Dennis Schmitz grew up in
Dubuque, Iowa. He graduated from
Loras College and the
University of Chicago, where he met and married
Loretta D'Agostino in 1960; they have five children together. He has taught at
Illinois Institute of Technology,
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and
California State University, Sacramento. His former students include
Raymond Carver,
Charlene Ungstad,
Gary Short, and
Gary Thompson. He opposes the
death penalty and protests executions in California every time they take place. His work has appeared in the
Alaska Quarterly Review,
American Poetry Review,
The Nation,
Paris Review, the
Chicago Review, and
Zyzzyva. He resided in Sacramento. ==Awards==