Jim Carroll: A Primary Bibliography, 1967-1997

By Cassie Carter

Updated 13 October 1999

My original, annotated bibliography appeared in Bulletin of Bibliography 47.2 (1990). I occasionally update the primary works section (works BY Jim Carroll) via this page, but obviously I’m not very diligent about it.

See also: Jim Carroll: A Secondary Bibliography, 1969-1996, which (attempts to) update the section on works ABOUT Jim Carroll.

INDEX: WORKS BY CARROLL

WORKS COLLECTED IN BOOKS:

|poetry
| diaries | novels in progress | works in anthologies

MAGAZINE PUBLICATIONS:

| uncollected works | works from Organic
Trains | works from Living at the Movies | works from Basketball Diaries | works from Book
of Nods| works from Fear of Dreaming | works
from Void of Course | Interviews

ALBUMS:

| Jim Carroll Band | other rock albums | spoken/music word albums | lyrics

OTHER WORKS

| Films | translations, TV appearances, trivia

PRIMARY WORKS

BOOKS BY CARROLL: POETRY

Organic Trains. [New Jersey]: Penny Press, 1967.

Carroll’s first published work, printed when he was 16. A limited edition which includes
18 poems. Only one of these poems is reprinted elsewhere.

4 Ups and 1 Down. New York: Angel Hair Press, 1970.

Five poems in an eight-page, limited edition (300-copies) pamphlet. There were 13
special copies, numbered 1-13, each with a piece of hair and signatures of the author and
cover artist. All of the poems are reprinted in Living at the Movies and Fear of
Dreaming.

Living at the Movies. New York: Grossman, 1973. New York: Penguin,1981.

A 100 page book which includes poems all written before Carroll was 22.This book was
nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Living at the Movies is reprinted in Fear of
Dreaming.

The Book of Nods. New York: Penguin, 1986.

A 172 page book of verse and prose poetry, divided into four sections: “The Book of
Nods,” “New York City Variations,” “California Variations,” and
“Poems 1973-1985.” Most of the works in The Book of Nods are reprinted in
Fear of Dreaming.

The Basketball Diaries and The Book of Nods. London: Faber & Faber,
1987.

This British edition reprints The Basketball Diaries and the prose works in The
Book of Nods.

Fear of Dreaming: The Selected Poems of Jim Carroll. New York: Penguin, 1993.

Collects Living at the Movies (1973), all but the “California
Variations” of The Book of Nods (1986), and new work from 1989-1993 (including
two prose pieces and 14 poems). One of the prose pieces, “Curtis’s Charm,” has
recently been adapted to film. A few poems also appear on Carroll’s albums Praying
Mantis and Pools of Mercury.

Poem, Interview, Photographs. Published in Heaven Chapbook 50. Louisville, KY:
White Fields, 1994.

Includes “8 Fragments for Kurt Cobain,” an interview with Carroll by Danny
O’Bryan and Mark Reese, and photographs from Carroll’s reading at Twice Told Coffeehouse
in Louisville October 1, 1994. You may order this chapbook by calling 1-713-360-2701,
faxing 1-713-360-2613, or writing to David Hatfield, Business Office, White Fields Press,
5426 Creek Shadow, Kingwood, TX, 77339 USA.

Void of Course. New
York: Penguin, 1998.

A 113 page book of poetry.
Some of the works appear on Carroll’s album Pools of Mercury.

BOOKS BY CARROLL: DIARIES

The Basketball Diaries. Bolinas, CA: Tombouctou, 1978; New York: Bantam, 1980;
New York: Penguin, 1987 and 1995.

Carroll wrote his autobiographical tales of “growing up hip on New York’s mean
streets” between the ages of 12 and 15, from 1962 to 1966. This book has been adapted
to film by Scott Kalvert.

The Basketball Diaries
and The Book of Nods. London: Faber & Faber, 1987.

This British edition
reprints The Basketball Diaries and the prose

Forced Entries: The Downtown Diaries, 1971-1973. New York: Penguin, 1987.

In the 1970s, after the great underground success of The Basketball Diaries,
Carroll was a rising star in NYC’s arts scene. Forced Entries, written at the peak
of his career as a rock star in the early-to-mid-eighties, documents the period of the
1970s when Carroll was rubbing elbows with the luminaries of the downtown scene–Andy
Warhol, Allen Ginsberg, Larry Rivers, Robert Smithson, Robert Mapplethorpe, Patti Smith,
Bob Dylan, the Velvet Underground . . . It also covers his escape to California to
successfully conquer his heroin addiction.

