1938–88, American short-story writer, b. Clatskanie, Oreg. He was raised in the Pacific Northwest, where he often set his sparely written tales of everyday blue-collar life. His personal struggles with poverty and alcoholism also colored his work. Carver's stark, minimal narrative style and episodic plot lines are particularly effective in capturing the gritty reality of his characters and the ordinary yet often revelatory nature of their experiences. His story collections include Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? (1976), What We Talk About When We Talk About Love (1981), Cathedral (1983), Where I'm Calling From (1988), and the posthumously published Call If You Need Me (2001). Also a poet, Carver wrote such volumes as Where Water Comes Together with Other Water (1985) and In a Marine Light (1988).

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