Raymond Carver (1938–1988)

Author of What We Talk about When We Talk about Love

233+ Works 18,664 Members 296 Reviews 194 Favorited

About the Author

Born in 1938 in an Oregon logging town, Raymond Carver grew up in Yakima, From California he went to Iowa to attend the Iowa Writers Workshop. Soon, however, he returned to California, where he worked at a number of unskilled jobs before obtaining a teaching position. Widely acclaimed as the most show more important short story writer of his generation, Carver writes about the kind of lower-middle-class people whom he knew growing up. His characters are waitresses, mechanics, postmen, high school teachers, factory workers, door-to-door salesmen who lead drab lives because of limited funds. Critics have said that may have the most distinctive vision of the working class. Nominated posthumously for both a National Book Critics Circle Award (1988) and a Pulitzer Prize (1989) for Where I'm Calling From: New and Selected Stories (1988), Carver is one of a handful of writers credited with reviving the short story form. Some have put Carver in the tradition of Ernest Hemingway and Stephen Crane. Carver's stories tend to be brief, with enigmatic endings, although never erupting. Violence is often just below the surface. An air of quiet desperation pervades his stories, as Carver explores the collapse of human relationships in bleak circumstances. In later works, Carver strikes a note of redemption, unheard at the beginning of his career. But for readers who are not attuned to Carver's voice of resignation, these moments may sound sentimental and unconvincing. Carver died of lung cancer in 1988. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Includes the names: Ray Carver, Ramond Carver, Raymon Carver, Raymond Carver, REJMOND KARVER, CARNER RAYMOND, ed. Raymond Carver, Raymond Carver editor, Editor: Raymond C. Carver, Raymond Clevie Carver, Jr., Rejmond Karver (Raymond Carver), レイモンドカーヴァー, Raymond; Intro. By Tess Gallagher Carver, Tess Pro Raymond; Introduction by Gallgher Carver, Bob Raymond] Adelman [Carver, production / Carver

Image credit: CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1824244

Works by Raymond Carver

Popular Recent

What We Talk about When We Talk about Love (1981) 3,879 copies

Where I'm Calling From: New and Selected Stories (1988) 3,298 copies

Cathedral: Stories (1983) 3,091 copies

Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? Stories (1976) 1,878 copies

Short Cuts: Selected Stories (1993) 1,067 copies

Fires: Essays, Poems, Stories (1983) 557 copies

Collected Stories (2009) 530 copies

All of Us: The Collected Poems (1996) 498 copies

Call If You Need Me: The Uncollected Fiction and Other Prose (2000) 472 copies

A New Path To The Waterfall (1989) — Author — 379 copies

Elephant and other stories (1988) 338 copies

American Short Story Masterpieces (1987) 330 copies

Beginners (2009) 292 copies

Where Water Comes Together with Other Water: Poems (1981) 235 copies

No heroics, please : uncollected writings (1991) 196 copies

Ultramarine: Poems (1986) 195 copies

The Stories of Raymond Carver (1983) 172 copies

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love {story} (1981) 133 copies

Carver Country: The World of Raymond Carver (1990) 98 copies

The Best American Short Stories 1986 (1986) — Editor & Introduction — 97 copies

Tres rosas amarillas (1988) 81 copies

Il mestiere di scrivere: esercizi, lezioni, saggi di scrittura creativa (1997) 67 copies

Where I'm Calling From {story} (1988) 65 copies

Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? {story} (1976) 38 copies

In a Marine Light: Selected Poems (1984) 38 copies

Vidas cruzadas (1995) 31 copies

Furious Seasons (1977) 28 copies

Dostoevsky: A Screenplay / King Dog: A Screenplay (1985) — Author — 25 copies

Todos los cuentos (2016) 22 copies

At Night the Salmon Move (1976) 20 copies

Voi non sapete che cos'è l'amore. Saggi, poesie, racconti (1998) 18 copies

Limonata e altri racconti (2011) 17 copies

Qu'est-ce que vous voulez voir ? (2000) 14 copies

Erste und letzte Stories (2002) 13 copies

68 Contos de Raymond Carver (2010) 12 copies

Adam Bartos: Yard Sale Photographs (2009) 11 copies

Tutti i racconti (2005) 11 copies

A Small, Good Thing {story} (2011) 11 copies

Oeuvres complètes : Volume 4, Les vitamines du bonheur (2010) 11 copies

Orientarsi con le stelle: tutte le poesie (2006) 11 copies

Winter Insomnia (1970) 9 copies

Romane und Kurzgeschichten schreiben. Mit einer Kurzgeschichte von R. Carver (2004) 9 copies

