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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. Johnson was twice shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. 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. His final work, a book of short stories titled The Largesse of the Sea Maiden, was published posthumously in 2018.
(Accessed: 29 March 2025).
The Stars at Noon (1986), a spy thriller, follows an unnamed American woman during the Nicaraguan Revolution of 1984. It was adapted into the 2022 film Stars at Noon by director Claire Denis, starring Joe Alwyn and Margaret Qualley.
Tree of Smoke won the 2007 National Book Award for Fiction and was a finalist for the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It takes place during the Vietnam War, 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.Jim Lewis, "The Revelator", New York Times, September 2, 2007.
Johnson came to prominence in 1992 with the short story collection Jesus' Son, which included vignettes originally published in The New Yorker, inspired by Isaac Babel's book Red Cavalry. The first story "Car Crash While Hitchhiking" was published in The Paris Review. In a 2006 New York Times Book Review poll, Jesus' Son was voted one of the best works of American fiction published in the last 25 years.Dwight Gardner, "Inside the List", New York Times, September 2, 2007. It has been variously described as: seminal, legendary, transcendent, a classic, and a masterpiece.Italie, Hillel (May 27, 2017) Williams, John (March 29, 2017) Modern Masterpiece Turns 25 – via NYTimes.com It was adapted into the 1999 film of the same name, which starred Billy Crudup. Johnson has a Cameo appearance role in the film as a man who has been stabbed in the eye by his wife. "Author Denis Johnson's Papers Acquired By Harry Ransom Center" , Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin, July 7, 2010.
Train Dreams, originally published as a story in The Paris Review in 2002, was published as a novella 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, "Letter From the Pulitzer Fiction Jury: What Really Happened This Year", The New Yorker, 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 in San Francisco.Jillian Goodman, "No More Drama?", Slate, June 1, 2012. In 2006 and 2007, Johnson held the Mitte Chair in Creative Writing at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.Mark Hendricks, "Former Mitte Chair Johnson wins National Book Award" , txstate.edu, November 19, 2007. Johnson also occasionally taught at the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin.
The final book he published while still alive was the novel The Laughing Monsters, which he called a "literary thriller" set in Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Congo. It was released in 2014.Deborah Treisman, "This Week in Fiction: Denis Johnson," The New Yorker, February 24, 2014.Joy Williams, "'The Laughing Monsters,' by Denis Johnson," New York Times, November 7, 2014. Johnson's final work, a book of short stories titled The Largesse of the Sea Maiden, was published posthumously in January 2018.
For most of his 20s, Johnson was addicted to drugs and alcohol and did not do much writing. In 1978, he moved to his parents' home in Scottsdale, Arizona 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 convert, but one of the airy, sophisticated kind."
Personal life
Johnson was twice divorced and lived with his third wife, Cindy Lee, in Phoenix, Arizona, at the time of his death. They also shared a home in Idaho. Johnson had three children, two of whom he homeschooling; in October 1997, he wrote an article for the website Salon in defense of homeschooling.Denis Johnson, "School is Out", Salon, October 1, 1997.
Death
Johnson died on May 24, 2017, from liver cancer at his home in The Sea
Ranch, a community near Gualala, California, at the age of 67.Carolyn Kellogg, "Award-winning author Denis Johnson dies at age 67," Los Angeles Times, May 26, 2017.
Awards and nominations
Works
Novels
Short fiction
Poetry
Plays
Screenplays
Nonfiction
External links
Categories: 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 Liver Cancer In California, Iowa Writers' Workshop Alumni, National Book Award Winners, Faulkner Award For Fiction Winners, American Postmodern Writers, The New Yorker People, O. Henry Award Winners
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