American · b. 1953
Dennis Cooper is an American novelist, poet, critic and artist, born in Pasadena, California, in 1953. He founded the poetry magazine Little Caesar in the 1970s and published early poetry collections before turning to fiction. His best-known work is the George Miles Cycle, five novels: Closer, Frisk, Try, Guide and Period. The books deal with desire, violence, youth and death in a flat, controlled prose, and they are often graphic. He has also written The Sluts, My Loose Thread and God Jr., and he has made films and theatre works with the director Gisèle Vienne. For many years he ran the blog DC's, which was removed by Google in 2016 and later restored after a long campaign. Cooper has been a leading figure in American transgressive and queer experimental writing, and his work has influenced many younger writers. He lives in Paris and Los Angeles.