"It's strange. You never start out life with the intention of becoming a bankrupt or an alcoholic or a cheat and a thief. Or a liar." -- Raymond Carver.

About Carver's Poetry

About 'Short Cuts'

Carver and CAT 1

Carver and CAT 2

Some quotes by Raymond Carver

Web Resources on Raymond Carver

About Carver's Poetry [from 'All of Us - Collected Poems']

There is a strong relationship between Carver's poems and his stories both in their autobiographical sounding voice, themes and concerns and even setting. Not suprisingly some students in the past have opted to turn a Carver story into a Carver poem, or take two or three Carver poems and combine them into one story. The results are interesting and can clearly show the relationship between the two forms in Carver.

Beginning Questions

Here are some questions to begin your discussion on Carver. The poems listed here might make good starters.

1. Use the index at the page to find and read first 'The Projectile', 'The Cougar', 'Fear', 'At Least', 'My Boat', 'My Dad's Wallet', 'In a Marine Light near Sequim, Washington', 'The Trestle', 'Migration', 'Its Course', 'Poems', 'Lemonade' and 'What the Doctor Said'. Write a little about each poem; what you like, what annoys you, what puzzles you.
2. He seems an odd kind of guy doesn't he, going from these poems. Does he? In what ways?
3. What kind of poems are these?; give examples.
4. What is Carver's world-view? (too hard? okay, what does he seem to believe in, fear, worry about, love, like, distrust?)
5. Pick any poem from the book that you like; and write about it in a creative way; as in , rewrite it, retell it, make a story about it, enter a character in it etc. You know the kind of thing I mean!

Class Questions and Oral Presentations

In 1999 we began by class oral presentations on various poems. Here are some of the poems the students chose. They are all worth discussing. I have added a paticular question or two that the students created themselves.

Mother

1. What does snow seem to represent in the poem?
2. Why does Carver refer to 'borrowing' a psychiatrist?
3. Why does the description of 'fertile questions stand out? Is there any cynicism in it do you think?
4. What are the implications of Carve telling his mother she no longer has to worry about his getting cancer?

The Cougar

1. Why is the cougar so important to him? What does it represent to Carver?
2. Do you think the story is real/trure? Did he really stalk a cougar?

Miracle

1. We have talked about what Carver values; what views and values can you identify in this poem?
2. Alcohol is prominent in this poem. Can you tell how Carver feels about it in this poem?

At Least

1. The titles of Carver's poems are usually oscure, but deep. Comment on the title of this poem.
2. The layout of this poem is different from many of his others. Why do you think it is structured in this way?
3. Comment on the tone of this poem
4. Comment on the emotional state here; is he detached or involved?

Fear

1. Is Carver's greatest fear himself? Is he afraid of his own mind?
2. Why does Carver entwine irrational fears with more serious concerns?
3. Comment on the sense of confusion in this poem.

Your Dog Dies

1. What is 'Carveresque' about this poem?
2. Why do you think the word 'deep' is repeated?
3. In the final line of the poem, what do you thiknk Carver's 'this' was in refernce to?

Cheers

1. How may the hypen in the word 'Ray-mond' work to support the theory that he is treated as a child?
2. Why do feel the term 'slipped in' was used, as opposed to 'visited', 'came' or 'called in' etc.?
3. Explain how 'a can of beef soup and a carton of tears' may be interpreted.

Morning Thinking of Empire

1. What is the main idea of the poem?
2. Explain the word 'empire' in the title?
3. Discuss the imagery and the ways in which emotion are shown in this poem.
4. What words are 'prominent' in this poem for you.

Using Carver for CAT 1

Raymond Carver offers good opportunities for a VIEWS and VALUES style discussion. Whether you deal with his stories or his poetry the reader is expoosed to an interesting and consistent view of the world.

Carver presents us a view of a particular society and a particular time. Carver's world is the marginalised and the outsiders, often those struggling to make things work. His is a contemporary American portrait but not one we're likely to find in American television. Carver's characters are what Australians might call 'battlers', but Carver is neither dismissive nor condescending in his descriptions of them. Rather, he is often pitilessly honest and compassionate in his work. His poems seem more personal and he is less likely to create characters in them, but there is an air of authenticity and truth in the best of Carver's writing. Carver shows us a world where things don't always go right, an unglamorous and undramatic (he has been called the American Chekhov for this aspect of his work) world of struggle.

Through his portraits of Americans Carver also shows us much of his own values and beliefs. The belief in poetry, and in the poetry in the ordinary, the celebration of love, but wariness at its persistence, his struggles as a writer to free himself from the oppressive 'life' that stifled his work and much more. 

Using Carver for CAT 2

Raymond Carver's writing also offers good potential for CAT2. Of course the fact that Carver wrote both short stories and fiction makes for exciting possiblities. You should try to become familiar with both forms of his writing, as the translation of one to another is a good CAT2 possibility. 

About 'Short Cuts'

['Short Cuts' by Raymond Carver. These references to the 1995 Harvill Press Edition]

Raymond Carver's 'Short Cuts' came together after the film director Robert Altmann decided to link together several of Raymond Carver's stories for his film. Thus, the film generated this collection, a collection of stories that confront and disturb at times.

Carver's stories form good resources for either CAT1 or CAT2

For CAT1 you might consider the kind of society Carver depicts. You might call them losers, the marginalised, 'white trash', living in trailer parks and doing menial jobs, not trying to make sense of their lives, just stay alive. And what of Carver's own values: think of his attitude to these people, to the society they ive in, to fate and circumstances.

For CAT2 you might try to recreate some of Carver's distinctive style in a new segment from a story, a new story, or even a story from a poem. Carver's collected poems, 'All of Us' is in the Toorak library and it's interesting to compare his stories and poetry for this CAT.

Some quotes by Raymond Carver

"There are significant moments in everyone's day that can make literature. You have to be alert to them and pay attention to them."

Web Resources on Raymond Carver

Phil Carson's Raymond Carver Page -  One fan's tribute to Carver with a good run down on all the things Carver wrote and a longish term paper written about Carver and a shortish, enigmatic interview.

Raymond Carver - They call this the definitive site on Raymond Carver, and it's pretty good with lots of information about his style of writing.  There's some qood quotes too from Carver, like this one; "It's possible... to write about commonplace things and objects using commonplace but precise language, and to endow these things- a chair, a window curtain, a fork, a stone, a woman's earring-with immense, even startling power. It is possible to write a line of seemingly innocuous dialogue and have it send a chill along the reader's spine..." This page also has a good list of links abou Carver, so rather than copy them all out, you can look at them at http://www.oocities.org/Athens/Delphi/9020/links.html

The Raymond Carver Web Site - A great site for the Carver fans. This is a comprehensive and thorough and contains material you may not find elsewhere.

The Minimalist Styles of Raymond Carver and Suzanne Vega - A site that concentrates on the style of writing of Carver. Useful if you're thinking of doing Carver for CAT2.

All of Us - Poems.com talks about Carver's Collected Poems

Wired for Books - A good detailed discussion of Carver, Toni Morrison and Leo Tolstoy which includes questions and answers and a RealAudio discussion that talks in some depth about the movie 'Short Cuts'. There's more Carver liks and even a Carver discussion list you can join.

Prose as Architecture - Two interviews with Raymond Carver.

A Seminar in Raymond Carver - From San Diego University.