They still have that Carver quality, that tells us to look right, then sock us in the jaw from the left. Fires: Essays, Poems, Stories Raymond Carver 4.14 2,872 ratings160 reviews From one of the great short story writers of our timeof any time ( The Philadelphia Inquirer )comes more than sixty stories, poems, and essays, including two early versions from the seminal collection, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. It contains four essays, including a moving. For balance, I’ll admit the poems aren’t quite as strong as the rest. Paperback Condition: New Fires is the best introduction to the full range and humanity of Carvers writing. This level of praise may have made Carver himself uncomfortable (unless he was already a few drinks in). I forget Carver’s writing the same way I forget my organs, or blood. Recently, re-reading Fires, a collection of his essays, poetry and stories, published after the breakdown of his first marriage, it occurred to me – I forget, because his writing is so essential, that it’s impossible to remember its existence as a separate thing, written by a hand, on paper, rather than a component of my own self. It’s only later, when I glimpse his name on a spine on the shelf, searching for something else, that I guiltily recall. When asked about my favourite writers, I often forget him. Carver, in his raw brevity, cuts to the quick and reminds me with a shock every time why writing even matters. I generally dislike all that “favourite” malarkey, but then I open one of his collections, and am struck dumb.
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