"Cathedral"Appearing first in Atlantic Monthly and reprinted in Best American Short Stories, 1982, Raymond Carver's "Cathedral" exemplifies his departure from the minimalist style of his earlier three collections. It is also acclaimed as one of the finest efforts from one of our greatest short story writers. Carver himself seemingly sensed as much; in an interview with Mona Simpson, he remarked: "When I wrote 'Cathedral' I experienced this rush and I felt, 'This is what it's all about, this is the reason we do this'" (quoted in Mona Simpson interview, "The Art of Fiction" 76 Paris Review [1983]: 207).