What We Think About When We Think About Carver

Are Raymond Carver's stories really by Raymond Carver? Have we accepted the death of the author in this postmodern era? Or, is it a disappointment to note the differences between the urtext version of Carver's stories and the lean, enigmatic, Gordon Lish-edited ones? On Slate's audio book club podcast, Meghan O'Rourke, Troy Patterson, and Katie Roiphe have a very stimulating discussion of the mythology of Carver, fiction as collaboration, and which version they like better. Which matters more, the story or its authorship? Feel free to discuss in comments, I'd like your views...

Listen to Cliff Garstang Talk About Linked Collections

Cliff Garstang gives the best summary of linked short fiction collections that I've heard. Is it a "story cycle" or "novel in stories?" Lots of reading & writing ideas in here, plus an excerpt from his new book at the end. Enjoy!