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Published: August 24th 2010
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Re-Pass Tale: Writer Raymond Carver’s Gravesite, Port Angeles, Washington
Friday, August 20th, 2010 Leaving the Buckhorn Wilderness on Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula, Scott, Sophie the dog, and I hit Hwy 101 back in Sequim. The previous night, Scott had informed me that the famous short story author, Raymond Carver, was buried at OceanView Cemetery in Port Angeles, Wa., only a short distance away.
Even though, once again (well, we had the excuse of the 3 hour hike this time), the sun suggested afternoon, we both were thrilled with our decision to pay homage to the person credited with revitalizing the American short story (he’s also been referred to as a “modern Hemingway").
We exited off Hwy 101 in the surprisingly large town (considering the area), Port Angeles. With the help of Scott’s technology device, we found the cemetery’s site and drove toward it. As promised, it was on the water (technically the bay). It was past 4:30, the cemetery’s closing time, but the wide-open space allowed us to drive into the space. We drove through, focusing our search on the “newer” section of the cemetery, as Carver had symbolically enough, died during the time of
Raymond Carver Gravesite
Carver plot with Scott in background. Scott and mine’s 1988 trip (a day before my birthday, on August 2nd).
We were just about to give up when a couple of “Goths,” the only other people in the cemetery, frantically waved us over (earlier, the tattooed woman said that she had remembered that famous author had been buried here, but thought it had been Mark Twain). In short order, the two wandered off, leaving us alone at the simultaneously quaint, yet strong final resting place.
Raymond Carver, in his short 50 years, wrote and published almost 100 short stories and numerous essays and poems, including
Where I’m Calling From, which later served as the basis for Robert Altman’s film
Short Cuts. Having been introduced to Carver at UGA in 1986, he was the first author of any recognition that I sought out in an Athens’, Ga. used book store. I was wooed and swayed by his minimalist style, and have since read most all of his books, including his ever-supportive wife, poet and novelist Tess Gallagher’s posthumously-published collection of unpublished stories. Just 6 months ago, I devoured Carol Sklenicka’s sizable Carver biography,
Raymond Carver: A Writer’s Life. I loved his writing style, and
Tombstone Detail
Raymond Carver: 1938 - 1988 was moved by even being in the same town in which he spent his last months.
The gravesite itself has Carver’s plot, horizontal black tombstone emblazoned with Carver’s words, a poem called Gravy, in which he expresses his thanks for his life and its mysterious and wild experiences and paths. A lump rose in my throat, accompanied by welling tears, and couldn’t even finish reading it.
Perhaps most special is the small, metal box at the base of the granite benches. In it, Carver’s ever-loving widow has placed a small notebook for visitors to record their thoughts towards Ray. In addition, there are emotional updates from Gallagher herself. I contributed a few humble lines as well, thanking Ray for his sacrifices and literary talent.
Emotionally drained, Scott and I quietly joined Sophie back in the truck, bit Ray farewell, and headed off in the sunset towards the Pacific Ocean…
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