{"id":8437,"date":"2025-03-05T15:47:25","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T23:47:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/?page_id=8437"},"modified":"2025-03-05T18:14:28","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T02:14:28","slug":"void-of-course-an-interview-with-jim-carroll","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/jim-carrolls-interviews\/void-of-course-an-interview-with-jim-carroll\/","title":{"rendered":"Void of Course: An Interview With Jim Carroll"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jason Louv
Dangerous Minds<\/em> 14 September 2009<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In honor of the passing of Mr. Jim Carroll, I found an interview with him that I did one month after 9\/11, in Saratoga, CA, at a reading from Void of Course<\/a>. In it, he discusses the effect of the WTC bombing on life and art. Originally published October 24, 2001.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jason Louv:<\/strong> A lot of your work, especially your diaries, have been about NY and living in it and being a part of it as a city. Are recent events going to affect your work at all?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jim Carroll:<\/strong> Yes. Yes. I mean it changes my past work, it changes everybody\u2019s past work. But everybody\u2019s work is always changed, with every new book that a person writes. You look at a person who maybe influenced that person in a different way you know? You know when Beckett started writing, we looked at Joyce\u2019s books differently. But, when something like this happens, the psyche of America is changed, you better believe that it changes things. You know, I say in The Basketball Diaries,<\/em> \u201cI know now that I want to be a writer, I feel it stronger each day.\u201d Then I say that I want to have my writing powerful enough so that one day I\u2019ll write a book that\u2019s 8 pages long, and everytime you turn the page a different section of the Pentagon will explode. Solid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d forgotten all about that. I\u2019m surprised nobody\u2019s come knocking on my door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JL:<\/strong> In The Basketball Diaries<\/em> you talk a lot about \u201cgrowing up in the shadow of the bomb,\u201d and that at least contributing to your interest in drugs. What do you think of kids in New York now growing up in the shadow of what\u2019s happened?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JC:<\/strong> I don\u2019t know. My ex-wife and her husband have two children who are pretty close with them and I think they get a lot of love. But I look at the kids, I mean one of them is ten but she\u2019s very precocious, the other one is eight. I can see in the ten-year-old a certain fear that I was feeling during the bomb years. She wants to be around her mom, you know, she doesn\u2019t want to go to school. And with the eight-year-old even more so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I imagine that their fear, now, most kids in America, their fear is that they\u2019ll be drafted, you know? And have to fight a war. I know that\u2019s true with a couple of young writers I know who are like 20, 21. They don\u2019t want to fight in a war, they don\u2019t really believe in what we\u2019re doing in Afghanistan. I mean, of course they\u2019re against Bin Laden, but they live in a different reality then other people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JL:<\/strong> In The Basketball Diaries<\/em> it seems the early entries are about your fear of the world almost, a lot of it in connection with the bomb. Is that something that lead to your growth as a writer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JC:<\/strong> Um, not really. I didn\u2019t have a fear of the world, I just had a fear of the uncertainty of the bomb. It wasn\u2019t uncommon. I felt it a little more than most people, I think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember my brother didn\u2019t feel it as much, and he was teasing me during the Cuba crisis, you know? On the other hand, we\u2019d sneak up and stay up late to watch the Friday night scary movie, and he wouldn\u2019t be able to sleep and have nightmares, and I\u2019d have no trouble sleeping. You choose your poison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With poetry it has no effect on me at all. The prose I write, you know about my life. Forced Entries<\/em> and The Basketball Diaries<\/em> are about my life. That street-rat style. I want to write books where I\u2019m putting down my life, that rap rhythm is very natural to me. Whereas, with poetry, from the very beginning, I always wanted to write it to take me out of my life. I wanted to use poems to make the mundane less mundane and what was intangible more tangible, you know? Do both at once. That\u2019s why my early poems have a certain erudition to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I started doing rock and roll, certain critics who had already read The Basketball Diaries<\/em> referred to me as a beat poet. But I wasn\u2019t a beat poet at all. My poems were influenced by the French Surrealists and German poets like Rilke. Poetry was completely different for me, you know? And so any kind of bomb fear that was in my youth, when I wrote poems I wrote to get away from that, you know? I didn\u2019t want it intruding in any kind of imagery or anything. I\u2019ve never been a big fan of political poetry. It usually winds up being incredibly boring and mediocre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JL:<\/strong> Do you have any words to young people who are maybe in that same space that you were in as a young person and as a young writer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JC:<\/strong> The most important thing that you have to do, especially when you get out of college, all that learned trivia, all that knowledge that you learned, the best thing to do, is to transform knowledge into wisdom, and to transform ideals into principles. To transform knowledge into wisdom is the most important goal you should set for yourself when you get out of college. Anyone who wants to understand their life and live it right and not have to look back on it and realize \u201cI never did a thing I liked doing. My life was a series of compromises.