The Larry O. Dean Scoop
Ann Arbor, early 1980s
Larry O. Dean was born and raised in Flint, Michigan. As a young man, he worked with Academy Award-winning filmmaker, Michael Moore; published essays and reviews on popular culture in the alternative press; and also cartooned for fanzines and other underground outlets. He attended the University of Michigan, where he won three Hopwood Awards in Creative Writing, along with fellow poets John Ciardi, Robert Hayden, Jane Kenyon, and Frank O'Hara, among others; and Murray State University's low-residency MFA program. He teaches higher ed creative writing, literature, and composition, and is a Poet-in-Residence in the public schools through the Chicago Poetry Center's Hands on Stanzas program.
In addition, he is a singer, songwriter, and producer, working both solo as well as with several 'hard pop' bands. He has released numerous critically-acclaimed albums, including Good Grief (2015), Throw the Lions to the Christians (1997; reissued 2012), and Sir Slob (2001); Hog Wash! (1989; reissued 2012), The Naked & the Daft (1993; reissued 2012), and Fresh Brood (1994; reissued 2012) with The Fussbudgets; Embarrassment of Riches (1995; reissued 2012) with Malcontent; Public Displays of Affection (1998), Fables in Slang (2001), and WNUR Demos (2012) with Post Office; Gentrification Is Theft (2002) with The Me Decade; Product Placement (2019) and Fun with a Purpose (2009) with The Injured Parties. Since 2001 he’s hosted a monthly songwriter showcase, Folk You!
His most recent full-length book is Frequently Asked Questions (forthcoming). Others are Activities of Daily Living (2017) and Brief Nudity (2013), as well as various chapbooks, including Muse, Um (2022), ekphrastic poems inspired by visits to the Art Institute of Chicago; Basic Cable Couplets (2012), a series of 'found' poems with text adapted/modified from, and/or inspired by listings for TV movies; About the Author (2011), which “displaces the focus of auto-referentiality from the text to the author as the para-textual 'author bio' becomes the matter of the poems”; abbrev (2011), a short series of poems based on abbreviations and acronyms culled from popular culture, along with technical and business jargon; and I Am Spam (2004), a series of poems 'inspired' by spam email subject lines. Selected magazine publications include Berkeley Poetry Review, Passages North, Lilliput Review, California Quarterly, Pacific Coast Journal, Maelstrom, Red Rock Review, Big Bridge, Old City Cool, Keyhole, OCHO, filling Station, Alehouse, Dinosaur Bees, Logan Square Literary Review, Blue & Yellow Dog, Heavy Feather Review, Artichoke Haircut, The Brooklyner, Everyday Genius, and Packingtown Review. His work has been widely anthologized, and translated into Chinese, Italian, and Spanish.
After living in San Francisco for over a decade, he makes his home in Chicago.
In addition, he is a singer, songwriter, and producer, working both solo as well as with several 'hard pop' bands. He has released numerous critically-acclaimed albums, including Good Grief (2015), Throw the Lions to the Christians (1997; reissued 2012), and Sir Slob (2001); Hog Wash! (1989; reissued 2012), The Naked & the Daft (1993; reissued 2012), and Fresh Brood (1994; reissued 2012) with The Fussbudgets; Embarrassment of Riches (1995; reissued 2012) with Malcontent; Public Displays of Affection (1998), Fables in Slang (2001), and WNUR Demos (2012) with Post Office; Gentrification Is Theft (2002) with The Me Decade; Product Placement (2019) and Fun with a Purpose (2009) with The Injured Parties. Since 2001 he’s hosted a monthly songwriter showcase, Folk You!
His most recent full-length book is Frequently Asked Questions (forthcoming). Others are Activities of Daily Living (2017) and Brief Nudity (2013), as well as various chapbooks, including Muse, Um (2022), ekphrastic poems inspired by visits to the Art Institute of Chicago; Basic Cable Couplets (2012), a series of 'found' poems with text adapted/modified from, and/or inspired by listings for TV movies; About the Author (2011), which “displaces the focus of auto-referentiality from the text to the author as the para-textual 'author bio' becomes the matter of the poems”; abbrev (2011), a short series of poems based on abbreviations and acronyms culled from popular culture, along with technical and business jargon; and I Am Spam (2004), a series of poems 'inspired' by spam email subject lines. Selected magazine publications include Berkeley Poetry Review, Passages North, Lilliput Review, California Quarterly, Pacific Coast Journal, Maelstrom, Red Rock Review, Big Bridge, Old City Cool, Keyhole, OCHO, filling Station, Alehouse, Dinosaur Bees, Logan Square Literary Review, Blue & Yellow Dog, Heavy Feather Review, Artichoke Haircut, The Brooklyner, Everyday Genius, and Packingtown Review. His work has been widely anthologized, and translated into Chinese, Italian, and Spanish.
After living in San Francisco for over a decade, he makes his home in Chicago.