Raymond Carver, "B" Items
"B" Items: Books with Contributions by Raymond Carver
144. B1 - "Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?" in The Best American Short Stories 1967. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1967. Carver's first book appearance, which became the title story of his first collection almost a decade later. Inscribed by one of the contributors. Very good in dust jacket with a bit of edgewear and a few small chips. A surprisingly uncommon volume in this generally not-too-uncommon series.
145. B2 - "Sixty Acres" in The Best Little Magazine Fiction,1970. New York: New York University Press, 1970. An uncommon volume, edited by Curt Johnson, himself publisher of a "little magazine"--December. This is the scarce hardcover issue, fine in near fine dust jacket.
146. -. Same title, second printing of the paperback issue. Near fine.
147. "B2.1" - "Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?" in Short Stories from the Literary Magazines. (Glenview): Scott, Foresman and Company (1970). Not technically a "B" item, in that this is not the first book appearance of the story; but this is a notable Carver item, if only for its being an early publication of one of his stories and for the short biographical information (and photograph) given, which includes mention of Near Klamath and a "soon to be published" second book, called Drinking While Driving. Near fine in wrappers.
148. B5 - "What Is It?" in Prize Stories 1973: The O.Henry Awards. Garden City: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1973. Very good in lightly edgeworn, price-clipped dust jacket.
149. B7 - "Neighbors" and "What Is It?" in The Secret Life of Our Times: New Fiction from Esquire. Garden City: Doubleday & Company Inc., 1973. Other contributors include John Irving, John Gardner, Richard Brautigan, Joy Williams, and others. Fine in fine dust jacket.
150. B12 - "Are You a Doctor?" in Prize Stories 1975: The O.Henry Awards. Garden City: Doubleday & Compnay, Inc., 1975. Fine in fine dust jacket.
151. B15 - "Foreword" in Syracuse Poems and Stories 1980, selected, and with a foreword by Raymond Carver. Syracuse: Department of English, Syracuse University (1980). A small pamphlet in stapled wrappers. The edition was limited to 300 numbered copies. Slightly bumped at crown but still a very good copy of a scarce item.
152. B19 - "Cathedral" in The Random Review 1982. New York: Random House (1982). Uncorrected proof copy in trimmed trade edition dust jacket. Fine in wrappers and fine dust jacket; the book is signed by Carver at his contribution.
153. -. Another copy of the proof. Fine in wrappers.
154. -. Same title, first trade edition. Fine in dust jacket.
155. "B19.1" - "Cathedral" in The Best American Short Stories 1982. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1982. Again, technically not a "B" item, in that the story's first book appearance was elsewhere, but this is a significant appearance because this collection was chosen and edited by Carver's longtime friend and onetime teacher, John Gardner. "Cathedral" was chosen by Gardner to be printed first in the collection, which is normally considered a position of honor if the authors are not simply alphabetized. This copy is near fine in near fine dust jacket and signed by Carver at his contribution.
156. -. Another copy, unsigned. Near fine in dust jacket.
157. B20 - "Fires" in In Praise of What Persists. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers (1983). Fine in near fine dust jacket.
158. B21 - "A Small Good Thing" in Prize Stories 1983: The O.Henry Awards. Garden City: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1983. Carver's story won First Prize. This is a fine copy in fine dust jacket.
159. B22 - "Foreword" in On Becoming A Novelist, by John Gardner. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers (1983). Uncorrected proof copy in wrappers. This book on writing by Gardner was completed a few weeks before he died in a motorcycle accident. Gardner and Carver were good friends ever since Gardner had been Carver's teacher in the early '60's at Chico State, in California. Spine slightly faded; near fine in wrappers, and signed by Raymond Carver in the year of publication.
160. -. Another copy, unsigned. Fine in wrappers.
161. -. Same title, first trade edition. Fine in dust jacket.
162. "B22.1" - "The Calm" in Matters of Life and Death New American Stories. (Green Harbor): Wampeter Press (1983). The scarce hardcover issue of this important collection edited by Tobias Wolff, which also includes pieces by Richard Ford, William Kittredge, Joy Williams, and others. Fine in near fine dust jacket.
163. -. Same title, the issue in wrappers. Near fine.
164. "B22.2" - "Cathedral" in The Vintage Contemporaries Reader. New York: Vintage Books (n.d.). Advance reader's copy, consisting of excerpts from the first eight books to be published in the then-new Vintage Contemporaries series. Carver's piece is signed at his contribution. Fine in wrappers, and very scarce signed.
165. B23 - "Where I'm Calling From" in The Best American Short Stories 1983, Selected from U.S. and Canadian Magazines. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1983. Other contributors include Carolyn Chute, Ursula LeGuin, Bobbie Ann Mason, Anne Tyler, and others. Fine in dust jacket.
