Despite academic criticism , Carver ’ s writing has inspired a wealth of creative work . When asked where he begins when writing a story , Carver commented , “ I never start with an idea . I always see something . I start with an image , a cigarette being put out in a jar of mustard , for instance … And a feeling that goes with that . And that feeling seems to transport me back to that particular time and place .” Carver ’ s captivating evocation of these images into words has seemingly inspired others to reverse the process . The paintings of Edward Hopper for example are often likened to Carver ’ s writing and Bob Adelman produced a book of photography depicting ‘ Carver Country .’ There seems to be a need for Creatives to ‘ fill in the blanks ’ left by Carver ’ s minimalist silence . Perhaps the work which most clearly illustrates a desire to finish Carver ’ s work is Roger Altman ’ s 1993 film ‘ Short Cuts .’ Altman combined nine of Carver ’ s short stories into the single narrative of his film , claiming Carver ’ s writing was , “ just one story … all occurrences , all about things that just happen to people and cause their lives to take a turn ” regarding the author ’ s works as a series of plot points .
The film was promoted largely in relation to Carver , diminishing any consideration of the piece as an original artistic work . Altman ’ s treatment of the short stories is in keeping with a trend amongst critics to try and establish links between Carver ’ s autonomous stories and consider his writing as a cohesive body of work . G . Gerald Kennedy writes , “ the recent Roger Altman film , ‘ Short Cuts ’ captures just this potentiality in the tangential encounters that connect the multiple story lines developed there .” Altman ’ s film was praised as the novel Carver never had time to write . This idea illustrates the pre concern amongst academics , which sees the short story as inferior and undeveloped in comparison to the novel .
Carver addressed this notion in the 1983 essay ‘ Fires ,’ writing ’ “ to write a novel , it seemed to me , a writer should be living in a world that makes sense , a world that a writer can believe in … A world that will , for a time at least , stay in a fixed place … with this there is a belief that the known world has reasons for existing and is worth writing about … This wasn ’ t the case with the world I was living in . My world was one that seemed to change gears and directions , along with the rules , everyday .” Focusing on the first part of this quote , which is often ignored , it is possible to understand , as Oasis Boddy describes , “ the importance the fragmentary form plays in Carver ’ s work .” It would seem that , by attempting to conclude these fragments , Altman et al are in fact denying the aesthetic Carver held to , undervaluing the effect of his writing in its organic form .
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