Raymond Clevie Carver Jr. (May 25, 1938 - August 2, 1988) was a Pacific Northwest writer of short stories, novels, poetry, and essays. He was the first child born to Ella Casey (1913-1993) and Raymond Carver Sr. (1913-1967) on May 25, 1938 in Clatskanie, Oregon. Shortly after, the family relocated to Yakima, Washington where Raymond spent his childhood. The Carvers' other child, James Franklin, was born on August 18, 1943.

Edwin Franklin "Grandpa" Carver (1877-1947) was Raymond Sr.'s father. Edwin and his wife, Mary Melissa Green, had two other children, Frederick "Uncle Fred" Carver (born 1905) and Violet Lavonda "Aunt Von" Carver (1910-2001). Frederick married Willa Mae "Aunt Billie" (born 1907). Violet married William ("Bill") T. Archer (1909-1992) had two sons, Bob (born 1930) and Donald (born 1933) Archer.

Raymond has written favorably about his youth in Yakima, specifically of the time he spent with Maryann Burk, fishing and his job as a delivery boy for the local pharmacy. Raymond graduated from Yakima High School in 1956 and married Maryann Burk in June 1957. The couple had two children, Christine La Rae (born December 2, 1957) and Vance Lindsay (born October 19, 1958). They moved to Paradise, California for Raymond to write. Raymond began his college education at Chico State University. He published his first story, “The Furious Seasons” in 1961 after attending John Gardner’s creative writing course at Chico State. Gardner continued to mentor Raymond throughout his career. He concluded his studies at Humboldt State University, graduating with a Bachelor's degree in General Studies in 1963. Raymond and Maryann separated in 1977 and he began living with poet Tess Gallagher (born 1943 in Port Angeles, Washington). Carver and Gallagher lived in several locations across the United States, including Western Washington and New York where they both taught at Syracuse University. Raymond formally divorced Maryann in 1982 and married Gallagher in Reno, Nevada on June 7, 1988. Six weeks later, Carver died from lung cancer on August 2, 1988 in Port Angeles, Washington. Most notable among his many publications were the short story collections Will You Please be Quiet, Please? (1976), What We Talk About When We Talk About Love (1981), and Cathedral (1983).