The Poetry of Raymond Carver : Against the Current

Best known as one of the great short story writers of the twentieth century, Raymond Carver also published several volumes of poetry and considered himself as much a poet as a fiction writer. Sandra Lee Kleppe combines comparative analysis with an in-depth examination of Carver's poems, making a case for the quality of Carver's poetic output and showing the central role Carver's pursuit of poetry played in his career as a writer. Carver constructed his own organic literary system of "autopoetics," a concept connected to a paradigm shift in our understanding of the inter-relatedness of biological and cultural systems. This idea is seen as informing Carver's entire production, and a distinguishing feature of Kleppe's book is its contextualization of Carver's poetry within the complex literary and scientific systems that influenced his development as a writer. Kleppe addresses the common themes and intertextual links between Carver's poetry and short story careers, situates Carter's poetry within the love poem tradition, explores the connections between neurology and poetic memories, and examines Carver's use of the elegy genre within the context of his terminal illness. Tellingly, Carver's poetry, which has aroused slight interest among literary scholars, is frequently taught to medical students. This testimony to the interdisciplinary implications of Carver's work suggests the appropriateness of Kleppe's concluding discussion of Carver's work as a bridge between the fields of literature and medicine Best known as one of the great short story writers of the twentieth century, Raymond Carver also published several volumes of poetry and considered himself as much a poet as a fiction writer. Sandra Lee Kleppe combines comparative analysis with an in-depth examination of Carver's poems, making a case for the quality of Carver's poetic output and showing the central role Carver's pursuit of poetry played in his career as a writer. Carver constructed his own organic literary system of 'autopoetics,' a concept connected to a paradigm shift in our understanding of the inter-relatedness of biological and cultural systems. This idea is seen as informing Carver's entire production, and a distinguishing feature of Kleppe's book is its contextualization of Carver's poetry within the complex literary and scientific systems that influenced his development as a writer. Kleppe addresses the common themes and intertextual links between Carver's poetry and short story careers, situates Carver's poetry within the love poem tradition, explores the connections between neurology and poetic memories, and examines Carver's use of the elegy genre within the context of his terminal illness. Tellingly, Carver's poetry, which has aroused slight interest among literary scholars, is frequently taught to medical students. This testimony to the interdisciplinary implications of Carver's work suggests the appropriateness of Kleppe's culminating discussion of Carver's work as a bridge between the fields of literature and medicine Best Known As One Of The Great Short Story Writers Of The Twentieth Century, Raymond Carver Also Published Several Volumes Of Poetry And Considered Himself As Much A Poet As A Fiction Writer. Sandra Lee Kleppe Focuses Particularly On The Complex Literary And Scientific Systems That Influenced Carver's Development As A Writer As She Makes A Case For The Quality Of Carver's Poetic Output And The Centrality Of Poetry To Carver's Career. Cover; Contents; Acknowledgements; Copyright Permissions; List Of Abbreviations; Introduction; Part I The Autopoetics Of Outside And Inside; Section Preface: A Brief History Of Intertextuality; 1 The Autopoetics Of Observation; 2 Crossover Between Poems And Stories; Part Ii Self-referential Poems; Section Preface: A Brief History Of Self-referential Literature; 3 All Poems Are Love Poems; 4 Water And Fish; Part Iii De/composition; Section Preface: A Brief History Of Literature And Medicine; 5 Carver's Baudelaire Sandwich; 6 What Doctors And Poets Say; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index. Sandra Lee Kleppe. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Cover 1 Contents 6 Acknowledgements 8 Copyright Permissions 10 List of Abbreviations 12 Introduction 14 Part I The Autopoetics of Outside and Inside 26 Section Preface: A Brief History of Intertextuality 28 1 The Autopoetics of Observation 32 2 Crossover Between Poems and Stories 54 Part II Self-Referential Poems 78 Section Preface: A Brief History of Self-referential Literature 80 3 “All Poems Are Love Poems” 84 4 Water and Fish 104 Part III De/Composition 126 Section Preface: A Brief History of Literature and Medicine 128 5 Carver’s Baudelaire Sandwich 132 6 What Doctors and Poets Say 152 Conclusion 172 Bibliography 184 Index 192

Best known as one of the great short story writers of the twentieth century, Raymond Carver also published several volumes of poetry and considered himself as much a poet as a fiction writer. Sandra Lee Kleppe combines comparative analysis with an in-depth examination of Carver