Acclaimed author and poet, Denis Johnson has died aged 67. The author won the National Book Award in 2007 for his novel Tree of Smoke (US – UK) and was twice shortlisted for the Pulitzer prize for fiction too. His best known work is the classic short-story collection, Jesus’ Son.
Denis Johnson was born in Munich in 1949, the son of a US state department official and after studying at the University of Iowa, Johnson published his first poetry collection, The Man Among Seals when he was just 19 years old. In 1983 came his first novel, Angels, receiving much critical acclaim but it was the short story collection, Jesus’ Son that really sprung him into the limelight and brought his work to a wider audience.
During his life Johnson published nine novel, five poetry collections, a novella, three plays and two screenplays. In 2007 Tree of Smoke continued the character Bill from Angels, winning the author the National Book Award. Johnson’s last published work was the 2014 novel The Laughing Monsters, a convoluted tale of espionage set in Africa.
Denis Johnson will be missed for his honest and at times painfully beautiful writing, having been compared to greats such as Raymond Carver and William Burroughs.
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