BOOKS BY CARROLL: TWO NOVELS IN PROGRESS

Currently, Carroll is writing two novels. The one he is working on now, tentatively
titled “The Petting Zoo,” deals with an artist who has lost the
spiritual/religious edge in his art and is desperately trying to recapture it. The other
one, which is on the back burner, involves a murder mystery and the Vatican; its working
title is “Stigma.”

WORKS BY CARROLL PUBLISHED IN
MAGAZINES AND BROADSIDES

CARROLL’S UNCOLLECTED WORKS

Berkson, Bill, and Jim Carroll. “Back Up Front (for Ted Berrigan).” Ts.
Library of Ted Berrigan, 1970.

Carroll, Jim. “Breakfast Poem.” Big Sky 9 (1975): 28.

—. “Catholics On Dope.” Little Caesar 4 (1977): 6.

—. “Chez Rivers.” Transatlantic Review 55/56 (1976): 193.

—. “Christmas Lists.” The World 9 (1967): 26.

—. “Cops.” Yale Literary Magazine 138 (1969): 24-25.

—. “Dealers.” Big Sky 9 (1975): 26.

—. “For Edmund Joseph Berrigan.” Big Sky 9 (1975): 28.

—. “For John Wieners.” Big Sky 9 (1975): 25.

—. “French Poem.” The World 21 (1971): 11.

—. “From a Diary: August 8, 1965.” Adventures in Poetry 2 (1968):
65-67.

—. “From the ‘Book of Nods’: School Days.” The World 20 (1970): 65.

—. “I’m Living Inside Again.” Big Sky 9 (1975): 27.

—. “Into the Sky . . . Now.” The World 11 (1968): 39.

—. “Kids Will Be Kids: Kids Directed by Larry Clark.” Review of the
Film Kids. George Oct. 1995: 230-32.

—. “Kitten (Self Pity).” Big Sky 9 (1975): 25.

—. “A Last Poem (for Cassandra).” The World 10 (1968): 19.

—. “Little
Princes.” The World 16 (1969): 19.

—. “The Marketplace.” The World 8 (1967): 15.

—. “Methadone Maintenance Program–Mt. Sinai Hospital.” The World 22
(1971): 24; Rpt. in Out of This World

—. “Ode.” The World 8 (1967): 15.

—. “My Pale Skin.” Long Shot 2 (1983): 66.

—. “Poem for Clarice Rivers.” The World 21 (1971): 10.

—. “Poem: To Ted Berrigan.” The World 9 (1967): 26.

—. “Red Rabbit Running Backwards (for A. W.).” Stone Wind 4 [1973]:
113.

—. “Ten Things I Do When I Shoot Up.” The World 18 (1970): 28. Rpt.
in Waldman, Another World 185.

—. “Wingless.” Big Sky 9 (1975): 29.

Ratcliff, Carter,
Jim Carroll, and Peter Schjeldahl. “True Love: For e e cummings.” Penumbra
8 (1970): 22-23.

Works Collected in Anthologies

Hoover, Paul , Ed. Postmodern
American Poetry: A Norton Anthology. New York: Norton, 1994.

Includes “Withdrawal
Letter,” “Maybe I’m Amazed,” and “Paregoric Babies.”

 

Waldman, Anne, Ed. Out of This World: The Poetry Project at St. Mark’s
Church-in-the-Bowery, An Anthology 1966-1991. New York: Crown, 1991.

Includes “Dyoxin,” “Methadone Maintenance Program–Mt. Sinai
Hospital,” “Poem,” and “Fragment: Little N.Y. Ode.”

—. Ed. Another World: A Second Anthology of Works from the St. Mark’s Poetry
Project. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1970. 182-87.

Includes “Vacation,” “Living at the Movies,” “Ten Things I Do
When I Shoot Up,” “The Blue Pill,” and “The Scumbag Machine.”

—. Ed. The World Anthology: Poems from the St. Mark’s Poetry Project.
Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1969. 10-13.

Includes “Next Door,” “The Distances,” “The Loft,” and
“From the Basketball Diary: Feb. 4, 1965.”

Work Collected in Organic Trains

Carroll, Jim. “6th Train (for A. R.).” Stone Wind 4 [1973]: 114. Rpt.
in OT 10.

Works Collected in Living at the Movies

Carroll, Jim. “After St. John of the Cross.” Chicago 2.3-4 (1972): 58.
Rpt. in LM 61; FoD 64.

—. “The Answer.” The World 21 (1971): 9. Rpt., revised, as
“Sure . . .” in LM 58; FoD 61.

