Raymond Carver, a Writer’s Life

A conversation with the author, Carol Sklenicka

(April 29, 2010) Raymond Carver is without doubt one of the most celebrated, if not the most celebrated short story writer of the past 50 years. Called by some critics “The American Chekhov,” Carver’s haunting and spare stories inspired hundreds of writers and imitators and have been translated into 22 languages.

Carver has a deep history in Humboldt County, having graduated with an English degree from Humboldt State College in 1963. He and his wife Mary Anne also struggled mightily to survive in Humboldt, working a variety of low-level jobs in mills, restaurants and other places. For many years Carver led a gypsy life, bouncing around various college towns, and the Bay Area, Sacramento and the Pacific Northwest trying to write and raise his two children. He also developed a very serious drinking problem.

Raymond Carver. Photo by Gary McNair

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In 1977, Carver came up to Humboldt County, McKinleyville to be specific, to dry out — he drank his last drink at the Jambalaya Bar. From then on, his writing career boomed and much accolades, fame and fortune ensued. Carver died in 1988 at 50 years of age.

All this and more is detailed in Raymond Carver, a Writer’s Life by Carol Sklenicka. The bio was named one of the 10 best books of 2009 by the New York Times. The author is coming to The Booklegger in Eureka on Friday, April 30, at 7p.m. for a reading and booksigning. We contacted her in advance to ask a few questions.

Jeff DeMark: What impelled you to spend 10 years working on this biography of Raymond Carver? Were you a big fan when you began?

Carol Sklenicka: I started reading his stories in 1976 and loved his writing from the beginning… When I read Carver I knew I was getting direct reports from people’s actual lives and it moved me. I got the idea to write the bio and I guess I’m kind of stubborn. I didn’t want to just look at archival things and reviews and all of that. I thought, “I need to explore the numerous worlds Raymond Carver moved through.” So I began looking up his old friends, writers, family and visiting them, and they would tell me “You need to talk to this person.” That happened many times over and off I’d go.”

What did you discover on meeting all of these people?

So many of them were deeply touched by Raymond Carver. They were thrilled to recount their meetings and interactions with him. I went from Yakima to New York City and a lot of places in between. I really enjoyed meeting many of those people. Another thing about the process, I wasn’t a trained journalist at the time but I learned some techniques. Stories would contradict, dates were off, etc., and I learned how to look up public records, look through letters Raymond wrote to these people, because there was a ton of information in those letters.

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