The Literary World Says Goodbye To Denis Johnson

Massively influential and widely adored author Denis Johnson died Wednesday at the age of 67. He is best known for his collection Jesus’ Son, a book that has been passed hand to hand among young writers like a secret password since its publication in 1999.

Johnson has the aura of a cult author, and he would be described as such, were he not so thoroughly celebrated: he’s the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Whiting Award; in 2007, he won the National Book Award for Tree of Smoke, and in 2012 was a Pulitzer finalist for Train Dreams, my own personal favorite of his work. He never stopped writing, either; Random House will be publishing his new short story collection, The Largesse of the Sea Maiden, in early 2018.

Today, writers, editors, and readers have been mourning his death by sharing not only their sadness and memories, but also their favorite lines and selections from his work—which is probably the best way to remember him. Honestly, Twitter has never been so good. If you do nothing else, read Denis Johnson today. Start with the below, or follow Johnson’s lead and forge your own path.

“And suddenly it all went black. And that time was gone forever.”

-Train Dreams pic.twitter.com/L81n1dStZV

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— Victor LaValle (@victorlavalle) May 26, 2017

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We will miss you so much, Denis Johnson. pic.twitter.com/ajb7IdEzSP

— Porochista Khakpour (@PKhakpour) May 26, 2017

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‘And you, you ridiculous people, you expect me to help you.’ Denis Johnson.

— Aimee Bender (@AimeeBender) May 26, 2017

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“The Monk’s Insomnia,” by Denis Johnson, from @NewYorker, Oct. 18th, 1982. pic.twitter.com/3itAV9kzk3

— Alexander Chee (@alexanderchee) May 26, 2017

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“She had nothing … but her two hands and her crazy love for Jesus, who seemed, for his part, never to have heard of her.” — Denis Johnson

— Jess Walter (@1JessWalter) May 26, 2017

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Denis Johnson was one of the true greats. RIP. pic.twitter.com/A3iQHMfKTk

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— Lincoln Michel (@TheLincoln) May 26, 2017

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“Sometimes what I wouldn’t give to have us sitting in a bar again at 9:00 a.m. telling lies to one another, far from God.”
― Denis Johnson

— Kyle Minor (@kyle_minor) May 26, 2017

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We were hoping against hope it was a hoax. RIP, Denis Johnson. A giant. pic.twitter.com/lACWi7jOXJ

— The Scofield (@TheScofieldMag) May 26, 2017

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“The three of us had formed a group based on something erroneous, some basic misunderstanding that hadn’t yet come to light” -Denis Johnson

— Mat Johnson (@mat_johnson) May 26, 2017

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Will probably just be tweeting Denis Johnson poems all day. pic.twitter.com/hsopdf9LxB

— Nicholas Mancusi (@NicholasMancusi) May 26, 2017

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“And suddenly it all went black. And that time was gone forever.” – Denis Johnson

— Jason Diamond (@imjasondiamond) May 26, 2017

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no one made the short story ending with a gut-punch frisson shudder look easy like Denis Johnson in Jesus’ Son https://t.co/zpPAqi0Jxa pic.twitter.com/REGtqVmuzL

— Zack Friedman (@zdfriedman) May 26, 2017

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The great Denis Johnson. pic.twitter.com/UMRUbtc44E

— Katherine Hill (@KHill0) May 26, 2017

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‘it is the dark that lets us it is the dark’ — Denis Johnson, one of my favorites, RIP https://t.co/X8JOU9vYjh

— bilal tanweer (@bilaltanweer) May 26, 2017

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RIP Denis Johnson pic.twitter.com/OEIvV4NzP3

— biblioklept (@biblioklept) May 26, 2017

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Reading Denis Johnson is like this moment in “Emergency,” false epiphany that makes our garbage souls look like God https://t.co/D9bBYIMOp6 pic.twitter.com/G6utBLZk2T

— Jia Tolentino (@jiatolentino) May 26, 2017

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“Where are my women now, with their sweet wet words and ways, and the miraculous balls of hail popping in a green translucence in the yard?”

— T Kira Madden (@TKMadden) May 26, 2017

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Feeling like enacting this sentence from DENIS JOHNSON’s “Angels” –>

“All around them men drank alone, staring out of their faces.”

— Jeff Jackson (@DeathofLit) May 26, 2017

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