679 ratings | 53 reviews | avg rating:4.00

more photos (6)

Larry O. Dean’s Followers (35)

Larry’s Bookshelves

to-read (259)
currently-reading (80)
read (1026)

Larry’s Friends (1,071)

Sam W

578 books | 24 friends

Tankboy

451 books | 93 friends

Stephanie Johnson

729 books | 118 friends

Amanda

2,236 books | 648 friends

Kelly

1,431 books | 286 friends

Amaryah LaBeff

1,171 books | 191 friends

Michael Smith

1,428 books | 1,828 friends

Bud Smith

631 books | 675 friends

More friends…

Larry O. Dean

Goodreads Author

Born

in Flint, Michigan, The United States

Website

http://larryodean.com

Twitter

larryodean

Genre

Poetry, Nonfiction, Entertainment

Influences

David Ignatow, Kenneth Koch, Alan Dugan, Alden Nowlan, [a:Philip Levin ...more

Member Since

July 2008

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/larryodean

edit data

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 cartooned for fanzines as well as 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. He was recipient of the Gwendolyn Brooks Award for 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 cartooned for fanzines as well as 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. He was recipient of the Gwendolyn Brooks Award for teaching excellence in 2004.

In addition, Dean’s 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 has hosted a monthly songwriter showcase, Folk You!

Dean’s most recent book is Frequently Asked Questions (forthcoming). He is also author of Activities of Daily Living (2017), Brief Nudity (2013), and chapbooks 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 as well as technical and business jargon; I Am Spam (2004), poems ‘inspired’ by spam email; Identity Theft for Dummies (2003); Workers’ Comp. (1995); Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat (1990); QWERTYUIOP (1989); Barking Up the Wrong Tree (1989); and Rate of Exchange & Other Poems (1988). 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. ...more

286 posts
Larry O. Dean's Blog

Muse, Um Review

Thanks to The Independent for their review of Muse, Um ! Read more of this blog post »

View more on Larry O. Dean's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on September 22, 2022 16:14

View all 286 posts »

Combine Editions
Larry O. Dean’s books

Average rating: 4.09 · 44 ratings · 1 review · 18 distinct works

	Brief Nudity 4.50 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2013 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	QWERTYUIOP 4.40 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 1989	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	I Am Spam it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2004	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Basic Cable Couplets it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Barking up the Wrong Tree liked it 3.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 1989	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Rate of Exchange and Other Poems liked it 3.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 1988	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Activities of Daily Living it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Muse, Um it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	abbrev liked it 3.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2011	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	About the Author did not like it 1.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2011	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Larry O. Dean…

Larry is Currently Reading

Larry is currently reading

From From: Poems

by Monica Youn

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Jun 22, 2023 01:36PM

Larry is currently reading

We Are Mermaids: Poems

by Stephanie Burt (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Jun 22, 2023 01:36PM

Larry is currently reading

The Rupture Tense: Poems

by Jenny Xie

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Jun 22, 2023 01:36PM

rss
Larry’s Recent Updates

Larry is now friends with Jacque Day
Aug 21, 2024 06:58AM · like

More of Larry's books…

Larry’s Quotes

“They threw me off the haytruck about noon.”
― James M. Cain, The Postman Always Rings Twice

17 likes

“Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.”
― Groucho Marx, The Essential Groucho: Writings For By And About Groucho Marx

tags: animals, books, dogs, friends, humor

37973 likes

“I am free of all prejudice. I hate everyone equally. ”
― W.C. Fields

18696 likes

“Some day I'm gonna call me up on the phone, so when I answer, I can tell myself to shut up.”
― Miles Davis

55 likes

“Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.”
― Albert Camus

tags: humanity, life, mankind, mortality

7328 likes

More of Larry’s quotes…

recent posts
Larry’s Groups

¡ POETRY ! — 22640 members — last activity Sep 30, 2025 05:54PM
No pretensions: just poetry. Stop by, recommend books, offer up poems (excerpted), tempt us, taunt us, tell us what to read and where to go (to read No pretensions: just poetry. Stop by, recommend books, offer up poems (excerpted), tempt us, taunt us, tell us what to read and where to go (to read it!) Goodreads honors wordsmiths: poets and poetry promoted and prompted here. ~~~ "Poetry is the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits." -- Carl Sandburg “God has a brown voice, as soft and full as beer.” —Anne Sexton On Clouds – “…what primitive tastes the ancients must have had if their poets were inspired by those absurd, untidy clumps of mist, idiotically jostling one another about…” —Yevgeny Zamyatin “If the poet wants to be a poet, the poet must force the poet to revise. If the poet doesn’t wish to revise, let the poet abandon poetry and take up stamp-collecting or real estate.” —Donald Hall “Poetry is a rich, full-bodied whistle, cracked ice crunching in pails, the night that numbs the leaf, the duel of two nightingales, the sweet pea that has run wild, Creation’s tears in shoulder blades.” —Boris Pasternak “Wanted: a needle swift enough to sew this poem into a blanket.” —Charles Simic “Language is a cracked kettle on which we beat out tunes for bears to dance to, while all the time we long to move the stars to pity.” —Gustave Flaubert “Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It’s that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that’s what the poet does.” —Allen Ginsberg. ~~~~~ Amy King, Moderator Amy King is the recipient of the 2015 Winner of the WNBA Award (Women’s National Book Association). Her latest collection, The Missing Museum, is a winner of the 2015 Tarpaulin Sky Book Prize. She serves on the executive board of VIDA: Women in Literary Arts and is co-editing with Heidi Lynn Staples the anthology, Big Energy Poets of the Anthropocene: When Ecopoets Think Climate Change. She is also co-editing the anthology, Bettering American Poetry 2015, and is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at SUNY Nassau Community College. ...more

The Beachwood Book Club — 21 members — last activity Sep 04, 2009 07:45AM
For readers of The Beachwood Reporter to share reviews, events, and discussion. Members agree to allow the Beachwood to post any material here to the ...more

neiuENGLounge — 8 members — last activity Feb 21, 2014 02:56AM
This group is for members of the NEIU English Department virtual lounge.

Making Connections — 14716 members — last activity 13 hours, 28 min ago
Read, Review, and Make Connections

Liberation Lit — 78 members — last activity Apr 14, 2021 09:51AM
This is a group supporting the idea that there is a paucity of current fiction being written about the era from 1960 to 1980. The tumultuous period ...more

The Next Best Book Club — 25750 members — last activity Sep 28, 2025 04:01PM
Are you searching for the NEXT best book? Are you willing to kiss all your spare cash goodbye? Are you easily distracted by independent bookshops, bi ...more

Rockism 101 — 377 members — last activity Apr 16, 2024 01:50PM
Rock Culture...

Lit Snobs Only — 14 members — last activity Oct 21, 2012 10:16PM
No low-brow fodder here. Classic novels, genre-defining masterpieces and literary gems only.

Skylight Press — 144 members — last activity Jul 11, 2016 02:20PM
We are a small independent British publisher specialising in literary fiction, drama, poetry, theory, criticism, and the esoteric. Our Website: http: ...more