—. “An Apple at Dawn.” Chicago 2.3-4 (1972): 61. Rpt. in LM 100; FoD
102.

—. “August.” Chicago 2.3-4 (1972): 59. Rpt. in LM 5; FoD 7.

—. “The Birth and Death of the Sun.” Paris Review 12.48 (1969): 36.
Rpt. in LM 94; FoD 96.

—. “Birthday Poem.” The World 12 (1968): 4-5. Rpt. in Waldman, The
World Anthology 15-17; LM 22-23; FoD 24.

—. “Blood Bridge.” The World 19 (1970): 25. Rpt. in Chicago
2.3-4 (1972): 57. Rpt. in LM 34; FoD 36.

—. “The Blue Pill.” The World 16 (1969): 19. Rpt. in Waldman, Another
World 186; revised in LM 33; FoD 35.

—. “The Burning of Bustins Island.” Angel Hair 6 (1969): 51. Rpt. in
LM 15; FoD 17.

—. “Chelsea May.” Chicago 6 (1973): 50. Rpt. in LM 96; FoD 98.

—. “Chop Chop.” The World 21 (1971): 9-10. Rpt. in Chicago
2.3-4 (1972): 58. Rpt. in LM 64; FoD 67.

—. “Cold Faces.” The World 21 (1971): 9. Rpt. in LM 51; FoD 54.

—. “Crossed Wires.” The World 19 (1970): 25. Rpt. in LM 36; FoD 38.

—. “The Distances.” The World 11 (1968): 40. Rpt. in LM 2-3; FoD
4-5.

—. “The Distances.” Poetry 114 (1969): 31-33. Rpt. in Waldman, The
World Anthology 11-13; revised in LM 2-3; FoD 4-5.

—. “For Sue’s Birthday.” Chicago 2.3-4 (1972): 54-61. Rpt. in LM
80-81; FoD 83-84.

—. “Fragment: Little NY Ode.” The World 25 (1973): 5. Rpt. in LM 28;
FoD 30; Out of This World.

—. “Gliding.” Chicago 6 (1973): 48. Rpt. in The World 26
(1973): 5. Rpt. in LM 43; FoD 45.

—. “Heroin.” Paris Review 12.48 (1969): 34-35. Rpt. in Yale
Literary Magazine 138 (1969): 23-24. Rpt., revised, in LM 19-20; FoD 21-22.

—. “In This Room Particularly.” The World 26 (1973): 3. Rpt. in LM
85; FoD 88.

—. “It Doesn’t Matter.” Chicago 6 (1973): 50. Rpt. in LM 95; FoD 97.

—. “Invisible Sleep.” Chicago 2.3-4 (1972): 59. Rpt. in LM 56-57;
FoD 59-60.

—. “Jet Fizzle.” The World 17 (1969): 20. Rpt. in LM 53; FoD 56.

—. “Little Ode on St. Anne’s Day.” Chicago 2.3-4 (1972): 56. Rpt. in
LM 63; FoD 66.

—. “Leaving N.Y.C.” The World 21 (1971): 11. Rpt. in LM 37; FoD 39.

—. “Living at the Movies (for Ted Berrigan).” The World 14 (1968):
30. Rpt. in Waldman, Another World 183-85; LM 25-26; FoD 27-28.

—. “The Loft.” The World 8 (1967): 15. Rpt. in Waldman, The World
Anthology 13; LM 13; FoD 15.

—. “Love Poem (Later).” Chicago 2.3-4 (1972): 55. Rpt. in LM 69; FoD
72.

—. “Love Rockets.” The World 11 (1968): 39. Rpt. in LM 10; FoD 18.

—. “Love Story.” Chicago 2.3-4 (1972): 55. Rpt. in LM 84; FoD 87.

—. “Mercury Clouds.” Chicago 2.3-4 (1972): 57. Rpt. in LM 75; FoD
78.

—. “Midnight.” Chicago 2.3-4 (1972): 56. Rpt. in LM 77; FoD 80.

—. “Morning.” Chicago 6 (1973): 52. Rpt. in LM 8-9; FoD 10-11.

—. “New Year 1970.” Chicago 2.3-4 (1972): 60. Rpt. in LM 76; FoD 79.

—. “Next Door.” The World 10 (1968): 19. Rpt. in Waldman, The
World Anthology 10-11; LM 10; FoD 12.

—. “On the Rush.” Chicago 6 (1973): 48. Rpt. in LM 91; FoD 93.

—. “One Flight Up.” The World 26 (1973): 4. Rpt. in LM 30; FoD 32.