En alvorlig samtale og andre noveller (2000) 9 copies

Niente trucchi da quattro soldi. Consigli per scrivere onestamente (2002) 9 copies

Een kleine weldaad. Alle verhalen (2023) 8 copies

Het woord liefde de mooiste liefdesgedichten (2003) 8 copies

Waarover wij praten als wij over liefde praten (1982) 7 copies

Esta Vida. Poemas Escolhidos (Em Portugues do Brasil) (2017) 6 copies

N'en faites pas une histoire (1994) 6 copies

Put Yourself in My Shoes {story} (1974) 6 copies

So Much Water So Close to Home {story} 6 copies

Tell It All (2005) 5 copies

Whoever Was Using This Bed {story} (2004) 5 copies

Why Don't You Dance? {story} 5 copies

Voorzichtig (1986) 5 copies

Oeuvres complètes : Volume 3, Tais-toi, je t'en prie (2010) 5 copies

One More Thing {story} 4 copies

Racconti in forma di poesia (1999) 4 copies

Nobody Said Anything {story} (1992) 4 copies

En aldri så liten matbit (1996) 4 copies

ささやかだけれど、役にたつこと (1989) 4 copies

The Third Thing That Killed My Father Off {story} 3 copies

סיפורים אחרונים 3 copies

What Do You Do in San Francisco? {story} 3 copies

Blackbird Pie and Other Stories (1992) 3 copies

Üks hea asi 3 copies

Oeuvres complètes : Volume 5, Les trois roses jaunes (2011) 3 copies

Louise Bourgeois 2001 (2001) 3 copies

Les feux (2015) 3 copies

Grannar (1991) 3 copies

The Calm {story} 3 copies

La vitesse foudroyante du passé (2006) 3 copies

If It Please You (1984) 3 copies

Gazebo {story} 3 copies

Warum tanzt ihr nicht. Erzählungen. (1997) 3 copies

Katedralen 3 copies

Feathers {story} 3 copies

Raymond Carver: Collected Stories (Loa #195): Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? / What We Talk about When We Talk about… (2015) 3 copies

Nobody Said Anything and Other Stories (1992) 3 copies

Neighbors {story} 3 copies

Bicycles, Muscles, Cigarettes {story} 3 copies

Le monde de Raymond Carver (2006) 3 copies

Per favore, non facciamo gli eroi: saggi, poesie, racconti (2002) 3 copies

Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, ONE ACT Play 2 copies

My Father's Life 2 copies

דבר קטן וטוב 2 copies

Paviljong og andre noveller (1990) 2 copies

Great American Writers: 21 Unabridged Stories (1996) 2 copies

They're Not You Husband {story} 2 copies

Kathedrale. Kurzgeschichten (1989) 2 copies

The Student's Wife {story} 2 copies

Errand {story} 2 copies

Bilmezsiniz Ask Nedir 2 copies

Boxes {story} 2 copies

Fogos 2 copies

Blackbird Pie {story} 2 copies

Uit het oosten, licht (2021) 2 copies

Louise Bourgeois 2 copies

Vrij Nederland 2 copies

Bicycles, Muscles, Cigarets 2 copies

O Que Sabemos do Amor (Portuguese Edition) [Paperback] Raymond Carver (2010) 2 copies

