Feature Articles

Feature articles are general interest articles about Jim Carroll. Some of them include interviews and reviews and, as such, are also included in the interviews and reviews areas of the site.

Ted Berrigan, "Jim Carroll." Culture Hero, 1969.
Poet Ted Berrigan describes first meeting Carroll and praises his first book, Organic Trains. Also available as a PDF.

Nick Carter. "Linking of 'Basketball Diaries,' Columbine Shootings Upsets Author." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 1999.
This article previewing Carroll's performance at the y-NotII in Milwaukee centers on the Columbine shootings. Includes an interview in which Carroll talks about the tragedy.

Colin Devenish, "Poet Jim Carroll Waxes Lyrical On Return To Rock." Music News of the World, 7 December 1998.
This feature article centers on Pools of Mercury and features comments by Carroll, Anton Sanko, and Lenny Kaye.

Frank DiCostanzo & Michael Workman, "Jim Carroll: Caught in a Trap." Lumpen Times, 8 May 1999.
In this interview following a reading at Chicago's Hothouse, Carroll talks about the historical relationship between poetry/spoken-word and music, the nuances of digital recording, why many of the works in Void of Course are titled "Poem," and his thoughts on death. The article begins with a nice review of Carroll's performance.

Melina Gerosa. "Shooting and Scoring." Entertainment Weekly 5 May 1995: 34-37.
The reporter spent time on the set during the shooting of the Basketball Diaries film. Includes comments by the Jim Carroll and the actors. Download PDF

Claudia Eller, "Cult Classic `Basketball Diaries' Finally > Makes It to Film: Industry's Top Young Actors Have Coveted Project for Years." Minneapolis Star Tribune 30 Jan. 1995.
This feature article provides a lot of valuable information about the background of the Basketball Diaries film and Carroll's feelings about it prior to its release (after which he had a change of heart). Includes excellent interview comments from Carroll.

Fran Fried, "Carroll Has Llittle Trouble Finding the Right Words." New Haven Register 18 May 2001.
Drawing upon a lengthy phone interview, Fried covers a lot of territory in his preview of Carroll's appearance at the Tune Inn in New Haven.

Kieran Grant, "Carroll's Clean Diaries." Toronto Sun, 19 June 1997.
This feature includes an interview in which Carroll talks about his in-progress novels and about heroin.

Barbara Graustark. "Mean Streets." Newsweek 8 Sep. 1980: 80-81.
Describes Carroll's background in the context of his success as an up-and-comimng rock star. Download PDF

Shannon Hanley, "Approaching the 'Speed of Death': Jim Carroll and the Voice of a Dark Poetics." Ace Magazine, 1996.
Previewing Carroll's spoken-word performance at the University of Kentucky, Hanley offers an extremely insightful article focusing primarily on Carroll's diaries. The "dark poetics" Hanley speaks of refers to the way Carroll's search for purity paradoxically leads him towards self-destruction. Hanley writes, "In trying to break free from a society of hypocrisy . . . , Carroll--and so many of his generation--embark on a path that spirals back toward the same destruction they hope to escape."

Karl Irving, "Visions from a Razor's Edge." UC Santa Barbara Daily Nexus, 1986.
Irving's brief but intellligent portrait of Carroll introduces the interview, "Nods of Days Gone By." Both pieces are definitely worth reading.

Liz Kato, "Innocence Lost; Solidarity Found." Exclusive to The Jim Carroll Website.
This is a personal narrative describing Kato's encounter with Carroll backstage before a 1996 performance in San Francisco. In detailing her need to talk about Brian Marnell's death with one who knows (see Carroll's article on Marnell), Kato reveals a side of Jim Carroll we don't often get to see.

Norman Kee, "Night and Day: Jim Carroll." Metroland, 5 October 2000.
Kee interviewed Carroll for this brief article previewing an October 2000 performance at the Van Dyck in Schenectedy. Via a focused interview and tight prose, Kee very nicely encapsulates the major areas of Carroll's work and legend.

Wayne Klick, "Wayne's Weekly Reader." 10 February 1999.
Klick discusses The Basketball Diaries, Void of Course, and Carroll's performance at the Taos Poetry Circus.