166. B26 - "Foreword" in We Are Not In This Together, by William Kittredge. Edited by Raymond Carver. Port Townsend: Graywolf Press, 1984. This is the hardcover issue and is one of 50 numbered copies signed by Raymond Carver and William Kittredge. Fine in fine dust jacket.
167. -. Same title, simultaneous first paperback edition. Near fine.
168. "B29.1" - "Why Don't You Dance?" in Stories About How Things Fall Apart and What's Left When They Do. (n.p.): Word Beat Press (1985). Apparently only issued in wrappers. A story from What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. Near fine copy.
169. "B29.2" - "A Small, Good Thing" in The Ploughshares Reader: New Fiction for the Eighties. (Wainscott): The Pushcart Press (1985). Fine in price-clipped dust jacket. Signed by Raymond Carver at his contribution. Other contributors include Richard Yates, Tim O'Brien, Jayne Anne Phillips, and others.
170. B31 - "Introduction" in The Best American Short Stories 1986. Edited by Raymond Carver with Shannon Ravenel. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1986. Contributors include Ann Beattie, Charles Baxter, James Lee Burke, Richard Ford, Frank Conroy, Thomas McGuane, Tobias Wolff, Joy Williams, and others. Fine in fine dust jacket.
171. -. Same title, simultaneous first paperback edition. Very good.
172. "B32" - "Neighbors" in From Timberline to Tidepool: Contemporary Fiction from the Northwest. Seattle and Missoula: Owl Creek Press, 1986. This is the issue in wrappers. Other contributors include James Crumley, Barry Lopez, Tess Gallagher, W. P. Kinsella, Thomas McGuane, William Kittredge, Tom Robbins, and many others. All stories in this volume were reprints.
173. "B33" - "Boxes" in New American Short Stories. The Writers Select Their Own Favorites. New York and Scarborough: New American Library (1987). Includes comments by Carver about "Boxes" that do not appear elsewhere. This is the hardcover issue, fine in fine dust jacket. Other contributors include T.C. Boyle, Richard Ford, John Updike, John Edgar Wideman, a.o.
174. "B34" - "Introduction" and "Fever" in American Short Story Masterpieces. Edited and introduced by Raymond Carver and Tom Jenks. New York: Delacorte Press, 1987. Galleys of this collection, printed on three-hole-punched sheets and bound in a loose-leaf binder; together with the original carbon typescript of Carver's introduction. Seven typed pages, with several words whited-out and one holograph change in Carver's hand; the changed words are still visible and the text as amended corresponds to the published version. With a pencil note in the hand of Tom Jenks, longtime fiction editor at Esquire and co-editor with Carver of this volume, that this was the copy he received from Carver, and dated 5/9/86. A short letter from the publisher's representative to Jenks, dated December 1, presents these galleys and asks him to return them by the 8th (!). A unique set of a rare state of this book, with an original Carver manuscript. Most Carver manuscript material has been institutionalized, and little has shown up on the market since his papers were sold.
175. -. Same title, uncorrected proof copy. Near fine in wrappers.
176. -. Same title, first edition. A bit of binder's glue has bled through to the endpapers at the front hinge, a minor binding flaw, but this is still a fine copy in a fine dust jacket.
177. "B35" - An interview with Raymond Carver in At The Field's End. Interviews With Twenty Pacific Northwest Writers. Edited by Nicholas O'Connell. Seattle: Madrona Publishers (1987). The hardcover edition of this collection. Other interviewees include Norman Maclean, Gary Snyder, Barry Lopez, Tess Gallagher, Ursula LeGuin, James Welch, and others. Fine in dust jacket.
178. "B36" - An interview in Alive and Writing. Interviews with American Authors of the 1980's. Conducted and edited by Larry McCaffery and Sinda Gregory. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press (1987). Fine in fine dust jacket. Other interviewees include Ann Beattie, Tom Robbins, Ursula LeGuin, Thomas McGuane, and others.
179. "B37" - "One More Thing" in Four-Minute Fictions. 50 Short-Short Stories from The North American Review. Edited and with an introduction by Robley Wilson, Jr. Flagstaff: Word Beat Press (1987). An important collection of extremely short stories, which was quickly reprinted and became a staple of contemporary literature courses. Other contributors include T.C. Boyle, W.P. Kinsella, Barry Lopez, Jayne Anne Phillips and many others. Fine in fine dust jacket.
180. "B38" - "Boxes" in The Best American Short Stories 1987. Selected from U.S. and Canadian Magazines by Ann Beattie with Shannon Ravenel. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1987. This is the hardcover edition, fine in dust jacket. Other contributors include John Updike, Charles Baxter, Kent Haruf, Tobias Wolff, Joy Williams, Tim O'Brien, and others.
