Growing up, there was only the Beat Generation. I was exposed to writers like William S. Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and John C. Holmes, at an age way earlier than I should have been (freshman in high school). As a 14 year old, their writing techniques and the myriad of references used within works like Naked Lunch, On the Road, GO, or Kaddish, flew over my head; regardless; I convinced myself of their full understanding. Every word, every image seemed to make sense. It wasn’t until halfway through my bachelor’s degree that it became obvious, that not only was my understanding of these writers and their connection to literature, incredibly shallow; on the whole, by focusing on only the Beats, I had missed out on a huge amount of wonderful literature.
Taking a class junior year on American Literature after 1945 was when the world of authors changed for me. The reading list had 15 works of fiction on it, one of which was Raymond Carver’s collection of short stories, Cathedral. Carver’s sparse use of language and everyday America settings, made me feel like I was being pummeled with a 2×4. It was so powerful to read someone that constructed short, sparse stories, where the most that would happen would sometimes be a pet dying, or a woman getting up and leaving the room. But with little action, or conversation, Carver managed to capture what really happens in our lives. His work focused primarily on tragic events (death, adultery, losing a life’s savings), happening to damaged people (alcoholics, divorcees, deadbeats, etc.). Still, in the ruin, there was love, humanity and compassion. Not in the traditional sense of everything and everyone finding a happy ending; but rather in a way it comes to us in our own lives; in small, unexpected ways, that seem random yet significant.
Cathedral still resonates with me today. Carver’s work changed how I saw the world in terms of understanding relationships and their connection to our communities. Most importantly, Cathedral made me realize that literature doesn’t have to be, “cool” to be profound. It does not have to be connected to a social movement, it does not have to tear apart the old traditional ways. Cathedral taught me that literature just has to be honest and true to itself.
-Andrew Lenaghan, Librarian
The JJC Library 