Dennis Must

Dennis Patrick Must (May 4, 1934 – June 18, 2024) was an American writer of literary fiction and plays, and an educator.

Biography Born in New Castle, Pennsylvania, Must graduated from Washington & Jefferson College in 1956. He subsequently pursued graduate studies at Princeton Theological Seminary and engaged in playwriting at the Iowa Writers' Workshop and New York University.

Growing up in a mill town in the years following the Great Depression provided the rich images, characters, and experiences that fueled and populated his writing. Early in his career, Must taught secondary school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and New York City where his deep love of books, and the process of writing them inspired a generation of students, many of whom ultimately made the arts their vocation or avocation. During the 1960s and 1970s, a time of great experimentation in the theater, he wrote, directed, and co-produced several off-off-Broadway plays in collaboration with artist John Hawkins.

Must died at the age of 90 at his home in Salem, Massachusetts.

Books Circling Toward Nightfall, Red Hen Press, 2025 MacLeish Sq., Red Hen Press, 2022 Banjo Grease: Selected Stories, Red Hen Press — Pasadena, CA, November, 2019 Brother Carnival, Red Hen Press, Pasadena, CA — September, 2018 Going Dark: Selected Stories, Coffeetown Press, Seattle, WA, Fall 2016 Hush Now, Don't Explain, Coffeetown Press, Seattle, WA, Fall 2014 The World's Smallest Bible, Red Hen Press, Pasadena, CA, Spring 2014 Oh Don't Ask Why, Stories by Dennis Must, Red Hen Press, Los Angeles, CA, 2007 Banjo Grease: Selected Stories, Creative Arts Book Company, Berkeley, CA, Spring 2000