Raymond Carver, frequently compard to Chekov, was one of America's greatest short story authors. His stories center on dysfunctional relationships and broken spirits, which are exposed yet dignified by Carver's sparse elegance. Bay Area writer Carol Sklenicka, author of a new Carver biography, Raymond Carver: A Writer's Life, will speak at the Mechanic's Institute Library tonight at 6pm ($12) about her work and about Carver's life, from his working-class origins to his battles with substance abuse and, in the end, cancer. The SF Chronicle writes, "Raymond Carver's life, as related in the exhaustive and definitive new biography by Carol Sklenicka, reads like a Raymond Carver story."