Raymond Carver was born on May 25, 1938 in Clatskanie, Oregon. He was born into a poor family, which shaped the realist themes and style of his poems and short stories. At the age of 18, Raymond married his first wife and the couple began working small jobs in order to support Raymond’s education. Raymond earned his BA from Humboldt State University in 1963, and began attending and teaching at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. However, Raymond’s personal life began to falter as he began to abuse alcohol, which led him and his first wife to file for divorce. Carver continued to suffer from alcoholism until the 1970s, known as his “gravy years,” in which he focused on his health and cemented his position as an influential author and poet. Carver died in 1988 from lung cancer in Port Angeles, Washington. 

Carver was integral in the revival of the American short story with his relatable themes, straightforward writing style, and focus on lower-middle class settings. In his stories and poetry, Carver tells stories of lower-middle class workers, including waitresses, teachers, and factory workers, and their struggles with death, strained family relationships, financial troubles, and other common issues. These settings and themes reflect his experiences from childhood and young adulthood, in which he and his family struggled financially. According to the Poetry Foundation, Carver often utilizes free-verse form and a prose-like style in his poetry. He was also influenced by contemporary American poets and authors such as Robert Frost, William Carlos Williams, Galway Kinnell, and Ernst Hemingway. 

–Jordan Key

Bibliography:

Lacy, Robert. “Raymond Carver as Poet.” Sewanee Review 124, no. 1 (2016): 114-117. doi:10.1353/sew.2016.0023.

Raymond Carver: An Oral Biography. 1995. Iowa: University of Iowa Press. Accessed December 22, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central.