Raymond Carver

Date of Birth: May 25, 1938

Zodiac Sign: Gemini

Date of Death: August 2, 1988

Biography

Raymond Carver was an American short story writer and poet, credited with revitalizing the short story genre in American literature during the late 20th century. Born in Clatskanie, Oregon, Carver was the son of a sawmill worker and a waitress. He grew up in Yakima, Washington, and married his high school sweetheart, Maryann Burk, at the age of 19. Carver’s works are often characterized by their minimalist style and focus on the lives of ordinary people dealing with everyday struggles. Carver attended Chico State College and later, Humboldt State College, where he studied under the writer John Gardner. His early works were influenced by his own experiences with poverty, alcoholism, and the working-class life. His first collection of short stories, “Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?” (1976), put him on the literary map and was nominated for a National Book Award. In the early 1980s, Carver achieved sobriety and experienced a resurgence in his career. He formed a significant personal and professional relationship with the poet Tess Gallagher. His later works, including “Cathedral” (1983), are considered masterpieces of contemporary American fiction. He continued to write and teach until his early death from lung cancer in 1988.

5 Interesting Facts about Raymond Carver

1. Raymond Carver won the O. Henry Award multiple times for his short stories.

2. He was a significant influence on the minimalist movement in literature, often referred to as “dirty realism.”

3. Carver’s collection “Cathedral” was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1984.

4. He was a close friend and mentor to several emerging writers, including Jay McInerney.

5. Despite his success, Carver struggled with alcoholism for much of his life and wrote about it extensively in his works.

5 Most Interesting Quotes from Raymond Carver

1. “It’s possible, in a poem or short story, to write about commonplace things and objects using commonplace but precise language, and to endow those things—a chair, a window curtain, a fork, a stone, a woman’s earring—with immense, even startling power.”

2. “I could hear my heart beating. I could hear everyone’s heart. I could hear the human noise we sat there making, not one of us moving, not even when the room went dark.”

3. “Fear of the empty page is one of the terrors that afflict many writers.”

4. “Get in, get out. Don’t linger. Go on.”

5. “Write what you know, but also what you don’t know. That’s what makes it interesting.”