Denis Johnson

Denis Johnson was an American author famously known for his novel Tree of Smoke published in 2007 and a short story collection titled, Jesus’ Son published in 1992. Johnson also wrote poetry, plays, non-fiction, and journalism. Born in 1949 Munich, Germany, and spent part of his childhood in Japan, in the Philippines and the suburbs of Washington, D.C. His father worked as a liaison between the CIA and USIA while his mother was a homemaker. Denis earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1971 from the University of Iowa and masters in fine arts from Lowa Writers Workshop where he also took classes from Raymond Carver.