Denis Johnson’s spiritual vision was dark and more than a little scary but also supremely generous.
Train Dreams
Book Review: Denis Johnson’s Plays in Verse — The Art of Talking with the Devil
One answer to the question of “Why two plays in verse?” might be that Denis Johnson is a writer relentlessly in pursuit of new forms, and new formal challenges—a literary daredevil always looking for a new vehicle to take for a thrill ride.
Book Review: Denis Johnson’s Beautiful, Haunting “Train Dreams”
In “Train Dreams” the world of beauty and terror is balanced as only our best writers have been able to balance those things.