—. “The Other Garden.” The World 9 (1967): 27. Rpt. in LM 17-18; FoD
19-20.

—. “Poem.” The World 26 (1973): 4. Rpt. in LM 83; FoD 86; Out of
This World.

—. “Poem (for Linda Canby [sic].)” Paris Review 11.43 (1968): 58.
Rpt. as “Blue Poles” in LM 1; 4 Ups 1; FoD 3.

—. “Prell.” Paris Review 13.50 (1970): 16. Rpt. in LM 78; FoD 81.

—. “Sea Battle.” Chicago 6 (1973): 49; The World 26 (1973):
3-5. Rpt. in LM 54; FoD 57.

—. “Seltzer.” Angel Hair 6 (1969): 50. Rpt. in LM 24; FoD 26.

—. “A Short Reminder.” Chicago 6 (1973): 51. Rpt. in LM 41-42; FoD
43-44.

—. “Silver Mirror.” Yale Literary Magazine 138(1969): 24. Rpt.,
revised, as “Silver Mirrors” in LM 65; FoD 68.

—. “Silver Mirrors.” Chicago 6 (1973): 49. Rpt. in LM 65; FoD 68.

—. “To the Secret Poets of Kansas.” The World 21 (1971): 10. Rpt. in
LM 52; FoD 55.

—. “Torn Canvas.” The World 21 (1971): 11. Rpt. in LM 93; FoD 95.

—. “Traffic.” Paris Review 12.45 (1968): 141. Rpt. in LM 6; FoD 8.

—. “Vacation.” The World 13 (1968): 21. Rpt. in Waldman, Another
World 182-83; LM 39-40; FoD 41-42.

—. “Withdrawal Letter.” The World 21 (1971): 12. Rpt. in LM 71-72;
FoD 74-75; Hoover 575.

—. “Words from Babylon.” The World 21 (1971): 9; Chicago
2.3-4 (1972): 56. Rpt. in LM 92; FoD 94.

—. “Your Daughter.” Chicago 2.3-4 (1972): 57. Rpt. in LM 27; FoD 29.

Works Collected in The Basketball Diaries

Carroll, Jim. “From a Diary.” Adventures in Poetry 2 (1968): 65-67.
Rpt. in BD 3-4, 27, 54-56.

—. “From the Basketball Diary.” The World 11 (1968): 41. Rpt. in
Waldman, The World Anthology 13-15; and as “Winter 66” in BD 153-55.

—. “From the Basketball Diary: Winter, 1965.” Culture Hero 1.5
(1969): 9-10. Rpt. in The World 11 (1968): 41; Waldman, The World Anthology
13-15, and BD 153-54.

—. “The Scumbag Machine (from the Basketball Diary).” The World 15
(1969): [55]. Rpt. in Waldman, Another World 186-187. Rpt., revised, in BD 155-157.

—. “The Basketball Diaries [Excerpts].” Paris Review 13.50 (1970):
94-114. Rpt. in BD 4-6, 47-50, 65-67, 93-94, 80-86, 153-57, 138-39, 194-96, 174-75,
209-10.

—. “From The Basketball Diaries: August 17, 1965.” The Ant’s Forefoot
8 (1971): 60-61. Rpt. in BD 57-61.

—. “From the Basketball Diaries: Winter 1966.” Big Sky 8 (1974):
100-1. Rpt. in Little Caesar 3 (1977): 12-13; and BD 167-69; 171-72.

Works Collected in The Book of Nods

Carroll, Jim. “The Bees.” Big Sky 8 (1974): 26. Rpt., revised, as
“Quality” in BN 19.

—. “A Night Outing” (for James Schuyler). Transatlantic Review 55/56
(1976): 192. Rpt., revised, in BN 121; FoD 203.

—. “From NYC Variations.” Broadside. Yanagi Broadside Series. Berkeley, CA:
West Coast Print Center, 1977. Rpt. in BN 82; FoD ?.

—. “Poem.” Long Shot 2 (1983): 66. Rpt. as “Poem (for Frank
O’Hara)” in BN 115; FoD 197.

—. “A Poet Dies.” Broadside. Walker Art Center Reading Series 1980-1981.
St. Paul, Minn.: Toothpaste Press [for Bookslinger], 1980. Rpt. in BN 6-7; FoD 110-11.

—. “A Poet Dies.” Long Shot 2 (1983): 64-65. Rpt. in BN 6-7; FoD
110-11.

—. “From ‘Scenes in the Life of Jean Arthur’: Rimbaud Running Guns, for Patti
Smith.” Little Caesar 3 (1977): 4. Rpt. in “Rimbaud Scenes,” BN
34-35; FoD 138-39.

