‏Jim Carroll‏ (1328 - 1388)

In the 1960s Jim Carroll was a basketball prodigy and a fountain of untapped talent. He was also progressively becoming an addict. Through his teenage years, he discovered love, loss, pain, joy, and everything in between which is thoroughly recounted in his infamous book "The Basketball Diaries".The years recounted in his book tell the stories of what it is too be a boy lost in the city of New York, searching for something of substance, something of meaning and something pure. His stories signify the beauty of innocence and the darkness of its loss. As copies of the diary began to make the rounds in the literary underground, Carroll was being lauded as an important writer as people began to praise his talent beyond his years. Members of the legendary beat generation such as Kerouac and Burroughs dubbed Carroll "a born writer".By 1978 The Basketball Diaries was published and Carroll was a genuine literary icon. In 1973 Carroll published "Living in the Movies" and he found himself fleeing to California to continue his search for something pure. However the purity he sought was not achieved until the origination of his second diary "Forced Entries: The Downtown Diaries". The diary recalls his years working under the wing of Andy Warhol at his legendary factory, the entries also illustrate his battle with heroin addiction which he eventually beat.After touring with rocker Patti Smith, Carroll explored the idea of starting his own band. What eventually was concieved was The Jim Carroll Band. The band released three records under the Atlantic Records banner which spoke for a generation of teenagers everywhere.Throughout the 80s and 90s Carroll has continued to stun readers with new publications of poetry and spoken word albums as well as a greatest hits compilation of his band.In 1995 however his work was personified in Scott Kalvert's film. The film property had been purchased by numerous directors who had all failed to produce it. At one point River Phoenix even vowed to get the lead role. The film was released in 1995 with Leonardo DiCaprio playing Carroll. Despite a strong lead performance in the film, ultimately it did not capture the beauty and brutal honesty of Carroll's book. Certain events were changed, characters invented and entire plot devices added for no alleged reason. Carroll is quoted as being "unpleased" with the final product.Since then Carroll has put out another compilation of his poetic works and has recorded his first straight rock album of all new material in almost 20 years.Carroll continues to tour his works through live readings and book signings. He remains in his city of origin, New York city, a place where he has experienced a lifetime wrought with exploration and self discovery.