Louise Bourgeois; With a Story By Raymond Carver (2001) 2 copies

Little Things {story} 2 copies

Dostoevsky: A Screenplay (1987) 2 copies

N'en faites pas une histoire. oeuvres complètes 8 (2012) 2 copies

Qu'est-ce que vous voulez voir ?. oeuvres complètes 6 (2011) 2 copies

kathedrikos naos / καθεδρικός ναός (2011) 2 copies

Oeuvres complètes : Volume 7, Les feux (2012) 2 copies

Creative Writing: Romane und Kurzgeschichten schreiben (2013) 2 copies

頼むから静かにしてくれ (THE COMPLETE WORKS OF RAYMOND CARVER) (1991) 2 copies

Fat {story} 2 copies

The Student's Wife {story} 2 copies

Collectors {story} 2 copies

Why, Honey? {story} 2 copies

Chef's House {story} 2 copies

Vitamine (in Cattedrale) 2 copies

Fever {story} 2 copies

What's in Alaska? {story} 2 copies

Intimacy {story} 2 copies

Menudo {story} 2 copies

They're Not Your Husband {story} 2 copies

The Bath {story} 2 copies

Distance {story} 2 copies

A Serious Talk {story} 2 copies

大聖堂 THE COMPLETE WORKS OF RAYMOND CARVER〈3〉 (1990) 1 copy

Rare Antique New Path To Waterfall Raymond Carver Poems 1st Edition First Printing Poetry 1 copy

Collectors 1 copy

Carver's dozen―レイモンド・カーヴァー傑作選 (1997) 1 copy

Jerry and Molly and Sam 1 copy

Why, Honey? 1 copy

The Ducks 1 copy

How About This? 1 copy

What is It? 1 copy

Signals 1 copy

Night School {story} — Author — 1 copy

Befognád, ha szépen kérlek? (2011) 1 copy

¿Por qué no bailáils? / Tres rosas amarillas / ¿Quieres hacer el favor de callarte, por favor? / De qué hablamos… 1 copy

