America is known for its many extraordinary personalities in the creative world. These were exactly the kind of writer, poet and punk musician Jim Carroll. He was one of the most cult writers of the post-bit generation, having gained popularity among the general public with his poems and the work “Basketball Player's Diary”. Carroll was a true heir to the beat tradition. His poems were inspired by the street and read in bars. And with his rebellious musical works, Jim Carroll had a significant impact on contemporary rock music.
Jim Carroll Biography
James Dennis Carroll was born into a Catholic family of Irish descent on August 1, 1949 in the Lower East Side, a working area of New York. His father was the hereditary owner of the bar. When Jim was 11 years old, the family moved to northern Manhattan, to Inwood. Teen Jim was rebellious. His appearance, especially long hair, and lifestyle caused a lot of family showdowns with a conservative father. And from the age of 13, Jim became addicted to drugs.
In 1963, Carroll entered an ordinary Catholic school. Here, his mastery of the game of basketball was manifested, he became a local sports star. Everything foreshadowed a happy basketball career. After some time, Jim won a sports scholarship to Trinity's elite private school, where he studied from 1964 to 1968. At the same time, Carroll discovered a craving and talent for writing, attended poetry seminars. He described his turbulent teenage years in notebooks, which he led from 12 to 16 years. Later, they formed the basis of his cult work “Basketball Player's Diary”.
Literary activity. Start
Jim Carroll's first collection of poems Organic Trains was released in a limited edition in 1967, when Jim was only 18 years old. He was immediately noticed as a talented poet by such venerable bit-writers as Allen Ginsberg, Ted Berrigan and Jack Kerouac. In 1970, the second poetic collection 4 Ups and 1 Down was published, and excerpts from Jim Carroll's teenage notebooks were published in the Paris Review. After these publications, Carroll firmly established himself as a literary talent and gained fame as one of the best poets of his generation, having been awarded a comparison with Arthur Rimbaud.
In the early 70's, Jim worked for a short time with the artist and filmmaker Andy Warhol, who was delighted with the young poet. He wrote dialogues for his films and even starred in two films. At the same time, he met and lived together with an American singer and poetess, “godmother” of punk rock Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe, a photographer.
Musical activity
In 1973, having a great desire to get rid of drug addiction, Jim Carroll left New York and settled in Bolinas, California, north of San Francisco. For several years he enjoyed creative solitude. He wrote poetry and lyric songs, nurturing the idea of writing lyrics for musical artists. Here, Jim Carroll's personal life changed - he met Rosemary Clemfuss and married her in 1978. Unfortunately, their union ended in divorce, but they remained friends all their lives.
Jim Carroll's musical career began by chance. In 1978, Patti Smith went on tour in California, and invited Jim to perform on stage with her group, the background, to read poetry. The audience greeted Carroll with enthusiasm.
Jim Carroll decided to create his own musical group. So the punk band The Jim Carroll Band was born. She was soon spotted by the Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, who helped the band organize a 3-year recording contract.
The band released its first record, Catolic boy, in 1980 and was a resounding success. He is considered the last big punk album. In 1982 and 1983, two more records were released, not so popular in contrast to the first, after which a break for 14 years followed. The songs of the group are considered classic American punk. Jim Carroll again turned to musical creativity only in 1998, recording the album "Pools of Mercury".
Literary activity. Continuation
In 1978, Jim Carroll's autobiographical book, The Basketball Player's Diary, was published. This is a series of disgusting events in the life of a teenager abandoned by parents and society, rapidly falling to the very bottom. By the end of the book, the hero from a successful athlete turns into a real addict, capable of anything for the sake of the dose. In 1995, based on this work, a film was released in which Jim Carroll played Leonardo DiCaprio.
During the break of his musical career (from 1983 to 1998), Carroll returned completely to literature. During this time, he published three collections of poetry, recorded several audio books, and performed at public literary evenings.
But all the late creative activity of Jim Carroll was no longer as successful as the early one, although he still had many admirers.
Last year
Jim Carroll often fell throughout his life, but knew how to be reborn, like a Phoenix bird from the ashes. This mode of existence adversely affected his health. The last year of his life, the American writer Jim Carroll spent in the house where he grew up, ending his first and last autobiographical novel The Petting Zoo. The novel was published in 2010, after the death of the author.
On his last day, Jim felt unwell: pneumonia and hepatitis C made themselves felt. He died of a heart attack while working at his desk on September 11, 2009.
Jim Carroll Bibliography
Collections of poems:
- 1967 - OrganicTrains;
- 1970 - 4 Ups and 1 Down;
- 1973 - Living at the Movies;
- 1986 - The Book of Nods;
- 1993 - Fear of Dreaming;
- 1998 - Void of Course: Poems 1994-1997.
Prose:
- 1978 - The Diary of a Basketball Player;
- 1987 - Diaries 1971-1973;
- 2010 - The Petting Zoo.