Dennis Patrick Slattery, Ph.D., is Distinguished Emeritus Professor in Mythological Studies at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Carpinteria, California. He has taught there for the last 26 of his 52 years in the classroom. He offers riting retreats and workshops in the United States and Europe on exploring one’s personal myth through the works of Joseph Campbell and C.G. Jung’s Red Book.
He is the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of 30 volumes, including seven volumes of poetry: Casting the Shadows: Selected Poems; Just Below the Water Line: Selected Poems; Twisted Sky: Selected Poems; The Beauty Between Words: Selected Poems of Dennis Patrick Slattery and Chris Paris; Feathered Ladder: Selected Poems with Brian Landis; Road, Frame Window: A Poetics of Seeing. Selected Poetry of Timothy J. Donohue, Donald Carlson and Dennis Patrick Slattery; and Leaves from the World Tree: Selected Poems of Craig Deininger and Dennis Patrick Slattery. He has co-authored one novel, Simon’s Crossing with Charles Asher. Other titles include The Idiot: Dostoevsky’s Fantastic Prince. A Phenomenological Approach; The Wounded Body: Remembering the Markings of Flesh; Creases in Culture: Essays Toward a Poetics of Depth; and Bridge Work: Essays on Mythology, Literature and Psychology. With Lionel Corbett he has co-edited and contributed to Psychology at the Threshold and Depth Psychology: Meditations in the Field; with Glen Slater he has co-edited and contributed to Varieties of Mythic Experience: Essays on Religion, Psyche and Culture; and A Limbo of Shards: Essays on Memory, Myth and Metaphor. His more recent books include Our Daily Breach: Exploring Your Personal Myth through Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick; Day-to-Day Dante: Exploring Personal Myth Through the Divine Comedy; and Riting Myth, Mythic Writing: Plotting Your Personal Story. With Jennifer Leigh Selig, he has coedited and contributed to Re-Ensouling Education: Essays on the Importance of the Humanities in Schooling the Soul and Reimagining Education: Essays on Reviving the Soul of Learning. With Deborah Anne Quibell and Jennifer Leigh Selig he has co-authored Deep Creativity: Seven Ways to Spark Your Creative Spirit; with Evans Lansing Smith he has co-edited Correspondence: 1927-1987 on the letters of Joseph Campbell. His most current book is a series of essays: An Obscure Order: Reflections on Cultural Mythology published by Mandorla Books. He has also authored over 200 essays and reviews in books, magazines, newspapers, and on-line journals.
For recreation he takes classes painting mythic themes in both watercolor and acrylic. He also enjoys riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle with his two sons, Matt and Steve, through the Hill Country roads of Texas.