—. “A Section from ‘The Variations.'” Little Caesar 4 (1977): 20.
Rpt. untitled in BN 91; FoD ?.

—. “Variations for Waking.” Little Caesar 3 (1977): 26-27. Rpt.,
untitled and revised, in BN 109-10; FoD ?.

MacAdams, Lewis Jr., and Jim Carroll. “Cheered and Greeted” and “A
Window in Cherry Valley.” New York: Adventures in Poetry, 1973. “A Window in
Cherry Valley” Rpt., revised, in BN 143; FoD 216.

Works Collected in Fear of Dreaming

Carroll, Jim. “Curtis’s Charm.” Paris Review 35.127 (Summer 1993):
289-98.

—. “Curtis’s Charm.” [Spoken-word recording.] Curtis’s Charm Original
Motion Picture Soundtrack. Rabid Dog Productions, 1996.

Works Collected in Void of Course

—. “8 Fragments for
Kurt Cobain.” Published in Heaven Poster Series #13. White Fields Press, 1994.

You may order this poster
by calling 1-713-360-2701, faxing 1-713-360-2613, or writing to David Hatfield, Business
Office, White Fields Press, 5426 Creek Shadow, Kingwood, TX, 77339 USA.

—. “Kurt Cobain:
From One Who Knows.” New York Times Magazine 1 Jan. 1995: 31.

—. [The word summons . .
.]. Valentine [1996?].

A limited-edition
“folder” containing poems by 18 artists. See the Valentine page.

ALBUMS

Albums by The Jim Carroll Band

The Jim Carroll Band. Catholic Boy. Atco-Atlantic, 1980.

Songs include “Wicked Gravity,” “Three Sisters,” “Day and
Night,” “Nothing is True,” “City Drops Into the Night,”
“Crow,” “It’s Too Late,” “I Want the Angel,” “Catholic
Boy,” and “People Who Died.” Link to

—. “People Who Died, Long Version.” Promotional single. Atco, 1980.

—. The Best of the Biscuit. ABC Radio Networks, 1981.

This recording, which aired on the King Biscuit Flower Hour radio program in May 1981,
includes live performances by The Jim Carroll Band and the Pretenders. I do not know if
the album was released for sale to the public.

—. Dry Dreams. Atco-Atlantic, 1982.

Songs include “Work Not Play,” “Dry Dreams,” “Them,”
“Jealous Twin,” “Lorraine,” “Jody,” “Barricades,”
“Evangeline,” “Rooms,” and “Still Life.”

—. I Write Your Name. Atlantic, 1984.

“Dedicated to the memories of Ted Berrigan (1934-1983) and Brian Marnell
(1954-1983)” (album cover note). Songs include “Love Crimes,” “(No
More) Luxuries,” “Voices,” “Sweet Jane,” “Hold Back the
Dream,” “Freddy’s Store,” “Black Romance,” “I Write Your
Name,” “Low Rider,” and “Dance the Night Away.”

—. The Jim Carroll Radio Special. Atlantic, 1984.

A 45 minute radio special featuring an interview with Carroll and songs from I Write
Your Name (listed above). Produced by Thirsty Ear Communications and aired on radio
stations in 1984; I do not know if this recording was ever released for sale to the
public.

—. The Best of the Jim Carroll Band: A World Without Gravity. Rhino, 1993.

Compiled with Carroll’s direct involvement, this album includes “People Who
Died,” “It’s Too Late,” “Wicked Gravity,” “I Want the
Angel,” and “Catholic Boy” from Catholic Boy (1980); “Work Not
Play,” “Them,” “Dry Dreams,” “Them,” and
“Lorraine” from Dry Dreams (1982); “Voices,” “(No More)
Luxuries,” “I Write Your Name,” and “Love Crimes” from I Write
Your Name (1984); a live version of “City Drops Into the Night” (originally
from Catholic Boy), and two previously unreleased tracks, “Plain
Division” and “Differing Touch”. Includes printed lyrics as well as liner
notes by Carroll and Lenny Kaye.

Other Albums & Collaborations

Blue Oyster Cult. Club
Ninja. Unknown, 1986.

Carroll wrote the lyrics for “Perfect Water.”

Curtis’s Charm Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. Rabid Dog Productions, 1996.

Features Carroll reading “Curtis’s Charm” (recorded at the Lombardy Hotel,
NYC, 1996), music by Mark Korven, and songs by My Brilliant Beast.

