Saying More without Trying to Say More: On Gordon Lish Reshaping the Body of Raymond Carver and Saving Barry Hannah

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article looks deeper into the Raymond Carver–Gordon Lish editing controversy than previous literature by comparing the published work to the edited manuscripts in Lish's archived papers and further correspondence that has not been previously discussed. Carver was not the only writer whose work Lish did heavy editing for, as well as added his own dialogue and sentences to; he did the same with Barry Hannah's mid-career books. A close study of Hannah's manuscripts compared to the published product shows that Hannah was having difficulty shaping some of his work alone. The article argues that while Lish went beyond the normal scope of the editor's job, both Carver and Hannah needed his collaboration while both writers were dealing with alcoholism, failed relationships, economic hardships, and the reality of commercial publishing. Without Lish championing both these writers, they may have not have published certain canonical works.