction from the Paris Review for his short story "Train Dreams." His breakthrough came in 1992 with the publication of his short story collection "Jesus' Son," which gained critical acclaim and solidified his position in American literature. In 2007, Johnson's novel "Tree of Smoke" earned him the National Book Award for Fiction, further establishing his literary prowess.

In addition to "Jesus' Son" and "Tree of Smoke," Johnson authored various other works, such as poetry, plays, non-fiction, and journalism. His ability to traverse different genres demonstrates his versatility and talent as a writer. Despite the accolades and success, Johnson remained committed to his craft and continued to produce captivating and thought-provoking works until his untimely passing in 2017. His contributions to American literature leave a lasting impact and continue to inspire aspiring writers and readers alike.
Standalone Novels
# Title Year
1 Angels 1983
2 Fiskadoro 1985
3 The Stars at Noon 1986
4 Resuscitation of a Hanged Man 1990
5 Already Dead 1997
6 The Name of the World 2000
7 Tree of Smoke 2004
8 Nobody Move 2009
9 The Laughing Monsters 2014
Plays
# Title Year
1 Shoppers 2002
2 Soul of a Whore and Purvis 2012
Short Stories/Novellas
# Title Year
1 Train Dreams 2002
Collections
# Title Year
1 The Veil 1987
2 Jesus' Son 1992
3 The Incognito Lounge 1994
4 The Throne Of The Third Heaven Of The Nations Millennium General Assembly 1995
5 The Man Among the Seals Inner Weather 2017
6 The Largesse of the Sea Maiden 2018
7 Car Crash While Hitchhiking and Emergency 2020
Non-Fiction Books
# Title Year
1 Seek 2001
Denis Johnson Anthologies
# Title Year
1 Real Things: An Anthology of Popular Culture in American Poetry 1999
2 The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction 1999
3 The New Granta Book of the American Short Story 2007
4 Object Lessons: The Paris Review Presents the Art of the Short Story 2012
5 The Best American Short Stories 2015 2015