Rancid. “Junky Man.” . . . And Out Come the Wolves. Epitaph, 1995.

Carroll reads a poem in the middle of the song.

Lou Reed. Between Thought
and Expression: The Lou Reed Anthology. RCA, 1992.

Carroll makes a guest
appearance on this album, doing background vocals.

Boz Scaggs. Other Roads.
Unknown, 1988.

Carroll wrote the lyrics
for “What’s Number One” , “I Don’t Hear You”, and “Crimes of
Passion.”

Jon Tiven Group. Yes I
Ram. New West, 1999.

Carroll wrote “Jesse” and “Tension.” He does backing vocals.

Velvet Underground. Live
at Max’s Kansas City. Atlantic, 1972.

Although Jim Carroll is not credited in the liner notes, his voice can be heard very
clearly between songs. He held the microphone recording the now-legendary performance.

Various Artists. Back to
the Streets: Celebrating the Music of Don Covay. unknown, 1993.

This tribute to Don Covay,
produced by Jon Tiven and Joe Ferry, features Robert Cray, Gary “U.S.” Bonds,
Johnny Kemp, Ben E. King, Iggy Pop, Todd Rundgren, Billy Squier, Mick Taylor, Ron Wood,
Nona Hendryx, Johnny Colla, Corey Glover, Chuck St. Troy, Barrence Whitfield, Jimmy
Witherspoon, and Arlene Smith. Jim Carroll sings “Long Tall Shorty.”.

Various Artists. The Basketball Diaries: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.
Island, 1995.

Includes the original Jim Carroll Band version of “People Who Died,” as well
as a new version of “Catholic Boy” with Pearl Jam backing Carroll; in addition,
Carroll reads selections from The Basketball Diaries backed by music by Graeme
Revell. Also appearing on the soundtrack are PJ Harvey, Rockers HiFi, The Doors, Green
Apple Quick Step, The Posies, Massive Internal Complications, The Cult, Graeme Revell,
Flea, and Soundgarden.

Various Artists. New Wave Hits of the 80s: Just Can’t Get Enough. Rhino, 1994.

Features “People Who Died” by the Jim Carroll Band, along with songs by Men at
Work, Golden Earring, Talk Talk, Josie Cotton, X, Code Blue, Captain Sensible, The Bongos,
ABC, Culture Club, Romeo Void, The Church, Any Trouble, The A’s, and Sparks.

Various Artists. Tuff Turf. Movie soundtrack. Rhino, 1985.

The Jim Carroll Band performs “People Who Died,” “Voices,” and
“It’s Too Late.” Also appearing on the soundtrack are Southside Johnny, Jack
Mack and the Heart Attack, Lene Lovich, Marianne Faithfull, and Dale Gonyea with J. R.
& The Z-Men.

Carroll’s Spoken Word Albums

Carroll, Jim. The Basketball Diaries. Audio Literature, 1994. 90 min.

Carroll reads his 1978 diary, with musical interludes by Graeme Revell between entries.
Some entries are omitted. This double-cassette is available from Audio Literature at 800-841-2665.

—. Jim Carroll: 7/4/76. Naropa Institute Archives Project, 1976.

This is a professional recording of a reading by Carroll at the Naropa Institute in
Boulder, Colorado. “After a brief intro by Allen Ginsberg, Jim Carroll reads new and
unpublished poems, with additional readings by Anne Waldman.” (This may be the same
tape as the 1986 one below, since it is not listed in the Poets’ Audio Center catalogue; I
suspect the date is a typo.)

—. Jim Carroll: 7/86 Reading. Naropa Institute Library, 1986.

This is a professional recording of a reading by Carroll at the Naropa Institute in
Boulder, Colorado. Carroll is introduced by Allen Ginsberg. This tape is distributed by
Poets’ Audio Center. If you want to purchase it, call 202-722-9106 and ask about the price
and availability of ORDER # C-1992.

—. Praying Mantis. Giant Records, 1991.

A spoken-word album which includes “Fragment: Little New York Ode” (from Living
at the Movies), “A Day at the Races,” “Times Square’s Cage,” and
“Tiny Tortures” (from Forced Entries), “A Child Growing Up with the
Sun,” “For Elizabeth,” and “Just Visiting” (from The Book of
Nods), and “To the National Endowment of the Arts” and “Praying
Mantis” (later published in Fear of Dreaming), and two unpublished pieces:
“Terrorist Trousers” and “Monologue: The Loss of American Innocence.”
All tracks except “Little New York Ode” and “Praying Mantis” were
recorded live at St. Mark’s Church on the Bowery in New York City.