\u201d I can\u2019t imagine anything sadder, especially in these times. No matter what you think about politically, you\u2019ve got to keep your own life in order, man, because no one else is going to do it for you, especially now. Just follow what you believe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a92025 Dangerous Minds<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Here is the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jason LouvDangerous Minds 14 September 2009 In honor of the passing of Mr. Jim Carroll, I found an interview with him that I did one month after 9\/11, in Saratoga, CA, at a reading from Void of Course. In it, he discusses the effect of the WTC bombing on life and art. Originally published October 24, … Continue reading Void of Course: An Interview With Jim Carroll<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":3992,"menu_order":3,"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":[44],"class_list":["post-8437","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P9VlUH-2c5","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4237,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/book-reviews\/review-of-void-of-course-by-heather-perry-jim-carroll-book-review-catholicboy-com\/","url_meta":{"origin":8437,"position":0},"title":"Review of Void of Course by Heather Perry – Jim Carroll Book Review – CatholicBoy.com","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Home > Research > Book Reviews > Review of Void of Course by Heather Perry 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\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3992,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/jim-carrolls-interviews\/","url_meta":{"origin":8437,"position":1},"title":"Jim Carroll’s Interviews","author":"catholicboy.com","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"These, arranged in reverse chronological order, represent just a few of Carroll's interviews. I continue to add more as I have time; most of the newest additions are PDFs. Margo Tiffen, A Previously Unpublished Jim Carroll Interview Surfaces.\" Poetry Foundation 17 May 2017. M. Patricia Li, \"Basketball Diaries Author Bounces\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4725,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/literary-works\/books-of-poetry-by-jim-carroll\/void-of-course-poems-1994-1997\/","url_meta":{"origin":8437,"position":2},"title":"Void of Course: Poems 1994-1997","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Get this book on Amazon.com Void of CoursePublished: October 1998By: Jim CarrollPublisher: Penguin PoetsLength: 113 pagesCover design: Gail BelensonCover photograph: Joshua Sheldon Dedicated \"to Laura,\" this book contains 75 new poems, most of which are titled \"Poem.\" Contents 8 Fragments for Kurt Cobain Facts The Bakery The Child Within Train\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Cover Art: Void of Course by Jim Carroll","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/void.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4163,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/feature-articles\/","url_meta":{"origin":8437,"position":3},"title":"Feature Articles","author":"catholicboy.com","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Feature articles are general interest articles about Jim Carroll. Some of them include interviews and reviews and, as such, are also included in the Interviews and other areas within the Research Library of the site. These articles are arranged in chronological order. Ted Berrigan, \"Jim Carroll.\" Culture Hero 1.5 (1969).Poet\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4606,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/book-reviews\/review-of-void-of-course-by-benjamin-segedin-jim-carroll-book-review-catholicboy-com\/","url_meta":{"origin":8437,"position":4},"title":"Review of Void of Course by Benjamin Segedin – Jim Carroll Book Review – CatholicBoy.com","author":"catholicboy.com","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Home > Research > Book Reviews > Review of Void of Course by Benjamin Segedin Void of Course Review by Benjamin Segedin Booklist 95.4 (15 Oct. 1998): 389 Carroll, Jim. Void of Course. Oct. 1998. 119p. Penguin, paper, $12.95 (0-14-058909-0). DDC: 811 Carroll, experienced with heroin himself, offers belated advice\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":8437,"position":5},"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":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8437","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8437"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8437\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8493,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8437\/revisions\/8493"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/folder?post=8437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}