{"id":4230,"date":"2022-01-10T22:17:46","date_gmt":"2022-01-10T22:17:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8000\/?page_id=4227"},"modified":"2023-03-22T00:46:28","modified_gmt":"2023-03-22T07:46:28","slug":"the-cockroach-chronicles-by-mark-stevens-review-of-forced-entries-by-jim-carroll-catholicboy-com","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/book-reviews\/the-cockroach-chronicles-by-mark-stevens-review-of-forced-entries-by-jim-carroll-catholicboy-com\/","title":{"rendered":"“The Cockroach Chronicles” by Mark Stevens – Review of Forced Entries by Jim Carroll – CatholicBoy.com"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\n
\n
\nHome<\/a> > Research<\/a> > Book Reviews<\/a> > “The Cockroach Chronicles” by Mark Stevens<\/span><\/p>\n

The Cockroach Chronicles<\/h2>\n

Forced Entries<\/i>
\nReview by Mark Stevens
\nThe New York Times<\/a>, 2 August 1987
\n Late City Final Edition, Section 7; Page 8<\/span><\/p>\n

In the 1960’s, Andy Warhol helped establish a downtown scene that may surpass
\n Bloomsbury as a provider of the higher gossip. The supply of memoirs, biographies and oral
\n histories – these last a substitute for the book of letters, now that letter writing has
\n yielded to the telephone – is steadily increasing. New York’s downtown scene offers tales
\n of scandal and excess, the romance of burnout and early death among the well-off, and
\n enough minor figures of note to fill a library. Better still, it’s got art. This lends a
\n high tone to the low doings, helping tinsel pass for taste. <\/p>\n

Jim Carroll’s Forced Entries: The Downtown Diaries 1971-1973 <\/i> – the follow-up to
\n his Basketball Diaries <\/i>, an account of growing up on New York’s mean streets – provides
\n plenty of diverting tinsel. Mr. Carroll, a poet, rock singer and former addict, worked at
\n odd jobs for the Factory, Warhol’s center of operations; he also frequented Max’s Kansas
\n City, the watering hole where the Velvet Underground played. This milieu yields many of
\n the drug-heightened adventures and brief encounters with the famous that fill his diary.
\n Mr. Carroll also aspires to something weightier, however -a story of struggle and
\n redemption. Disgusted by his heroin addiction and the decadent New York life, he began
\n taking methadone and fled to the hippie enclave of Bolinas, Calif. By the end of the
\n diary, having liberated himself from heroin, methadone and New York, he has returned to
\n face the city – a wiser man. <\/p>\n

The tinsel is better. In a chatty 60’s style, peppered with the customary profanity,
\n Mr. Carroll jokes around, cuts up, takes a wry view and is quick with the quip. Cocaine is
\n ”just methedrine with a better alibi,” and speed freaks are ”exclamation points with
\n shoes.” A succession of beautiful women makes men’s heads turn ”with that urgency
\n usually reserved for auto accidents.” Bob Dylan ”had a slumping, camouflaged way of
\n moving, like an aged and wise chameleon, perfected by years of ducking out of joints
\n inconspicuously.” William Burroughs, a hero of the author’s, has a voice ”like a low-key
\n carnival barker. It’s like freshly split wood, clear, clean, but loaded with splinters.” <\/p>\n

Mr. Carroll’s adventures, in turn, reflect the funky mixture of high and low
\n characteristic of the period. Loaded up with speed prescribed by a fashionable ”Dr.
\n Feelgood,” he and a famous (unidentified) artist are ar-rested on Christmas for peculiar
\n behavior. No problem. The artist calls a man who collects his work – Senator Jacob Javits.
\n There’s much ado about bugs. Mr. Carroll wows an art gathering by releasing a cockroach
\n and then killing it with a can of Raid. Not taking this ”performance” seriously, he is
\n amazed when The East Village Other <\/i> and The Village Voice <\/i> refer to the ”keen, trenchant
\n commentary which the piece made on urban decay” and praise its ”non-verbal demonstration
\n on the horrors of Vietnam.” <\/p>\n

Mr. Carroll often criticizes the superficial lives of the dilettantes, ”Eurotrash”
\n and other star-crossed riffraff who mingle in New York. He dislikes the Factory (”boring
\n as an empty bag”) and acknowledges Warhol’s vacuity. He uses words like ”wisdom” and
\n ”evil” and ”vision” and refers to churches as well as cockroaches. Eventually, having
\n learned something of himself, he says, ”I have moved closer to my heart.” But his
\n writing cannot sustain this more serious tone. There is, to begin with, a failure of
\n craft. In the first paragraph, for example, he observes that the Russians detonated an
\n atom bomb on the day he was born. ”They detonated it, in fact, only a few hours after I
\n was pulled from my mother’s womb, and the radiation, fear, and the fire’s desperate heat
\n have been there ever since.” An impressive opening chord – but one cannot help thinking,
\n ”Poor Mom.” OFTEN the prose is heated to an adolescent purple. In musing on a model’s
\n beauty, he writes: ”I imagine her pubic hair clipped in the shape of some lost continent,
\n its edges littered with shells and pink and blue anemones. There is the salt-sharp smell
\n of a civilization there, ruined by heat and flood at its glory, many times over, yet
\n destined, always, to rise again.” A large abscess on his needle-scarred arm becomes,
\n during the course of the diary, a symbol of his relation to drugs. He caresses the abscess
\n with religious fervor while sleeping; in the diary’s culminating scene he pinches it until
\n it explodes in a suitably disgusting fashion. He writes: ”I didn’t see pus; I saw the
\n petty demons marching out. I saw purification, with new fresh air being sucked into that
\n cavity, like the cat. The idol was in ruins. Do you understand what I’m telling you?” <\/p>\n

