<sod>Carver continued his studies first at [[Chico State University]] and then at [[Humboldt State University|Humboldt State College]] in [[Arcata]], California, where he studied with Richard Cortez Day and received his B.A. in 1963. During this period he was first published and served as editor for ''Toyon,'' the university's literary magazine, in which he published several of his own pieces under his own name as well as the pseudonym John Vale.<ref>{{Cite journal|url = |title = Toyon|last = |first = |date = Spring 1963|journal = Toyon|doi = |pmid = |access-date = |issue = volume 9 no. 1}}</ref> He attended the [[Iowa Writers' Workshop]] during the 1963-1964 academic year; homesick for California and unable to fully acclimate to the program's [[upper middle class]] milieu, he completed 12 credits out of the 30 required for a M.A. degree. Carver was awarded a fellowship for a second year of study from program director [[Paul Engle]], after Maryann Carver personally interceded and compared her husband's plight to [[Tennessee Williams]]' deleterious experience in the program three decades earlier. Carver nonetheless elected to leave the program at the end of the semester. Maryann— who postponed completing her education to support her husband's educational and literary endeavors —eventually graduated from [[San Jose State College]] in 1970 and taught English at Los Altos High School until 1977.<eod>
<sod>Carver continued his studies first at [[Chico State University]] and then at [[Humboldt State University|Humboldt State College]] in [[Arcata]], California, where he studied with Richard Cortez Day and received his B.A. in general studies (having elected not to take foreign language courses, a prerequisite for the English program) in 1963. During this period he was first published and served as editor for ''Toyon,'' the university's literary magazine, in which he published several of his own pieces under his own name as well as the pseudonym John Vale.<ref>{{Cite journal|url = |title = Toyon|last = |first = |date = Spring 1963|journal = Toyon|doi = |pmid = |access-date = |issue = volume 9 no. 1}}</ref> He attended the [[Iowa Writers' Workshop]] during the 1963-1964 academic year; homesick for California and unable to fully acclimate to the program's [[upper middle class]] milieu, he completed 12 credits out of the 30 required for a M.A. degree. Carver was awarded a fellowship for a second year of study from program director [[Paul Engle]], after Maryann Carver personally interceded and compared her husband's plight to [[Tennessee Williams]]' deleterious experience in the program three decades earlier. Carver nonetheless elected to leave the program at the end of the semester. Maryann— who postponed completing her education to support her husband's educational and literary endeavors —eventually graduated from [[San Jose State College]] in 1970 and taught English at Los Altos High School until 1977.<eod>