Raymond Carver; A Writer's Life

Born in 1938, the son of a mill worker, Raymond Carver was determined to becoming a writer from an early age, but life--in the form a marriage at the age of 19, a child, drinking problem, and numerous low-paying jobs--came in the way. These subjects--the minutia and trials of American lower-class life--became the material for his short stories, and his devastating minimalist style eventually made Carver famous in the 1970s and 1980s. He died from lung cancer at the age of 50, but his stories continue to be considered some of the finest American short stories and have spawned legions of admirers and imitators. Carol Sklenickas extensively researched biography of Carver paints a vivid portrait of Carvers life: his intense relationship with his two wives, his contentious experiences with editor Gordon Lish who heavily edited Carvers work, his battles with alcoholism, and his deep dedication to the craft of writing.