Too well. The walk on the wild side – understood as a spiritual passage – is a
\n commonplace of modern writing. So is the assumption that being down and out and anxious is
\n a fascinating, even superior condition. Because he asks no questions of these cliches, Mr.
\n Carroll cannot restore them to life. For a diarist in search of wisdom, moreover, he likes
\n himself too much. His addiction usually comes across as hip, and he cannot resist the easy
\n joke at another’s expense. In one adventure, for example, a ”peculiar-looking girl”
\n picks him up at Max’s and takes him to her loft. He is shocked to discover she’s a
\n hunchback. While she’s bathing, he shoots up, nods off and mistakenly sets her loft on
\n fire. She’s upset and he runs away. It’s a wild and woolly time. In drawing closer to his
\n own heart, however, he might have spared a thought for hers. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n\n


\n Mark Stevens, an art critic for Newsweek and The New Republic, is the author of the
\n novel <\/i>Summer in the City. <\/p>\n

\u00a9 The
\n New York Times Company<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\n\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Home > Research > Book Reviews > “The Cockroach Chronicles” by Mark Stevens The Cockroach Chronicles Forced Entries Review by Mark Stevens The New York Times, 2 August 1987 Late City Final Edition, Section 7; Page 8 In the 1960’s, Andy Warhol helped establish a downtown scene that may surpass Bloomsbury as a provider of … Continue reading “The Cockroach Chronicles” by Mark Stevens – Review of Forced Entries by Jim Carroll – CatholicBoy.com<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":3988,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"folder":[41],"class_list":["post-4230","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P9VlUH-16e","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3988,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/book-reviews\/","url_meta":{"origin":4230,"position":0},"title":"Book Reviews","author":"catholicboy.com","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Here you will find a few of the many reviews of Jim Carroll's books. Eventually I will add more, but for now you can check out the Bibliographies page for many others I have not yet added to the website. Reviews of The Petting Zoo (2010) View reader comments on\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4023,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/academic-studies-of-jim-carroll\/metamorphosis-of-a-cockroach\/","url_meta":{"origin":4230,"position":1},"title":"Metamorphosis of a Cockroach","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Home > Research > Academic Studies of Jim Carroll > Metamorphosis of a Cockroach Metamorphosis of a Cockroach Jim Carroll's \"Tiny Tortures\" and the Paradox of Identity Cassie Carter, Bowling Green State University Midwest Popular Culture and American Culture Associations' Conference Pittsburgh, PA, October 7-8, 1994 Listen to Jim Carroll\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4034,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/academic-studies-of-jim-carroll\/masters-thesis-1990-basketball-diaries-and-forced-entries\/works-cited\/","url_meta":{"origin":4230,"position":2},"title":"Works Cited","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Works CitedJim Carroll's The Basketball Diaries and Forced EntriesBy Cassie Carter Title Page \u00a0 Table of Contents \u00a0 Abstract \u00a0 Chapter One \u00a0 Chapter Two \u00a0 Chapter Three \u00a0 Chapter Four \u00a0 Appendix \u00a0 Notes \u00a0 Works Cited Allen, Donald, ed. The New American Poetry. NewYork: Grove, 1960. Appel, Alfred\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10132,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/performance-reviews\/jim-carroll-goes-beyond-basketball-diaries\/","url_meta":{"origin":4230,"position":3},"title":"Jim Carroll Goes Beyond “Basketball Diaries”","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"June 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Southwest Texas State University (San Marcos, TX), 12 September 2000\u00a0Review by Tim InklebargerThe Daily University Star13 September 2000 Yesterday evening, many students gathered at the LBJ Student Center while Jim Carrol read many of his poems. Arriving fashionably late to the event, Carroll read a prose piece from his second\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/swt9122000_lg.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/swt9122000_lg.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/swt9122000_lg.gif?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/swt9122000_lg.gif?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4258,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/literary-works\/diaries-and-fiction-by-jim-carroll\/forced-entries-the-downtown-diaries-jim-carroll\/","url_meta":{"origin":4230,"position":4},"title":"Forced Entries: The Downtown Diaries, 1971-1973","author":"catholicboy.com","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Get this book on Amazon Forced Entries: The Downtown Diaries, 1971-1973Second EditionBy: Jim CarrollRepublished: 1998Publisher: PenguinFormat: PaperbackCover photo: Gerard MalangaCover design: Edward ODowd Forced Entries picks up Carroll's story on his twentieth birthday, just as he is entering New York's hip art scene. He rubs elbows with dozens of famous\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Cover Art - Forced Entries: The Downtown Diaries, 1971-1973 (1997 edition) - by Jim Carroll","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/fe2.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8897,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/literary-works\/diaries-and-fiction-by-jim-carroll\/forced-entries-the-downtown-diaries-jim-carroll-first-edition\/","url_meta":{"origin":4230,"position":5},"title":"Forced Entries: The Downtown Diaries, 1971-1973 (First Edition)","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"March 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Forced Entries: The Downtown Diaries, 1971-1973First EditionBy: Jim CarrollPublished: 1987Publisher: PenguinFormat: PaperbackCover photo: Cindy LewisCover design: Neil Stuart Forced Entries\u00a0picks up Carroll's story on his twentieth birthday, just as he is entering New York's hip art scene. He rubs elbows with dozens of famous poets and artists, is Patti Smith's\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Cover Art: Forced Entries (First Edition)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/fecover.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4230"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5766,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4230\/revisions\/5766"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/folder?post=4230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}