Throughout his life, he drew on his experiences in the Pacific Northwest as settings for his stories.Ĭarver graduated from high school in 1956 and took a job working at a sawmill. At an early age, Carver moved with his family to the working-class town of Yakima, Washington. Author BiographyĬarver was born in Clatskanie, Oregon, on May 25, 1938, to laborer Clevie Raymond Carver and home-maker Ella Beatrice Carver. Unlike Carver’s other stories, however, “Cathedral” ends with hope although there is no proof that the narrator will overcome his isolation, for the moment, he is in communion with himself and another human being.
Only the blind man, Robert, seems able to form lasting human connections. The wife has earlier tried to commit suicide because of loneliness. The narrator drinks too much and seems unable to adequately communicate with his wife. “Cathedral,” like many of Carver’s other stories, portrays individuals isolated from each other for a variety of reasons. Adam Meyer, in his book, Raymond Carver, argues that “Carver is at the height of his powers here, having arrived at his full maturity, and Cathedral as a whole is certainly the most impressive of his collections.”
Many critics note a shift in Carver’s work between the publication of What We Talk About When We Talk About Love and Cathedral, and many believe that Carver reached the zenith of his career with this collection. This volume was very well-received by critics and readers alike, receiving nominations for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. It was selected to appear in The Best American Short Stories, 1982, and became the title story in the 1983 collection, Cathedral. All make me want to go back and reread.The first publication of the short story “Cathedral” was in the March, 1981, issue of Atlantic Monthly. So just because I love you, and because it’s (almost) Carver’s birthday, here are some of the best Carver covers-for Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, and Cathedral-from around the world. I’ve often been particularly charmed by the Carver covers I have come across, which seem as enigmatic and withdrawn as the writing itself. Since then, thousands of aspiring writers all over the world have carried his collections under their arms, displayed them on their bedside tables, and probably even read them. Raymond Carver, master of the short story, patron saint of many a creative writing program, regular of many a bar, was born on May 25, 1938.
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