Episode 202 with Dennis J. Sweeney, Reflective and Persistently Profound Thinker and Craftsman of Poems Both Abstract and Concrete and Author of You’re the Woods Too

Notes and Links to Dennis Sweeney’s Work

   

   For Episode 202, Pete welcomes Dennis Sweeney, and the two discuss, among other topics, Dennis’ early relationship with books and almost-averse view of nature, some formational and transformational writers and writing, DFW and his outsized footprint, the power of small press poetry and other resonant books for Dennis and his students, as well as salient themes in his poetry collection, like patriarchy, emptiness versus fullness, isolation, change, retreat and escape in the modern world.

 

 

   Dennis James Sweeney is the author of You’re the Woods Too and In the Antarctic Circle, as well as four chapbooks of poetry and prose, including Ghost/Home: A Beginner’s Guide to Being Haunted.

   His first book, In the Antarctic Circle, won the Autumn House Rising Writer Prize and was a Debut Poetry Book of 2021 in Poets & Writers, as well as a finalist for the National Poetry Series and the Big Other Book Award. His second book, You’re the Woods Too, is a Small Press Distribution bestseller and a finalist for the Deborah Tall Lyric Essay Prize.

   His fiction, nonfiction, and poetry have appeared in Ecotone, Ninth Letter, The New York Times, The Southern Review, and Witness, among others. Formerly a Small Press Editor at Entropy and Assistant Editor at Denver Quarterly, he has an MFA from Oregon State University and a PhD from the University of Denver.

   His writing has been supported by residencies from Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts, I-Park Foundation, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. He is the recipient of a Fulbright grant to Malta.

   Originally from Cincinnati, he lives in Amherst, Massachusetts, where he teaches at Amherst College.

 

 

Dennis' Website

 

Buy You're the Woods Too

 

“You’re the Woods Too by Dennis James Sweeney

Review by Xander Gershberg” for Mayday Magazine

At about 2:55, Dennis talks about his early reading and writing, exploring “fantastical” worlds, and

 

At about 4:35, Dennis follows up on some of his early reading experiences, including reading his fellow bandana-wearer David Foster Wallace and he expands on revisionism

 

At about 6:50, Pete shouts out Wallace’s amazing “A Supposedly Fun Thing…” and the two discuss maximalism and minimalism and Wallace’s place among white male writers who have often been excused for wrongdoing

 

At about 8:00, Dennis talks about how some enjoyable reading differed from Wallace’s 

 

At about 12:15, Dennis talks about retreat and escape and implications

 

At about 13:00, Dennis shouts out some favorite contemporary writers that thrill and challenge him, including Emilia Gray and her AM PM, Lynn Xu, Sawako Nakayasu, Toni Morrison, and Billy-Ray Belcourt

 

At about 15:00, Dennis discusses Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Petina Gappah, and other writers whose resonates with her students

 

At about 16:25, Dennis responds to Pete’s questions about searching for muses

 

At about 18:20, Pete and Dennis discuss changes in life and writing life with the advent of fatherhood

 

At about 20:00, Dennis breaks down the title’s pronunciation and origins of the collection

 

At about 22:35, Pete cites Erica Berry’s work and asks Dennis about the natural setting of Oregon that inspired his work

 

At about 23:30, Dennis expands on moss and its importance and symbolism while citing Gathering Moss by Robin Kimmerer 

 

At about 26:00, Is Dennis a believer in birds not being real??

 

At about 26:20, Dennis responds to Pete’s asking about any individual importance of the varied mosses that title the collection’s poems 

 

At about 28:40, Pete and Dennis talk about ideas of nature being uncontrollable and the importance of “GREEN” and the use of “we” in the collection

 

At about 31:20, The two discuss the cabin setting for the second poem and beyond and Dennis responds to Pete’s thoughts on the pen and its significance 

 

At about 34:20, Dennis speaks about ideas of emptiness versus fullness and their myriad meanings 

 

At about 38:55, Pete muses on ideas of Paradise and “The Fall” and asks Dennis about ideas of God and spiritual ideas from the collection 

 

At about 42:30, The two discuss ideas of travel and men as the exalted travelers and ideas of “theater” and who’s telling the stories

 

At about 47:15, Pete poses questions to Dennis about any changes from the retreat charted in the collection

 

At about 50:30, Pete makes yet another “Everlong” reference and compares it to ideas from later poems of Dennis’ and finding peace

 

At about 53:50, Dennis discusses exciting new writing he’s been working on

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   Please tune in for Episode 203 with V.V. Ganeshananthan, the author of the novels Brotherless Night, a New York Times Editors’ Choice, and Love Marriage, which was longlisted for the Women's Prize and named one of the best books of the year by The Washington Post. She also co-hosts the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast on Literary Hub. Brotherless Night is one of the most memorable books Pete has read in years, if not ever.

   The episode will air on September 12.