{"id":4233,"date":"2022-01-10T22:17:49","date_gmt":"2022-01-10T22:17:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8000\/?page_id=4233"},"modified":"2023-03-22T00:46:26","modified_gmt":"2023-03-22T07:46:26","slug":"review-of-fear-of-dreaming-by-merry-fortune-jim-carroll-book-reviews-catholicboy-com","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/book-reviews\/review-of-fear-of-dreaming-by-merry-fortune-jim-carroll-book-reviews-catholicboy-com\/","title":{"rendered":"Review of Fear of Dreaming by Merry Fortune – Jim Carroll Book Reviews – CatholicBoy.com"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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\nHome<\/a> > Research<\/a> > Book Reviews<\/a> > Review of Fear of Dreaming<\/i> by Merry Fortune<\/span><\/p>\n

Review of Fear of Dreaming<\/i><\/h2>\n

Fear of Dreaming: The Selected Poems of Jim Carroll<\/i>
\nby Merry Fortune
\nThe Poetry Project Newsletter<\/i>
\n February\/March 1994<\/span><\/p>\n

Long before I knew you, I knew something was wrong with you. First there is me. My
\n roots. My stoop. My friends. My eyes, my hands, my mouth, my brain, my body, my sense of
\n direction, my energy etc. My passages and transformations. My possibilities. My
\n obsessions.<\/p>\n

\n It seems, at times, I have designed
\n too well this vision of you.
\n I cannot survive your eyes
\n when they are scarred with a need
\n for some lesser form of love.\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ouch. When I first discovered Jim Carroll’s work, I considered Jim Carroll to be one of
\n the most exciting human beings I had never come across. What I like about Jim Carroll’s
\n work is me. Lewis Warsh showed me one of his photo albums which contained a few photos of
\n Jim. I read a book titled Nice to See you<\/i> and I see poets on the streets of the
\n East Village and they are buying food, walking dogs, arguing, making up and making love,
\n writing, hustling for readings, work, survival, and we say hi to each other. These things,
\n sometimes, are easy to forget. I’m just as scared as anybody else. And I’m just as much a
\n hero.<\/p>\n

One night Jim was reading at the [St. Mark’s Poetry] Project with Eileen Myles and I
\n asked him if he would grant me an interview for my magazine. He was writing my phone
\n number. My area-code-first delivery caused a minor crisis and I took the blue pen from
\n him, wondered whom it belonged to, and continued to write the number with the area code in
\n its proper place on the back of a long white envelope. He stuck it into a pile of papers
\n in his bag. I told him he was going to lose the envelope. “Believe me, I am not going
\n to lose this envelope,” was the reply. Despite the slightly acrid tone in Jim’s
\n voice, I considered feeling flattered for a minute but then realized the envelope probably
\n contained his paycheck. O.k. So the feeling of excitement was not quite mutual. So the
\n artist is not quite as accessible as I imagined. Maybe the separation of art and artist is
\n sometimes needed, as well as convenient.<\/p>\n

Take what I give, not what I’m saying [sic]<\/i>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Hollywood and New York stars. In my 1970s Fitzgerald and Hemingway offered me a
\n well-written glimpse, a voyeuristic hands-off peep and critically acclaimed sniff of how
\n the other half lives. I was born on my knees; my mother was on her back. Modern survival
\n includes many copartments. To renew you need some new clothes and a vacation. For fast
\n instant removal, TV is necessary. Vicarious anything for the immobile masses. Aspiration,
\n accumulation, and delusions of objectivity are part of our indoctrination.<\/p>\n

\n For this generation,
\n infected with too many antidotes,
\n there must be a balcony, a height
\n where one may be lifted up
\n beyond the timorous grip of glamour,
\n of glory without rage, . . .\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If I had a definitive complaint about Jim’s work it would be that he seems at times
\n prone to deliberately obscure his extreme existence behind the beauty of his well-chosen
\n words. But the words are seamless and clear, confessional in their clarity. And perhaps
\n hte translation of a life into art is the only thing an artist given to excess can do to
\n heal.<\/p>\n

\n I challenge you to restore
\n a reckless elegance in place of
\n The vapors you breathe of hubris and boring . . .
\n to commit to sleep in a painless chamber
\n The tedious pets of your cradled syringes.\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I can’t reckon the violent images to be a matter of pure craft, though there is that.
\n The intelligence is not a facade, not a mater of surface. There are no clumsy literary
\n acrobatics, no laborious density or failed contrivances, the relentless card-catalogue
\n files of words and textures commonly used to explore passion and violence.<\/p>\n

\n Its color is violet, like lips
\n that have been smashed by night
\n or robbed of blood by lack of breath.\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Still, the element of mostly honesty is what moves me. Although even at the height of
\n my obsession, I did not imagine Jim’s work to be a total picture.<\/p>\n

Fear of dreaming\/living. Have no fear. All is inevitable. The poem, and everything
\n else, is always about you.<\/p>\n

