#TPQ5: TRAVIS CRAVEY

Raymond Carver – What We Talk About When We Talk About Love

Carver is, to my mind, the greatest short story writer the U.S. has produced. This collection is my bible.

James Wright – Above the River

Reading Wright was the first time I read poetry that was masculine, like I believed I needed to be, but also vulnerable and scared, like I actually felt.

Isabel Allende – The Stories of Eva Luna

I try to be an attentive student of short fiction, my preferred medium. And Allende’s Eva Luna collection is a master class in using the form to tell a larger, overarching story.

John Steinbeck – In Dubious Battle

In Dubious Battle is a sort of companion to The Grapes of Wrath, with more anger and purpose. What if Tom Joad got organized?

Rachel Kushner – The Flamethrowers

Flamethrowers is just such a goddamn good story, so interestingly told. Remarkable. Every page.


Travis Cravey is a mechanic in Southeastern Pennsylvania. He misses his home in Texas every day. He tries to write good stories, as best he can. He’ll show them to you, if you ask.

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