–. Pools of Mercury. Mercury Records, 1998.

A spoken word and music album created in collaboration with Anton Sanko, Tristan
Avakian, Frank Vilardi, Erik Sanko, Robert Roth, Gordon Minette, David Torn, and Lenny
Kaye. Includes “Train Surfing,” “Falling Down Laughing,” “Zeno’s
Law of High Heeled Shoes,” “Desert Town” “It Goes,” “My
Ruins” “Pools of Mercury,” “Things That Fly,” “I Am Not Kurt
Schwitters,” “Hairshirt Fracture,” “Female as Thunder,”
“Cinco de Mayo”, “Message Left on a Phone Machine,” “The Beast
Within,” “8 Fragments for Kurt Cobain.”

Other Spoken Word Albums

The Dial-a-Poem Poets. The Dial-a-Poem Poets. Giorno Poetry Systems, 1972.

A double album (108 minutes) featuring 30 spoken-word selections. Carroll reads from The
Basketball Diaries (a portion of 157-59; and “The Celia Sisters,” 55-56).
Other artists appearing on the album are Allen Ginsberg, Diane Di Prima, William S.
Burroughs, Anne Waldman, John Giorno, Emmet Williams, Ed Sanders, Taylor Mead, Robert
Creeley, Harris Schiff, Lenore Kandel, Aram Saroyan, Philip Whalen, Ted Berrigan, Frank
O’Hara, Joe Brainard, Clark Coolidge, John Cage, Bernadette Mayer, Michael Brownstein,
Brion Gysin, John Sinclair, Heathcote Williams, David Henderson, Bobby Seale, and Kathleen
Cleaver.

—. Disconnected. Giorno Poetry Systems, 1974.

(Two sound discs, 119 minutes). Carroll reads “From The Basketball Diaries, Age 13,
Spring 1965” (BD 187-89); the piece was recorded on April 25, 1973. Also appearing on
the album are Charles Amirkhanian, John Ashbery, Imamu Amiri Baraka, Bill Berkson, Paul
Blackburn, Joe Brainard, Michael Brownstein, William S. Burroughs, John Cage, Tom Clark,
Clark Coolidge, Gregory Corso, Robert Creeley, Diane Di Prima, Ed Dorn, Larry Fagin, Allen
Ginsberg, John Giorno, Frank Lima, Michael McClure, Gerard Malanga, Bernadette Mayer,
Frank O’Hara, Charles Olson, Peter Orlovsky, Maureen Own, Ron Padgett, John Perreault,
Charles Plymall, Ed Sanders, Jack Spicer, Lorenzo Thomas, Chogyam Trungpa Rimpoche, Diane
Wakoski, Anne Waldman, Philip Whalen, and John Wieners.

—. Life is a Killer. Giorno Poetry Systems, 1982.

A note on the album jacket says, “The cuts recorded in Toronto are from the film Poetry
in Motion by Ron Mann. This album was produced in part from funds from The New York
State Council on the Arts.” Most of the pieces (not including Carroll’s) are
accompanied by music (instrumental ensemble or synthesized sound). Carroll’s reading of
“Just Visiting,” from The Book of Nods (63-65), is from Poetry in Motion; on
this album Carroll reads the entire piece. Other performers include Amiri Baraka
(“Wailers”), Brion Gysin (“Junk”), William S. Burroughs (“The
Mummy Piece”), Rose Lesniak (“She’s So”), Ned Sublette (“Cowboys Are
Frequently Secretly”), Jayne Cortez (“I See Chano Pozo”), Four Horsemen
(“The Dreams Remain”), and John Giorno (“Everyone Says What They Do is
Right”).

—. You’re a Hook: The 15 Year Anniversary of Dial-a-Poem. Giorno Poetry
Systems, 1983.

Music and Spoken word. Carroll reads from The Basketball Diaries; the pieces were
recorded on March 30, 1969, and are the same reading as on The Dial-a-Poem Poets above (a
portion of 157-59; and “The Celia Sisters,” 55-56). Appearing on the album with
Carroll are John Giorno (“[Last Night] I Gambled with My Anger and Lost”),
William S. Burroughs (“Old Man Bickford”), Laurie Anderson (“Song from
America on the Move”), Philip Glass (“A Secret Solo”), Lenny Kaye (“No
Jestering”), Patti Smith (“7 Ways of Going”), Frank Zappa (“The
Talking Asshole”), and Allen Ginsberg (“Father Death Blues”).

—. Better an Old Demon than a New God. Giorno Poetry Systems, 1984.

