"The Largesse of the Sea Maiden: Stories" by Denis Johnson

    Of my friends who have tried their hand at writing, the ones who have had success have either had a tremendous imagination or have had such a good memory that they can capture a conversation word for word and perfectly describe a moment and its emotion. Reading Denis Johnson’s incredibly written last five stories makes you wonder: Which did he make use of? Was he that creative or was he writing from experience? Most likely both, and, if so, he led one heck of a life.

​    Growing up in the 1950s and '60s, Johnson was part of a generation of writers who underwent the great experiment of whether substances would enhance or damage one’s creative impulses. He was reluctant to give up his vices, believing them to be creative fuel. When he finally did, he was prolific, and had the life experience to fill countless pages. The struggle with addiction became a major theme, and he was described as a writer “who wrote of the failed and the desperate.”

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