{"id":8774,"date":"2025-03-07T15:39:10","date_gmt":"2025-03-07T23:39:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/questions-and-answers\/about-the-jim-carroll-website\/why-a-jim-carroll-website\/"},"modified":"2025-03-07T15:52:54","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T23:52:54","slug":"why-a-jim-carroll-website","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/questions-and-answers\/about-the-jim-carroll-website\/why-a-jim-carroll-website\/","title":{"rendered":"Why a Jim Carroll Website?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By\u00a0Cassie Carter<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have been developing this Jim Carroll site since 1995, and it has occurred to me that some might wonder why<\/em> I’m doing it. Here’s a brief rationale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jim Carroll is a significant American artist. He’s not prolific, but his talent with words is phenomenal, his ability to capture the essence of a scene is tremendous, his influence on other artists is remarkable, and he is himself a cultural icon of legendary proportions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Put another way, the main reason I am doing this is because Jim Carroll is so darned interesting. I started collecting his work and researching and writing about Jim Carrol in 1987, and I’ve found that the possibilities are infinite!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope that this website–one of the most in-depth treatments of a single artist currently available online–will convey that infiniteness of possibilities. Only a non-linear form, like the Web, can dream of coming close to expressing those possibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every time I re-read any of his diaries, poems, and prose pieces, or listen to his songs, I always discover something new. This ongoing discovery process is due in part to my research. As I find out more about Carroll’s life (by reading interviews and articles or talking with him one-on-one), and as I continue to learn more about the people, places, and events he mentions in his work, his works take on more and more depth and resonance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus (and this is one of my favorite things) I find out about the work of all sorts of other interesting artists, like Frank O’Hara, Ted Berrigan, Larry Rivers, Allen Ginsberg, . . . and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, Carroll’s works comment on each other. For example, I believe his first album, Catholic Boy<\/em> (1980), is a sort of revision of The Basketball Diaries<\/em>, and Forced Entries<\/em> responds in part to the critical and popular reception and interpretation of his music in conjunction with The Basketball Diaries<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, his poetry often provides alternate takes on the events he describes in the diaries. For this reason, there really is no stable meaning or “Jim Carroll” identity in any of Carroll’s works. What is “true” of one work today will change as Carroll re-interprets in in another work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I see in Jim Carroll is a man continually re-creating himself and his life . . . which means I can say that he was<\/em>, at age 49 . . . or 59, that 15-year-old kid of\u00a0The Basketball Diaries<\/em>, but only in the sense that he invented and perpetually revised that kid over 45+ years. The 15-year-old Jim Carroll of The Basketball Diaries<\/em> does not “mean” the same thing he did in 1965, and he probably won’t “mean” the same thing in 2050 as he did in 2000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That brings me to my second main reason for doing this web site. Popular culture looks at Jim Carroll as a fixed, unchanging Icon–his image might just as well be carved in marble. On top of this, the image itself is false.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From what I’ve read about Carroll (and I have read almost everything), popular culture represents Jim Carroll as a junkie street poet. Well, that Jim Carroll stayed behind in 1965.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another tag popular culture lays on Carroll is the notion that his work is nihilistic and dark. Put simply, that’s wrong. In 1980 and 1981, with the release of Catholic Boy<\/em> (in conjunction with the reissue of The Basketball Diaries<\/em>), these two facets of Carroll’s pop cultural image were solidified in the interpretation of “People Who Died” as a song celebrating death. Repeated again and again was the idea that Carroll was of the nihilistic “live fast, use a lot of drugs, and die young” breed of decadent young artists. That lie is still floating around, despite Carroll’s repeated attempts to correct it. Again and again–in interviews, concerts, wherever–Carroll would repeat: “PEOPLE WHO DIED” IS ABOUT LIFE! IT IS ABOUT PEOPLE WHO GOT CUT OFF BEFORE THEY COULD FULFILL THEIR POTENTIAL! He would describe his wonder that he managed to survive despite all the odds against him. But still, the image persisted, and it remains in place today, thanks in part to the dreary film adaptation of The Basketball Diaries<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Basketball Diaries<\/em> film also points to the general misinformation<\/em> about Jim Carroll that is floating around, and the fact that there is so much<\/em> misinformation is another reason I am doing this web site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I haven’t been able to sort out all<\/em> the correct facts (for goodness sakes, it took me over three years just to find out what year<\/em> Carroll was born, and to get that information I had to ask Jim!), but what I have on this web site is the result of a great deal of time and effort spent on separating out the correct facts from the inaccuracies . . . and you can believe that I am still working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The film adaptation of\u00a0The Basketball Diaries<\/em>\u00a0starring Leonardo DiCaprio has not helped my project at all. If the articles published about Carroll from 1969 to 1994 misrepresented him in some basic ways, the film utterly slandered him. Fortunately, criticism of the film in 1995 generally recognized the problems and was able to separate DiCaprio’s excellent performance from the problems of the screenplay and direction of the film. Still, in recent years the film has been blamed for kids shooting each other. Well . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since many of the people who visit the Jim Carroll Web Site come to it after having seen the film, I’m hoping I can at least point them in the right direction toward finding out about Carroll’s adolescence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All that said, I guess another reason for doing this web site is that I genuinely love Jim Carroll’s work (I like him lot as a person, too), and as the first scholar to approach his work, I feel somewhat responsible for setting the stage for his reception. Maybe that’s wrong, or presumptuous . . . but I began to study Carroll’s work because I love it, and because I love it, I want the scholars and everyone else who follow me to have all the tools available that I can give them so that they will not repeat the mistakes the media, critics in popular culture and I have already made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This web site is for people who love Jim Carroll’s work and want to learn more about it and the author.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But most importantly, I’m doing this because I like<\/em> doing it. I really love this website, and I really love how building it helps me learn about myself and my own creativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks for reading. I hope my website will increase your appreciation for Jim Carroll . . . and that you’ll have as much fun exploring the site as I have creating it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Cassie Carter I have been developing this Jim Carroll site since 1995, and it has occurred to me that some might wonder why I’m doing it. Here’s a brief rationale. Jim Carroll is a significant American artist. He’s not prolific, but his talent with words is phenomenal, his ability to capture the essence of a scene is … Continue reading Why a Jim Carroll Website?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":3977,"menu_order":2,"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":[18],"class_list":["post-8774","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P9VlUH-2hw","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4036,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/photos-video-audio\/press-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":8774,"position":0},"title":"Press Photos","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The photos on this page may be reprinted provided the photographers are credited. Photographer credit:Jim Carroll (1998) \u00a9Ray Lego\/Cut the Fat Jim Carroll (1998) \u00a9Ray Lego\/Cut the FatDownload Photographer credit:Jim Carroll (1998) \u00a9Ray Lego\/Cut the Fat Jim Carroll (1998) \u00a9Ray Lego\/Cut the FatDownload Photographer credit:Jim Carroll (1998) \u00a9Ray Lego\/Cut the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Jim Carroll (1998) \u00a9Ray Lego\/Cut the Fat","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JC1998_bw_001.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JC1998_bw_001.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JC1998_bw_001.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4056,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/jim-carroll-music-and-spoken-word\/music-jim-carroll-jim-carroll-band\/","url_meta":{"origin":8774,"position":1},"title":"Music by Jim Carroll & The Jim Carroll Band","author":"catholicboy.com","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Runaway EP Released: 2000 By: Jim Carroll Label: Kill Rock Stars Get this recording on Amazon Pools of Mercury Released: 1998 By: Jim Carroll Label: Mercury Get this recording on Amazon A World Without Gravity: The Best of the Jim Carroll Band Released: 1993 By: The Jim Carroll Band Label:\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Cover Art - Runaway EP (2000) - by Jim Carroll","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/runaway.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4037,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/photos-video-audio\/photo-gallery\/photos-of-jim-carroll\/","url_meta":{"origin":8774,"position":2},"title":"xxPhotos of Jim Carroll","author":"catholicboy.com","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"If you have any good photos of Jim Carroll, please email them to me! Press Photos These photos may be reprinted (with photographer credits). Please do not reprint other photos on this site without reviewing the FAQs. xxxx Lorem ipsum XThe Catholic Boy Gets Blessed Lorem ipsum individual portraits Solo\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Jim Carroll (1998) \u00a9Ray Lego\/Cut the Fat","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JC1998_color_005.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JC1998_color_005.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/JC1998_color_005.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4103,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/academic-studies-of-jim-carroll\/jim-carroll-scholars-of-the-world-unite\/","url_meta":{"origin":8774,"position":3},"title":"Jim Carroll Scholars of the World Unite!","author":"catholicboy.com","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Home > Research > Academic Studies of Jim Carroll > Jim Carroll Scholars Jim Carroll Scholars of the World Unite! The Midwest Popular Culture and American Culture Associations' Conference Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio November 15 & 16, 1996 In November 1996, the Jim Carroll scholars of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4095,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/photos-video-audio\/photo-gallery\/photos-of-jim-carroll\/jim-carroll-1986\/","url_meta":{"origin":8774,"position":4},"title":"Jim Carroll, 1986","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Home > Portraits 1957-present > Jim Carroll, 1986 Jim Carroll, 1986 Author Photo, The Book of Nods By William Davilla","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4060,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/jim-carroll-music-and-spoken-word\/music-jim-carroll-jim-carroll-band\/runaway-e-p\/","url_meta":{"origin":8774,"position":5},"title":"Runaway EP","author":"catholicboy.com","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Cover Art - Runaway EP (2000) - by Jim Carroll Runaway E.P.By Jim CarrollKill Rock Stars, 2000 Get this on AmazonSee also: Lyrics and Audio Library SONGS: Runaway Hairshirt Fracture (DEMO) I Want the Angel (LIVE) It's Too Late (LIVE) Falling Down Laughing (LIVE) Liner Notes PRODUCED BY ROBERT ROTH;\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Cover Art - Runaway EP (2000) - by Jim Carroll","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/runaway.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8774","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=8774"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8774\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8777,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8774\/revisions\/8777"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/folder?post=8774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}