Dennis Johnson

Denis Johnson

Denis Johnson — American writer (novel, drama, poetry, essay) (1949-2017)

Denis Hale Johnson 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. Ted Geltner's biography of Johnson, Flagrant, Self-Destructive Gestures, appeared in late 2025.

Filmography in the catalog

Credited on 2 films (1965–1966) — matched by name in the Creator or Credits field.

Year ▲ Title CreatorLengthFormatColorSound
1965 Some of the boys. Dennis S. Johnson 34 16mm B&W sound
1966 Community Schools Can't Stand Still University of Wisconsin, Department of Photography, University Extension, Madison, Wisconsin 40 min B&W