There’s an interesting cache of sound files at ubuweb. Today I was listening to Raiding the 20th Century. It’s an interesting mix of documentary and example of cut-ups, including Burroughs, hip-hop and the avant-garde.
Through the guardian I learned that Raymond Carver‘s widow is planning to release the original versions of some of his short stories. Carver is famous for his minimalism, but it appears some of that was forced on him by his editor, Gordon Lish. There’s an argument to be made that Carver’s strengths come from the editing of his work, rather than his writing. Compare some original text from One more thing to the edited version (the comparison is available from the New York Times). Carver’s text reads:
L.D. put the shaving bag under his arm
again and once more picked up the suitcase. “I
just want to say one more thing, Maxine. Listen
to me. Remember this,” he said. “I love you. I
love you no matter what happens. I love you
too, Bea. I love you both.” He stood there at the
door and felt his lips begin to tingle as he looked
at them for what, he believed, might be the last
time. “Good-bye,” he said.
“You call this love, L.D.?” Maxine said.
She let go of Bea’s hand. She made a fist. Then
she shook her head and jammed her hands into
her coat pockets. She stared at him and then
dropped her eyes to something on the floor near
his shoes.
It came to him with a shock that he
would remember this night and her like this. He
was terrified to think that in the years ahead she
might come to resemble a woman he couldn’t
place, a mute figure in a long coat, standing in
the middle of a lighted room with lowered eyes.
“Maxine!” he cried. “Maxine!”
“Is this what love is, L.D.?” she said,
fixing her eyes on him. Her eyes were terrible
and deep, and he held them as long as he could.
The edited text is both simpler and more powerful:
L.D. put the shaving bag under his arm
and picked up the suitcase.
He said, “I just want to say one more
thing.”
But then he could not think what it
could possibly be.