"If I could add one element to Bob Adelman's portraits of Ray, it would be something impossible to show in photographs -- his infectious laughter. In his years with me the house was full of this laughter, which came out of him as a stored-up gladness, a hilarity that ignited spontaneously while he talked on the phone to friends, or sat in his bathrobe reading aloud from a letter, or just in those domestic moments of companionship where histories have been so absorbed that the humors mix playfully into some heady and rare concotion of twin joyfullness."
-- Tess Gallagher, in Carver Country

NOTE: These sounds will probably take a while to download, but I can assure you they're worth the time. I'm planning to put some more sounds on, including Ray reading some poems. As I do this I'll be working to speed up the process. (The Whitman server seems stuck in second gear.) I can tell you, however, a little about the sounds before you decide which to download. The first, "Hear Ray Laugh," is taken from an interview with Studs Terkel. Studs can be heard saying, "Life is crazy," to which both Ray and Tess laugh. The second, "Hear Ray Laugh Harder," really captures the essence of Ray's bellowing laugh.

The last sound, "What Ray thinks of this homepage," would have made Ray laugh, but the sound itself is of Ray talking, not laughing. I hope you keep coming back to check on this page, as there will be more sounds added.

Hear Ray Laugh | Hear Ray Laugh Harder | What Ray thinks of this homepage |
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