Carver Country, the World of Raymond Carver, Chuck Kinder and Diane Cecily's copy
NY: New York: Scribner's, C. 1990. Hardcover. Oblong small quarto, publisher’s boards in dust jacket. Very good, light wear and bumping. Inscribed, “For Chuck and Diane, Christmas 2010, Mike.” With letter from (we believe) Mike Rogers: “Elk, Dec 7, 2010. Dear Chuck and Diane, Merry Christmas. I found a little stack of these books on a discount table at a bookstore. I bought a couple with you guys in mind and thought I'd send one along. Perhaps you may already have it, but if not… Enjoy. I left the sticker on it because I feel it gives it a sort of Carveresque quality. The book was too cheap to shoplift. All best and ho, ho, ho, Mike.” (The price sticker he references has since disappeared). We think “Mike” is Mike Rogers because he was at Stanford in 1972, getting a BA in creative writing, at the same time as Chuck and Raymond Carver were there, and befriended both of them. Great association copy. From the library of Chuck Kinder (1946-2019) and Diane Cecily. Kinder, a native of West Virginia, was a legendary creative writing professor at Pitt, famous for having been Raymond Carver’s dear friend in the 1970s-80s (“my best friend, drinking companion and fellow outlaw”) and for inspiring Michael Chabon, whose character Grady Tripp in “Wonder Boys” is Chabon’s loving tribute to his old mentor. As a Stegner Fellow at Stanford in 1972, Kinder became close friends with Scott Turow, Richard Price, Max Crawford, William Kittredge, and Carver, and later Richard Ford, Gurney Norman, Ed McClanahan, Tess Gallagher, Tobias Wolff, and S. Clay Wilson. His wife, Diane Cecily (1942-2026) was Raymond Carver’s love interest in the early 1970s, and was well acquainted with the Missoula bunch that Kinder had become involved with. They married in 1975 and when Kinder took a job at Pitt in 1980, their home quickly became the heart of the local literary scene. The two were known for their nurturing generosity, storytelling, loyalty and hospitality, and they were great believers in the supportive power of literary communities. Very good / very good. Item #h45010
Price: $45.00