Poetry is a form of writing that usually gives a reader some type of story that has a much deeper meaning than what is simply stated in the text. Most poetry reflects on the author's own personal feeling and experiences. In some cases, an author may take on the persona of another person so as to describe how he/she thinks that person might feel. Raymond Carver.... is one of the best-known fiction writers of the second half of the twentieth century; his stories appear in the vast majority of teaching texts and fiction anthologies"(McCann). Carver's work with poetry is an excellent example of how an author uses words and stories to relate to his own life, while telling a story that has absolutely nothing to do with his life. For example, he uses many negative words in almost all his work that depicts the hardships he endured throughout his life. After understanding Carver's life, it becomes much easier for a reader to discover the true themes behind his work.

Carver was not necessarily interested in writing a novel, and he preferred short stories because he thought that they best suited the circumstances of his life, for they could be finished in a few settings. As stated in Magill's Survey of American Literature, an important positive influence on his career was his creative writing class, taught by John Gardner. "Because of Gardner, Carver began to think of writing as a high calling, something to be taken seriously"("Carver"332).

Carver's poetry usually consists of little or no rhyme scheme but is more focused on a deeper meaning through metaphors. Carver always said that his stories were a mixture of autobiography and imagination, "A little autobiography and a lot of imagination"(Scofield 266).

In order to better understand Carver's work, it is necessary to further analyze some of his poems. In the poem, "Photograph of My Father in His Twenty-second Year," a son (assuming the author is male) looks at a picture of his father in his youth. The author then goes on to describe the picture of his father. The title of this poem emphasizes this exact situation. This situation takes place in an unfamiliar kitchen. The theme is presented directly. Reading the poem it sounds like the father had a drinking problem. The kitchen being unfamiliar could be because the author has not had contact with his father for many years because his father was a drunk, and the author did not want to be a part of his life. The author uses two main repeated words: "perch and beer". A perch may signify something unwanted; the beer may symbolize something wanted.

It sounds like the author feels the father was a disappointment probably because of his drinking, "Father, I love you, yet how can I thank you?" (LRRW Line 13&14) It sounds as though the author has inherited a drinking problem like his father, "I who can't hold my liquor either" (LRRW Line 14). The author sounds as though he is ashamed of himself for that. It also sounds like the author feels his father failed him as a parent.

The author indicates that the father did not do much with him as a child because he says, "and don't even know the places to fish" (LRRW Line 15). His father must not have taken him out to go fishing, and probably did not do much of anything else with him either. It also says his father wanted to be "bold," but you can tell he is not very bold, "I study my father's emba

Meaning of Poetry. (1969, December 31). In DirectEssays.com. Retrieved 22:13, June 18, 2013, from http://www.directessays.com/viewpaper/95553.html

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