181. "B39" - "Menudo" in The Graywolf Annual Four: Short Stories by Men. Edited by Scott Walker. Saint Paul: Graywolf Press (1988). First edition, only issued in wrappers. Fine.
182. "B40" - "Boxes" in The Bread Loaf Anthology of Contemporary American Short Stories. Robert Pack and Jay Parini, eds. (Hanover):(University Press of New England) (1987). This is the simultaneous issue in wrappers. A near fine copy.
183. "B41" - 4 Poems: "Shiftless," "This Morning," "Jean's TV," and "Simple" in Lord John Ten. A Celebration. Edited by Dennis Etchison. Northridge: Lord John Press, 1988. Deluxe edition of this collection of pieces, one of 75 copies quarterbound in red leather and signed by all 26 authors, including Carver, Bradbury, Gallagher, Crumley, Jim Harrison. Fine.
184. -. Same title, first edition signed by all the authors. Fine.
185. "B42" - "Errand" in Prize Stories 1988. The O'Henry Awards. Edited and with an Introduction by William Abrahams. New York: Doubleday, 1988. Carver's story was the first prize winner. Fine in dust jacket.
186. "B43" - "Errand" in The Best American Short Stories 1988. Selected from U.S. and Canadian Magazines by Mark Helprin with Shannon Ravenel. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1988. Uncorrected proof copy signed by Robert Stone, who contributed a story. Near fine in wrappers.
187. -. Same title, first trade edition. Fine in fine dust jacket and signed by Robert Stone.
188. "B44" - "Introduction: After the Fire--An Interview with Raymond Carver" in Reasons to Believe. New Voices in American Fiction, edited by Michael Schumacher. New York: St. Martin's Press (1988). First edition in wrappers--not issued in hardcover. A fine copy.
189. "B45" - "The Aficionados," "Poseidon and Company" and "The Hair." One of 15 tear sheet reprints from Studies in Short Fiction. Vol. 25. Newberry: SISF, 1988. Also includes "Raymond Carver Remembered: Three Early Stories," signed by the author William L. Stull. Fine in stapled wrappers.
190. -. Same title, a different format offprint, with a different cover and type of binding. Very few of these were issued. A fine copy, again signed by William Stull.
191. "B46" - Commencement Address at the University of Hartford, in Commencement. (West Hartford): (U. of Hartford) (1988). Fine in stapled wrappers. Carver received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree at the University and gave a speech, which is transcribed in the program of the Commencement. Together with this is a photocopy of the original typescript of the speech, which differs in paragraphing from the published version, and in the deletion of one 17-word clause, which has been circled in ink on the photocopy--thus providing an earlier view of the text of the speech. A rare ephemeral piece. Fine.
192. -. Another copy, without the typescript. Fine in stapled wrappers.
193. "B46" - Several entries under "On Revising: Self-Evaluation" a chapter in The Writer's Chapbook. A Compendium of Fact, Opinion, Wit, and Advice from the 20th Century's Preeminent Writers. Edited from The Paris Review interviews and with an Introduction by George Plimpton. (New York): Viking (1989). Fine in fine dust jacket.
194. "B48" - Various poems by Carver in Objects of Reverie, by Jo Ann Callis. Des Moines: Des Moines Art Center/Black Sparrow, 1989. Catalogue of an exhibition of photographs by Callis, with Carver poems providing text to illuminate the photographs. This is one of 150 hardcover copies, numbered and signed by the photographer. Fine in plain white dust jacket.
195. -. Same title, the issue in wrappers, one of 1000 copies. Fine.
196. "B47" - "Cathedral" in The Best American Short Stories of the Eighties. Shannon Ravenel, ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1990. Uncorrected proof with photo of the editor and other promotional material laid in. Fine in wrappers.
197. "B48" - "Introduction" (about Raymond Carver) by Tess Gallagher in The Pushcart Prize, XIV. Best of the Small Presses. Bill Henderson, ed. (Wainscott): Pushcart Press, (1989). Uncorrected proof copy. The dedication of this volume in the series reads: "This book in memory of Raymond Carver." Fine in wrappers.
198. "B49" - HALPERT, Sam, ed. ...When We Talk about Raymond Carver. (Layton): (Peregrine Smith Books) (1991). Conversations and comments about Carver with numerous writers, including Tess Gallagher, Robert Stone, Richard Ford et al. Uncorrected proof copy, fine in wrappers.
199. "B50" - "Matters of Life and Death: Raymond Carver" by William L. Stull in Living in Words. Interviews from The Bloomsbury Review 1981-1988. Gregory McNamee, ed. Portland: Breitenbush Books (1988). This is the hardcover issue of this collection. Other interviewees include William S. Burroughs, Louise Erdrich, Wendell Berry, Barry Moser, and others. Fine in fine dust jacket.