Raymond Carver

[Dark Muse]

I have just read this interesting article about poet and author Raymond Carver, but previous to the article I have not heard of him before, as I do not read much conterpary poetry, or short stories, which are the two things of which is is known, but the article intirgued me, and according to the article he is known world wide for his short stories.

Some of the stories mentioned did sound interesting and as of late I have been thinking of perhaps getting into reading more in the way of short stories, so I was wondering if anyone here has heard of him, or read him, and what your thoughts are.

[Virgil]

Oh yes. His short stories are outstanding. I'm not overwhelmed with his poetry though. I would definitely pick up a collection of his short stories.

[Dark Muse]

Thank you for that, as some of his poems were included in the article, and I did not care for them, so I feared that I would not like his writing overall, but seeing as you seem to share my opinion on his poems but still recomend his stories, I will keep that in mind.

[Etienne]

I didn't know him, all I know is that I have one of his book in French translation in my library that came from my father's, it's Will You Please be Quiet, Please? Is it any good?

[ktd222]

You should read Cathedral though, it is hilarious and profound. The whole story is a work of art in itself.

[byquist]

He's a powerful short story writer, down to earth, and can pack a lot into a dozen pages. Two favorites: "A Small Good Thing" -- really sad for several people, drama, pity, and makes you feel for the baker too. "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love," -- full of energy, humorous, boisterous, a little out of control half due to booze. He went to my Grad School (or, let's say I went to his Grad school), up in the Redwood area of northern Calif. He tries to tell the basic, unvarnished truth about things.

[Dark Muse]

Sounds intresting, I will keep an eye out of this work.

[optimisticnad]

Raymond Carver is phenomenal. Im a big fan and I think iv bored many here. Its the one author I like to use when encouraging others to read more, hes so simple but so thought provoking. LIkeVirgil, Im not into his poetry but pick up any anthology of his short stories (Will you Please be Quiet Please, Call me if you need me, Cathedral) and just read. I dont have a favourite although for some reason 'the students wife' is one thats stuck in my head, i think its cos i have trouble sleeping.

happy carver reading!

[Zybahn]

I agree--Carver is an average poet but an exceptional shrort story writer. While I would recommend nearly all his stories, in particular I will mention "Errand." This is also a must for all Chekhov admirers. It is a fictionaliezed account of Chekhov's death. Brilliant.

[Morten]

Raymond Carver is probably the most important and influential short story of the 1970's and 80's. His work has been described as 'minimalist', though he rejected the label, rightfully. Still, he knew exactly how to get the maximum emotion from a minimum use of words. In later years, however, he'd expressed in letters that he felt he'd written himself into a corner. This was largely due to the editing that Esquire editor Gordon Lish performed for Carver, a cause for controversy in recent moths as Carver's wife wishes to publish all of his stories as he had originally written them. Cathedral and Elephant are important collections because they show the new, more ambitious direction Carver had taken in his writing before his death.

A lot of young writers these days blatantly copy his style.