Night School 1 copy

Thánh đường 1 copy

愛について語るときに我々の語ること (講談社英語文庫) (1994) 1 copy

Em làm ơn im đi, được không? 1 copy

Whoever Was Using This Bed and Other Stories (2007) 1 copy

Near Klamath (1968) 1 copy

Yazmak Üzerine (2022) 1 copy

頼むから静かにしてくれ〈1〉 (村上春樹翻訳ライブラリー) (2006) 1 copy

頼むから静かにしてくれ〈2〉 (村上春樹翻訳ライブラリー) (2006) 1 copy

Poésie (2016) 1 copy

Three Stories [: Publisher's Prospectus] 1 copy

愛について語るときに我々の語ること (村上春樹翻訳ライブラリー) (2006) 1 copy

The Father 1 copy

What's in Alaska? 1 copy

Svi mi - sabrane pesme (2017) 1 copy

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, One ACT Play 1 copy

The Race, ONE ACT Play 1 copy

Zimska nesanica-pesme i priče 1 copy

Are You a Doctor? {story} 1 copy

Vos no sabés qué es el amor y otros poemas 1 copy

Αρχάριοι: (2010) 1 copy

Tutte le poesie. Testo inglese a fronte (2021) 1 copy

±̆̂Þ̂Œ̂̂®̈·̂̂±̂̂ ̆̂ʼ̂®̈·̂̂̂ (1990) 1 copy

Zimska nesanica 1 copy

The Father {story} 1 copy

Odakle zovem (2019) 1 copy

Selection Number 1, Spring, 1960 (magazine) 1 copy

Een kleine weldaad 1 copy

His Bathrobe Pockets Stuffed With Notes 1 copy

Sixty Acres {story} 1 copy

Sateisten päivien jälkeen : valitut runot (2013) 1 copy

Wovon wir reden, wenn wir von Liebe reden : Erzählungen 1 copy

Viewfinder 1 copy

Mr. Coffee and Mr. Fixit 1 copy

The Idea 1 copy

Zimska nesanica, izabrane pesme i priče 1 copy

Are You a Doctor and The Father 1 copy

Carver Raymond 1 copy

Three stories (1990) 1 copy

Men sjela er også ein glatt dævel (1988) 1 copy

Chi ha usato questo letto 1 copy

Tell the Women We're Going 1 copy

Peresa 1 copy

Nouvelles et poèmes de Raymond Carver 1 copy

Viewfinder {story} 1 copy

Mr. Coffee and Mr. Fixit {story} 1 copy

Nem ők a te férjed elbeszélések (1997) 1 copy

For Tess 1 copy

Ray Carver Reads: Nobody Said Anything/a Serious Talk/Fat (1987) 1 copy

I Could See the Smallest Things {story} 1 copy

The Bridle {short story} 1 copy

Sacks {story} 1 copy

Erzählungen und Gedichte: Hörbuch (2007) 1 copy

Werkausgabe in vier Bänden (2002) 1 copy

Whoever Was Using This Bed {story} 1 copy

After the Denim {story} 1 copy

Popular Mechanics {story} 1 copy

Everything Stuck to Him {story} 1 copy

The Lost Novel of Raymond Carver - or - Hold Me, Please, and Say This Is Love - or - Augustine, A Novel 1 copy

O Que Sabemos do Amor 1 copy

Il mestiere di scrivere. Esercizi, lezioni, saggi di scrittura creativa. 1 copy

The monkey's tale, One Act Play 1 copy

The Complete Works of Raymond Carver 5 (1997) 1 copy

Kindling 1 copy

Il pittore e il pesce. Una poesia di Raymond Carver. Un'opera di Carlo Dalcielo 1 copy

Desocupado y más Poemas 1 copy

Careful {story} 1 copy

What Do You Do in San Francisco? {story} 1 copy

50 digte (2012) 1 copy

La vida de mi padre, cinco ensayos y una meditación 1 copy

[No title] 1 copy

Poesia Minimálista Norteamericana (2001) 1 copy

Jerry and Molly and Sam {story} 1 copy

DESPRE CE VORBIM CAND VORBIM DESPRE IUBIRE TOP 10 (2015) 1 copy

Wovon Wir Reden 1 copy

By Raymond Carver - Catedral (Compactos Anagrama) (Spanish Edition) (Septima) (2001-03-30) [Paperback] (2001) 1 copy

The Ducks {story} 1 copy

One More Thing {story} 1 copy

How About This? {story} 1 copy

Un corte de pelo (2013) 1 copy

Det vi snakker om når vi snakker om kjærlighet : noveller (2018) 1 copy

Little Things {story} 1 copy

Üks hea asi : jutud 1 copy

Cathedral; The Fever 1 copy

What Is It? {story} 1 copy

Poésie. oeuvres complètes 9: Œuvres complètes 9 (2015) 1 copy

Signals {story} 1 copy

Lo scompartimento (in Cattedrale) 1 copy

Stare attenti (in Cattedrale) 1 copy

Il treno (in Cattedrale) 1 copy

Cathedral [short story] 1 copy

La briglia (in Cattedrale) 1 copy

La vida de mi padre. Cinco ensayos y una meditación 1 copy

Are These Actual Miles? {story} 1 copy

LIMONATA e altri racconti 2011 (1900) 1 copy

Work Explorer

Associated Works

The Best American Short Stories of the Century (2000) — Contributor — 1,568 copies

Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama (1995) — Contributor, some editions — 929 copies

A Book of Luminous Things: An International Anthology of Poetry (1996) — Contributor — 835 copies

My Mistress's Sparrow Is Dead (2008) — Contributor — 766 copies

The Oxford Book of American Short Stories (1992) — Contributor — 757 copies

The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction: Fifty North American American Stories Since 1970 (1999) — Contributor — 516 copies

The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories (1994) — Contributor — 483 copies

American Gothic Tales (1996) — Contributor — 465 copies

The World of the Short Story: A 20th Century Collection (1986) — Contributor — 464 copies

Birthday Stories (2002) — Contributor — 456 copies

Points of View: Revised Edition (1966) — Contributor — 416 copies

Flash Fiction: 72 Very Short Stories (1992) — Contributor — 399 copies

The Best American Short Stories 2000 (2000) — Contributor — 396 copies

You've Got to Read This: Contemporary American Writers Introduce Stories that Held Them in Awe (1994) — Contributor — 380 copies

