WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT "RAY"*

The New Yorker had some pieces in their December 24th issue that qualify for a collective exclamation of "HOLY SHIT!" from writers and indeed all readers and students of literature.

The first is an article about Raymond Carver's relationship with editor Gordon Lish. Lish and Carver's relationship is the stuff of creative writing program legend, with Lish sometimes credited for creating Carver's signature "minimalism" (a term Carver reportedly despised), and sometimes blamed for claiming to have done so. The article summarizes the long and contentious relationship demonstrated in excerpts from their correspondence, in which we read Carver's attitude toward Lish change as Lish moves from mentor. The last few letters document their tentative final collaborations, as Lish resorts to pathetic emotional blackmail to protest his decreasingly strong hand.

Also included is the original text for Beginners, which was enormously improved by Lish's edits and re-titled "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love." Better still, is a transcription of Lish's edits and additions.

It's a shame that marginal notations aren't included, because I'm curious if Lish consulted with Carver before changing characters' names, for example. Based on Carver's discomfort with the sum of Lish's edits, I have to wonder. Because that's one edit that would receive a hearty "fuck you" from me.

It's clear evidence that Lish "made" Carver, so to speak. I often thought the latter Carver of Cathedral was inferior to the writer of "So Much Water So Close To Home" and these letters helped me understand why.

* Every Eastern Washington creative writing professor claims to have met Carver, and they all refer to him as Ray, italics included.