Spoken word. Carroll reads “A Peculiar Looking Girl” from Forced Entries
(46-49). Also appearing on the album are David Johansen (“Imagination
Cocktail”), John Giorno (“Exiled in Domestic Life”), William S. Burroughs
(“Dinosaurs”), Psychic TV (“Unclean”), Lydia Lunch (“What It
Is”), Meredith Monk (“Candy Bullets and Moon”), Anne Waldman (“Uh-Oh
Plutonium”), Richard Hell (“The Rev. Hell Gets Confused”), and Arto Lindsay
(“Alisa”).

Various Artists. Sound Bites from the Counter Culture. Atlantic, 1990.

Carroll reads “Guitar Voodoo,” from The Book of Nods, accompanied by
guitarist Tamela Glenn. Also featured on the album are Hunter S. Thompson, Eugene
McCarthy, Bob Guccione, Jr., Timothy Leary, Abbie Hoffman, Henry Rollins, Jello Biafra,
and Danny Sugarman.

Curtis’s Charm: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. Rabid Dog Productions, 1996.

Carroll reads “Curtis’s Charm,” from Fear of Dreaming. Aside from
Carroll’s spoken-word performance, music is by Mark Korven and songs are by My Brilliant
Beast.

Various Artists. Home Alive: The Art of Self-Defense. Epic, 1996.

Carroll reads “Nightclubbing,” from The Book of Nods. The album
features tracks by 22 artists.

Various Artists. Kerouac: Kicks Joy Darkness. Ryko, 1997.

Carroll reads/sings Kerouac’s poem “Woman,” accompanied by Lee Ranaldo, Lenny
Kaye, and Anton Sanco. The album includes 25 tracks by a variety of artists.

VIDEOS AND FILMS FEATURING CARROLL

The Basketball Diaries. Dir. Scott Kalvert. Island Pictures, 1995.

A loose adaptation of Carroll’s diary, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Carroll, Bruno
Kirby as “Coach Swifty,” Lorraine Bracco as Carroll’s mother, and Mark Wahlberg
(“Marky Mark”) as Mickey. Carroll himself appears in a a cameo as Franky
Pinewater, a junkie who describes the preparation of heroin as similar to Catholic Mass.

Gang of Souls. Giorno Poetry Systems with Video Data Bank, 1989.

“Mapping the history and future of Beat poetry, this comprehensive documentary
spans three generations of alternative poets and features interviews and readings with 12
authors who changed the way we use language” (liner notes). Filmed on location at
Downtown Community Television Center, New York, in 1988, this video features poetry and
prose by Carroll, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Marianne Faithfull, John Giorno,
Gregory Corso, Diane di Prima, Ed Sanders, Anne Waldman, Henry Rollins, Richard Hell, and
Lydia Lunch. Includes interviews by Winchester Chimes, Tom Becher, and Kathryn Simon.

Listen to the City. Dr. Ron Mann. Sphinx Production/Spectrafilm, 1984.

Carroll appears throughout this “political fable” as a hospital inmate
wandering around Toronto still hooked up to an IV.

Poetry In Motion. Videocassette. Prod. Sphinx Productions, in assoc. with Giorno
Poetry Systems. Dir. Ron Mann. Voyager Press, 1983. 90 min.

Carroll reads a portion of “Just Visiting,” from The Book of Nods
(63-65). Early in the video, he also comments on the nature of poetry. The video also
features performances and commentary by Charles Bukowski, Amiri Baraka, Anne Waldman, Ted
Berrigan, Kenward Elmslie, Helen Adam, Tom Waits, William S. Burroughs, Christopher
Dewdney, Michael McClure, Ted Miton, Robert Creeley, John Cage, Four Horsemen, Michael
Ondaatje, Jayne Cortez, Diane Di Prima, John Giorno, Ntozake Shange, Gary Snider, Allen,
and Miguel Algarin.

The Source. Dir. Chuck Workman. Calliope Films, 1999. 1 hr. 28 min.

This fascinating documentary of the Beat Generation, focusing on Ginsberg, Kerouac, and
Burroughs, features a brief clip of Carroll reading “Times Square’s Cage” from Forced
Entries.

Tuff Turf. Videocassette. Dir. Fritz Kiersch. New World, 1985. 113 min.

A typical high-school adventure-love story, the film stars James Spader, Kim Richards,
and Paul Mones. Carroll appears briefly, as himself, in a dance club scene in which he
performs (lip syncing and playing air guitar) “Voices” and “It’s Too
Late”; he has one speaking part between songs. “People Who Died” serves as
background music during a car scene.