Fear of Dreaming<\/i> contains Living at the Movies<\/i>, Jim’s first book of
\n poetry (79) poems); the delicately surreal Book of Nods<\/i> (34 story dream visions);
\n “New York City Variations” (a manifesto?); Poems 1973-1985 (41 poems); and New
\n Work 1989-1993 (2 stories, 13 poems).<\/p>\n\n


\nThe Poetry Project Newsletter<\/span><\/i>
\n St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery
\n 131 East 10th Street
\n New York, NY 10003<\/span><\/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 > Review of Fear of Dreaming by Merry Fortune Review of Fear of Dreaming Fear of Dreaming: The Selected Poems of Jim Carroll by Merry Fortune The Poetry Project Newsletter February\/March 1994 Long before I knew you, I knew something was wrong with you. First there is me. My … Continue reading Review of Fear of Dreaming by Merry Fortune – Jim Carroll Book Reviews – CatholicBoy.com<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":3988,"menu_order":6,"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-4233","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P9VlUH-16h","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4598,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/book-reviews\/review-of-fear-of-dreaming-by-benjamin-segedin-jim-carroll-book-reviews-catholicboy-com\/","url_meta":{"origin":4233,"position":0},"title":"Review of Fear of Dreaming by Benjamin Segedin – Jim Carroll Book Reviews – CatholicBoy.com","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Home > Research > Book Reviews > Review of Fear of Dreaming by Benjamin Segedin Fear of Dreaming: The Selected Poems of Jim Carroll Review by Benjamin Segedin Booklist 90.4 (15 Oct. 1993): 412 Carroll, Jim. Fear of Dreaming: The Selected Poems of Jim Carroll. Nov. 1993. 292p. Penguin, paper,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3988,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/book-reviews\/","url_meta":{"origin":4233,"position":1},"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":552,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/literary-works\/books-of-poetry-by-jim-carroll\/fear-of-dreaming-the-selected-poems-of-jim-carroll\/","url_meta":{"origin":4233,"position":2},"title":"Fear of Dreaming: The Selected Poems of Jim Carroll (Second Edition)","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"August 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Get this book on Amazon Fear of Dreaming: The Selected Poems of Jim CarrollSecond EditionPublished: 1998By: Jim CarrollPublisher: Penguin BooksLength: 113 pagesCover design: Gail BelensonCover painting: Paul Klee,\u00a0Picture Album, 1937 Fear of Dreaming\u00a0collects all of Carroll's poems from\u00a0Living at the Movies\u00a0and most of\u00a0The Book of Nods. While some of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Fear of Dreaming: The Selected Poems of Jim Carroll","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/fear2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3991,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/literary-works\/books-of-poetry-by-jim-carroll\/fear-of-dreaming-first-edition\/","url_meta":{"origin":4233,"position":3},"title":"Fear of Dreaming: The Selected Poems of Jim Carroll (First Edition)","author":"catholicboy.com","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Fear of Dreaming: The Selected Poems of Jim CarrollFirst EditionPublished: 1993By: Jim CarrollPublisher: Penguin PoetsLength: 273 pagesCover design: Bruce Licher at Independent Project Press Fear of Dreaming\u00a0collects all of Carroll's poems from\u00a0Living at the Movies\u00a0and most of\u00a0The Book of Nods. While some of the poems originally published in\u00a0The Book of\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\/fod.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4234,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/book-reviews\/integrity-of-vision-by-cassie-carter-review-of-fear-of-dreaming-by-jim-carroll-catholicboy-com\/","url_meta":{"origin":4233,"position":4},"title":"“Integrity of Vision” by Cassie Carter – Review of Fear of Dreaming by Jim Carroll – CatholicBoy.com","author":"catholicboy.com","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Integrity of Vision Fear of Dreaming: The Selected Poems of Jim Carroll Review by Cassie CarterBowling Green State University, 1998 Starting with little in mindthe best you might do is begin itover and over again. Transformingthe real earth to a texture and strengthbeyond control. . . . --Jim Carroll, \"Prologue\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":548,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/literary-works\/books-of-poetry-by-jim-carroll\/","url_meta":{"origin":4233,"position":5},"title":"Books of Poetry by Jim Carroll","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"August 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Mass Market Books Void of CoursePublished: 1998By: Jim CarrollPublisher: Penguin PoetsDescription: Carroll's last collection of poetry, released in October 1998. Includes \"8 Fragments for Kurt Cobain.\" (113 pages) Get this book on Amazon.com Fear of Dreaming: The Selected Poems of Jim CarrollPublished: 1993, 1998By: Jim CarrollPublisher: Penguin BooksDescription: This 273-page\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Hearts & Sinew (various editions) by Jim Carroll","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/hearts_sinew_versions.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/hearts_sinew_versions.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/hearts_sinew_versions.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/hearts_sinew_versions.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4233","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=4233"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6019,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4233\/revisions\/6019"}],"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=4233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/folder?post=4233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}