This idea of Carver as a demanding teacher has always made me curious. It
seems to me that his own writing very much follows the standard set of
"rules" for writing that we are taught and teach: the alignment of sentence
structure with meaning, the economic, judicious, and thoughtful selection of
words... His style (for prose) is really just the total assimilation of
what we tell students are the makings of "good writing." So of course he was
(confused?) and required that his students write in his style- he was
writing the right way. No? I see that there's a new book out on him and a
number of other minimalist writers (has anyone seen it?). It's back ordered
at the publisher so I haven't been able to get it but I would like to know
if the author addresses minimalism in this rules-taken-to-heart context and
if not then how she approaches an explanation of this style.
> From: Douglas Barbour <[log in to unmask]>
> Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
> Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2000 07:55:31 -0600 (MDT)
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Raymond Carver
>
> Ah, but if what Will wrote was true, the students who would look back on
> Carver as a great teacher would only be those who already shared his
> vonvept of what writing was. I know how difficult it is to do so, but it
> seems to me that if one 'teaches' (do we? or is it just that we are there
> as they teach themselves?) writing, one must ruthlessly keep one's own
> biases under some control: not to deny them, but to try, as much as one
> can, to allow the 'students' (well, at least in university
> courses/workshops, we can call them that) to follow their own ideals, and
> to try to hepp them do so, by asking the questions that would lead them to
> improve in the directions they are following (which may not be those one
> does).
>
> I always show my students what I like and admire, but I really do try not
> to force them into some mould based on that.
>
> I don't know that Carver was as Will suggested, but if he was, no wonder he
> didn't like teaching writing...
>
> Douglas Barbour
> Department of English
> University of Alberta
> Edmonton Alberta Canada T6G 2E5
> (h) [780] 436 3320 (b) [780] 492 0521
> http://www.ualberta.ca/~dbarbour/dbhome.htm
>
> I have taken the library
> Volumes might be written
> ambiguous signs by name
>
> Susan Howe
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