Jonathan Lethem, "The First Time I Heard Jim Carroll." Gentlemen's Quarterly, August 2002.
GQ asked nine writers to "remember the first time they heard the music that changed their lives." Jonathan Lethem, author of Motherless Brooklyn, remembers the first time he heard "People Who Died."

M. Patricia Li, "Basketball Diaries Author Bounces Back." Harvard Crimson 11 Feb. 2005.
This feature article in advance of an appearance by Carroll at the Middle East Club in Cambridge, MA, includes a phone interview in which Carroll offers some details about his novel, The Petting Zoo. I haven't made a page for this, but it's available as a PDF.

Lewis MacAdams, "Jim Carroll: Cool Poet." Entertainment Weekly 30 June 1995: 50.
Carroll makes Entertainment Weekly's "cool issue" thanks to the staying power of The Basketball Diaries . . . and a film starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Also available as a PDF.

Joseph Menn. "Jim Carroll, Escape Artist." Boston Globe [date?] 1987.
This is a scan of the newspaper article, available as a PDF.

John Milward, "Catholic Boy." Penthouse, March 1981: 141+.
Even after more than two decades, Milward's feature is the most important article ever written about Jim Carroll. It is based in large part upon an extended interview, definitely the most detailed interview Carroll has ever given. Too bad it was published in a periodical hard to access even in university libraries. Also available as a PDF

Corey Moss, "Surviving Doors Open to Recording with Weiland, Astbury." MTV News, 5 January 2001.
In this article about a Doors "reunion," Ray Manzarek states that he plans to use lyrics written by Jim Carroll.

Chris O'Connor,"Heaven in a Wild Flower." Eye Weekly (1992).
An insightful article that includes an interview with Carroll. Horrifyingly enough (to me), Carroll talks about me! The complete article is also availble as a PDF.

Andrew O'Hehir, "A Poet Half-Devoured." San Francisco Bay Guardian, 1995.
This is one of the most insightful articles on Carroll I have ever read. O'Hehir focuses on The Basketball Diaries, trashes Kalvert's film, comments on Carroll's poetry, and includes interview comments from Carroll. A terrific article. This article is also linked from the Interviews page.

Karla Peterson, "Jim Carroll: From Poet to Rocker--and Back." San Diego Union, 1989.
A preview article for one of Carroll's appearances at the Spirit club in San Diego. Includes telephone interview comments by Carroll; this is the earliest article I have in which he mentions that he is writing a novel. This article is also linked from the Interviews page.

Sean Spillane, "Jim Carroll Speaks His Mind." Connecticut Post, 22 May 2001.
Spillane's article, based on a phone interview, provides a basic overview of Carroll's career, focusing on Runaway EP, Pools of Mercury, Void of Course, and Carroll's appearance at New Haven's Tune Inn. Mostly quotes from Carroll strung together, but not quite a formal interview.

Jerry Stahl, "The Sultan of St. Mark's: Poet Jim Carroll Gives Readers a Dose of the Divine." The Paper, December 1998: 54-55.
Jim Carroll "is incapable of writing a word that doesn't scorch the page," Stahl announces in this feature article centering on Carroll as a poet. Includes a full-page color photo of Carroll. Also available as a PDF.

Louise Thach , "The Basketball Diarist: Jim Carroll Speaks Out." Hudson-Current, 8 March 2001: 54-55.
Previewing an upcoming show at Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ, this cover story is basically a phone interview presented as a feature article. Carroll talks about Maxwell's, spoken-word and publishing, the Basketball Diaries movie, and his new, younger audience. Quotable quote: "When I stopped heroin, I should have stopped smoking, too."

Alex Williams, "Lord Jim." New York April 1995:65-66.
This "portrait" article covers quite a bit of territory. I haven't made a page for the article yet, but it's available as a PDF.

Articles Lost on the Web

Cindy McGlynn, "Apollo on the Hudson." Eye Weekly, 1996.
Cindy McGlynn, of Canada's Eye Weekly, assesses Carroll's career. Includes an interview.