August 28th, 2019

Meet Dennis James Sweeney!

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​We're so excited to welcome writer, editor, and instructor Dennis James Sweeney to the pioneer valley and to Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop! Dennis will be teaching two September one-day classes: Beyond Nonfiction and Writing Illness and the Body. Get to know a little bit about him below!

"As reality grows more and more confusing, the question of how writing relates to it grows more and more urgent. We need to ask: How does writing intervene in the world?" - Dennis James Sweeney

​What excites you most about writing nonfiction?

I'm fascinated by the formal possibilities that an engagement with nonfiction allows a writer. "The facts" can be a center, a turning point, or a hinge; they don't have to be the end of a work. They can be the beginning.

What's your favorite work of nonfiction, and why? 

I'm the kind of reader whose favorite book is whatever I'm reading at the moment. Right now, that's Journey to Mount Tamalpais by Etel Adnan. I've never read something so unpredictable, elastic, and yet focused at the same time. It circles around the image of a mountain in Marin County, California, but the mountain never solidifies. It becomes a vehicle for the imagination, but also for reality. It comes alive.

What intrigues you most about works that feel "slippery" and "difficult to define"?

I've always been drawn to "hybrid" writing (another, maybe-overused word for the uncategorizable) mainly because it is unwilling to sacrifice its vision to some commonly agreed-upon set of standards. How we write should respond to what we write. And what we write is so rarely predictable or "agreed-upon."

What's the most helpful writing advice you ever received? 

I have always been very drawn to writing manuals, and most of the ones I've read have one piece of advice in common: Keep writing, as much as you can. Amid the great uncertainty of writing, I'm always comforted by the fact that if I'm spending time in the process, I'm at least doing something right.

What are you working on right now? 

I'm writing a book of essays about chronic illness called The Last Remedy. I'm just starting to dig into revisions. It's alternately tiring, and exciting, work.

What's one fun/exciting/unexpected thing you did this summer?

My partner and I went to Moab, Utah, to visit Arches National Park. It was spectacular. Twice we had the chance to be among these magical, bizarre rocks in pitch darkness. The feeling was indescribable. It was like being on another planet. I didn't recognize myself.

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​DENNIS JAMES SWEENEY's writing has appeared in Crazyhorse, Five Points, Ninth Letter, The Southern Review, and Witness, among others. He is a Small Press Editor of Entropy, the recipient of an MFA from Oregon State University, and a recent Fulbright fellow in Malta. He is the author of three chapbooks: Poems About Moss, THREATS, and What They Took Away. Find him online at www.dennisjamessweeney.com

UPCOMING SEPTEMBER CLASSES WITH DENNIS:

• Beyond Nonfiction (Saturday, September 7th, 1 - 4pm) 

• Writing Illness and the Body (Saturday, September 28th, 1 - 4pm)