The Granta Book of the American Short Story (1992) — Contributor — 369 copies

Sudden Fiction: American Short-Short Stories (1984) — Contributor — 364 copies

The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories (1999) — Contributor — 352 copies

100 Years of the Best American Short Stories (2015) — Contributor — 291 copies

Object Lessons: The Paris Review Presents the Art of the Short Story (2012) — Contributor — 221 copies

The New Granta Book of the American Short Story (2007) — Contributor — 214 copies

The Workshop: Seven Decades of the Iowa Writers Workshop - 43 Stories, Recollections, & Essays on Iowa's Place in… (1999) — Contributor — 187 copies

Nothing But You: Love Stories From The New Yorker (1997) — Contributor — 186 copies

First Fiction: An Anthology of the First Published Stories by Famous Writers (1994) — Contributor — 183 copies

The Best American Short Stories of the 80s (1990) — Contributor — 164 copies

Granta 25: The Murderee (1988) — Contributor — 162 copies

The Best American Short Stories 1988 (1988) — Contributor — 160 copies

Granta 21: The Story-Teller (1987) — Contributor — 158 copies

Granta 68: Love Stories (1999) — Contributor — 151 copies

The Graphic Canon, Vol. 3: From Heart of Darkness to Hemingway to Infinite Jest (2013) — Contributor — 149 copies

Still Wild: Short Fiction of the American West 1950 to the Present (2000) — Contributor — 141 copies

The Best American Short Stories 1987 (1987) — Contributor — 129 copies

Adaptations: From Short Story to Big Screen: 35 Great Stories That Have Inspired Great Films (2005) — Contributor — 124 copies

Emergency Kit (1996) — Contributor, some editions — 109 copies

Soul: An Archaeology--Readings from Socrates to Ray Charles (1994) — Contributor — 101 copies

Prize Stories 2000: The O. Henry Awards (2000) — Contributor — 98 copies

The Norton Book of Friendship (1991) — Contributor — 96 copies

American Short Stories (1976) — Contributor, some editions — 95 copies

The Granta Book of the Family (1995) — Contributor — 88 copies

A Life in Medicine: A Literary Anthology (2002) — Contributor — 82 copies

The Oxford Book of Travel Stories (1996) — Contributor — 74 copies

The Best American Short Stories 1983 (1983) — Contributor — 73 copies

Granta 8: Dirty Realism (1983) — Contributor — 72 copies

Granta 14: Autobiography (1984) — Contributor — 72 copies

Great Esquire Fiction (1983) — Contributor — 70 copies

A Literary Christmas: Great Contemporary Christmas Stories (1992) — Contributor — 70 copies

The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Concise Edition (2003) — Contributor — 68 copies

The New Mystery: The International Association of Crime Writers' Essential Crime Writing of the Late 20th Century (1993) — Contributor — 62 copies

Granta 147: 40th Birthday Special (2019) — Contributor — 58 copies

The Penguin Book of the Modern American Short Story (2021) — Contributor — 56 copies

Granta 12: The True Adventures of The Rolling Stones (1984) — Contributor — 44 copies

Granta 4: Beyond the Crisis (1989) — Contributor — 36 copies

The Haves & Have Nots: 30 Stories About Money & Class In America (1999) — Contributor — 34 copies

The Best American Short Stories 1982 (1982) — Contributor — 29 copies

Korter dan kort de beste kortste verhalen uit de wereldliteratuur (1993) — Contributor — 28 copies

The Best American Short Stories 1967 (1967) — Contributor — 27 copies

A Good Man: Fathers and Sons in Poetry and Prose (1993) — Contributor — 20 copies

Twentieth-Century American Short Stories: An Anthology (1975) — Contributor — 17 copies

Horse Stories (2012) — Contributor — 16 copies

20th Century American Short Stories, Volume 1 (1995) — Contributor — 16 copies

Bright Poems for Dark Days: An Anthology for Hope (2021) — Contributor — 10 copies

