Jim Carroll's Death

The autobiographer Jim Carroll died at the age of 60. Here is all you want to know, and more!

Biography - A Short Wiki

An American author, spoken-word poet and musician, he is best known for his autobiographical work, The Basketball Diaries. He published a second memoir, Forced Entries: The Downtown Diaries 1971-1973, in 1987.

He was born into a working-class, Irish-American family. In 1963, he earned a scholarship to the prestigious Trinity School in New York City.

Quotes

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“I once said a poet has the right to sing as loudly and vocally as he wants to. Most poets should face a rock n’ roll audience for one night to keep them honest.” (Jim Carroll)

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“I do believe that a poet would possess a stronger intuitive sense of phrasing with a rock song. There is a way to tap into the emotions of an audience simply by the cross of a certain phrase, even a single word, against a certain chord.” (Jim Carroll)

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“I love kids that come to shows, little kids coming up to you with braces; like, some kid came up to me in a parking lot outside a show in Santa Cruz – he was about 14 or 15 – and he said, ‘Y’know, I love ‘The Basketball Diaries,’ but I hope your next book of poetry isn’t gonna be as academic as ‘Living at the Movies’ was.'” (Jim Carroll)

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“I need a consistency of my moods if there is to be any consistency in my style. I can’t attempt to write always in the hollow flux of desperation and incipient terror.” (Jim Carroll)

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“When I was about 9 years old, man, I realized that the real thing was not only to do what you were doing totally great, but to look totally great while you were doing it.” (Jim Carroll)