Review of Void of Course by Heather Perry – Jim Carroll Book Review – CatholicBoy.com

Void of Course

Review by Heather Perry
The Trumpet December 1999

Void of Course is a book of poetry written
by Jim Carroll. Carroll is also a diarist and rock musician. His work is not popularly
recognized, but he is widely known as the author of the book, The Basketball Diaries, upon
which the 1995 movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is based. Carroll’s other works include The
Book of Nods, Forced Entries, and Fear of Dreaming. Since his teenage
years, Carroll has published numerous books of poetry. Void of Course was released
in 1998. Carroll’s work has also appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone and
other magazines.

Each poem, out of the 75 included in Void of Course, gives
insight into Carroll’s thoughts and opinions. One poem, “8 Fragments for Kurt
Cobain”, comments on the Nirvana lead singer and guitarists’ life and death. It was
performed on an episode of MTV Unplugged. In the “7th Fragment” of this
poem he asks,

But Kurt….
Didn’t the thought that you
would never wnte another song
Another feverish line or riff
Make you think twice?

These lines are especially effective when the reader realizes that Kurt Cobain died by
his own hand.

Void of Course is a beautiful and thoughtful collection of his poetry. Carroll
just puts his thoughts out there and often correlates them with the odd situations we face
daily. He overcomes his loss of love and deeply expresses his emotions toward the chaotic
and manipulative world. In “Poem” he writes:

I was wondering if the fire within your
tears is a reflection of the city as it burns
or the residue of desire and
rage
Then again it could be a substance of my fear

These lines reflect the instability of the modern reality in which we
live.

Jim Carroll’s work in Void Of Course is truthful and strong
which is inspiring to the teenagers of today. He helps others realize that they are not
alone in what they go through. Carroll is an outstanding writer in whatever he writes, and
I think his collection of poems is exceptional and inspirational. I recommend his book
highly.