A Vintage Christmas (Vintage Minis) (2018) — Contributor — 9 copies

Cutting Edges: Young American Fiction for the 70's (1973) — Contributor — 8 copies

West Coast Fiction: Modern Writing from California, Oregon, and Washington (1979) — Contributor — 7 copies

Reasons to Believe: New Voices in American Fiction (1988) — Contributor — 6 copies

Presentask med fyra noveller om kärlek II (2020) — Contributor — 3 copies

Enjoying Stories (1987) — Contributor — 2 copies

TriQuarterly 48: Western Stories — Contributor — 2 copies

Tagged

20th century (282) America (51) American (423) American fiction (100) American literature (511) anthology (1,389) Carver (53) classics (66) collection (186) ebook (40) essays (187) fiction (3,075) first edition (61) genre - short story (51) Granta (146) Library of America (50) literary fiction (50) literature (643) love (58) minimalism (104) narrativa (45) non-fiction (110) own (123) owned (46) poetry (899) Raymond Carver (141) read (189) relationships (44) short fiction (253) short stories (3,808) short story (203) short story collections (73) stories (324) textbook (74) to-read (1,318) unread (175) US (45) US literature (60) USA (183) writing (109)

Common Knowledge

Legal name: Carver, Raymond Clevie, Jr.
Birthdate: 1938-05-25
Date of death: 1988-08-02
Burial location: Ocean View Cemetery, Port Angeles, Washington, USA
Gender: male
Nationality: USA
Birthplace: Clatskanie, Oregon, USA
Place of death: Port Angeles, Washington, USA
Cause of death: cancer (lung)
Places of residence: Clatskanie, Oregon, USA (birth)
Yakima, Washington, USA
Sacramento, California, USA
Palo Alto, California, USA
Austin, Texas, USA
Iowa City, Iowa, USA (show all 7)
Port Angeles, Washington, USA (death)
Education: Chico State University
Humboldt State College, (BA|1963)
University of Iowa
Stanford University (Stegner Fellow)
Occupations: short-story writer
janitor
essayist
poet
teacher
gas station attendant (show all 7)
delivery boy
Relationships: Carver, Maryann Burk (wife|divorced)
Gallagher, Tess (wife)
Jarman, Mark (student)
Organizations: National Institute of Arts and Letters (Literature, 1988)
American Academy of Arts and Letters (1988)

Members

Reviews

Where I'm Calling From: Selected Stories by Raymond Carver

Where I’m Calling From is a masterpiece of short fiction, a collection of 37 stories by one of the most influential American writers of the 20th century, and my favourite author, Raymond Carver. The stories span his entire career, from his early works that explore the lives of ordinary people struggling with alcoholism, poverty, and loneliness, to his later works that show more hope and redemption. Carver’s style is minimalist, precise, and realistic, often using dialogue and details to reveal the emotions and conflicts of his characters. The stories deal with themes such as love, loss, addiction, family, and death, and often end with an epiphany or a twist. Some of the most famous stories in the book are “Cathedral”, “A Small, Good Thing”, and of course the devastating “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.” If you are new to Carver, this is an excellent place to begin. If you are a lifelong fan, this is the perfect book to add to your collection.… (more)

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Andrew.Lafleche | 37 other reviews | Feb 23, 2024 |

Raymond Carver: Collected Stories (LOA #195): Will… by Raymond Carver

This is a comprehensive collection of Raymond Carver's published and unpublished stories. It includes stories found after his death as well as at least one draft of a story subsequently published in a more complete form.

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jwhenderson | 10 other reviews | Feb 20, 2024 |

A New Path to the Waterfall by Raymond Carver

purely meaningful, unpretentious writing. so good

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torturedgenius | 7 other reviews | Jan 19, 2024 |

What we talk about when we talk about love : stories by Raymond Carver

A couple of the stories hit home for me. The writing is good minimalist fair. Unfortunately, most of the stories didn't appeal to me. The writing isn't my taste either. Does this make sense? I could see why many would love this book of stories, but for me I will pass on future Carver.

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wvlibrarydude | 60 other reviews | Jan 14, 2024 |

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