Dennis James Sweeney is the author of In the Antarctic Circle (Autumn House Press, 2021) as well as four chapbooks of poetry and prose, including Ghost/Home: A Beginner’s Guide to Being Haunted (Ricochet Editions, 2020). His writing has appeared in Ecotone, Ninth Letter, The New York Times, and The Southern Review, among others. He has an MFA from Oregon State University and a PhD from the University of Denver. Originally from Cincinnati, he lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.

ESSAY

Neversink

By DENNIS JAMES SWEENEY

My diagnosis allowed every doctor I saw to pretend they knew something about me. The more they knew, the less they listened to me...I could never get across that my body was a whole thing.