Jim Carroll at Modesto Junior College
Modesto, CA, 18 April 1997
Review by Shelly Fell
“Mesmerising!” “Inspiring!” Exceptional!” These three words were the reaction of the eclectic audience that gathered together in the Modesto Junior College auditorium on April 18,1997, to enjoy the opportunity to see Jim Carroll recite his works, live, on his Spoken Word Tour 97′. Carroll delivered a memorable dramatic reading of poetry both old and new, prose both heartbreaking and hilariously funny. Mr. Carroll quickly and naturally charmed all those present for his reading that night. He had a definite flare for feeling out his audience and communicating with them, just as one would when talking to a friend. He spoke with a confidence that can only come from the phenomenal journey of one who must experience a certain death to receive the rites of passage to that part of him that is sublime. Passage through a vicious, death dealing metamorphosis that all too often only feeds on the emerging new life until it is no more.
The audience experienced true poetic genius as it fell from the lips of one who can reach in deep enough to produce words whose meaning can change from one person to the next and still come back to him as his personal creation.
I personally found Mr. Carrolls’ humbleness very refreshing. He was very candid about his life and career and happy to share this in personal conversation during the time we spent with him socializing. Having Jim Carroll as a guest on our campus gave the hundreds of people who attended a culturally diverse experience built on the poetic genius that won Mr. Carroll a Pulitzer Prize nomination at the age of twenty-two. Our organization as a whole considers our efforts to include Mr. Carroll as part of our programming for this year to be among the best projects ever pursued by the Associated Students of Modesto Junior College.
Photos of Jim Carroll with Fans at this Event:
