A biography of the poet and diarist.
Jim Carroll is one of the most influential writers and artistic personalities of the 20th and 21st century. A poet, musician, diarist and performer, he has pushed the envelope of language, style and content while standing for a level of honesty not often found among his contemporaries.
Carroll was born in New York City on August 1st in 1950. He attended catholic school until 1963. A gifted basketball player, he entered the prestigious Trinity High School in 1964 on a scholarship.
While at Trinity he became a basketball star. He was an “All Ivy” player and participated in the National High School All Star Game in 1966. At this time, Carroll was also using heroin and any other drugs he could get his hands on. He eventually stopped attending school and did whatever he could to support his drug habit. His journal from this period in his life was later published in 1978 as The Basketball Diaries. The book is his most famous work and was turned into a movie in 1995 staring Leonardo DiCaprio as Jim Carroll. The real Jim Carroll plays a small roll in the film as a junkie.
He was hailed as a prodigy by the beat generation. As early as age 16 Carroll’s work was appearing in the finest industry magazines like Poetry and the Paris Review. He published his first collection of poems Organic Trains at about the same time.
In 1980 he formed the punk rock group The Jim Carroll Band. Their greatest success was the single "People Who Died," from their debut album, Catholic Boy. He has also collaborated with many other influential musicians, including Pearl Jam and Rancid. The Jim Carroll band released two other albums in the 80’s called Dry Dreams and I Write Your Name.
Jim Carroll’s life and work have influenced an immeasurable amount of contemporary artists over the years. He has worked with and socialized with some of the most creative people in movies, poetry and music. Andy Warhol, Allen Ginsberg and Kurt Cobain have all had lasting friendships with the punk poet.
He has published six collections of poems and two diaries and is known for his stirring readings that border on performance art. He has been working on his first novel for well over a decade now. Its working title is The Petting Zoo and the book has been rumored to be near completion for a couple of years now.
Books of Poetry
- Organic Trains (1967)
- 4 Ups and 1 Down (1970)
- Living at the Movies (1972)
- The Book of Nods (1986)
- Fear of Dreaming (1993)
- Void of Course: Poems 1994-1997 (1998)
Diaries
- The Basketball Diaries (1978)
- Forced Entries (1987)
