Punk singer Jim Carroll, author of `The Basketball Diaries,’ dead at 60
We (meaning the wonderful band of lunatics I ran with back in the day*) were blown away by The Basketball Diaries and the sequel, Forced Entries: The Downtown Diaries. Carroll’s life was obviously insane, it was page turner for that reason, but the telling of the stories was what made our hair stand on end. His words were everything. Authentic, honest, wild. It was raw, powerful stuff, unlike anything I’ve read- before or since. They had a great impact on me then and they’ve remained an integral part of my culture even as far as my life has strayed from the path I was on when I first encountered them. If you find yourself with the ability to do something with half the power, half the passion that Carroll brought to those books, consider yourself blessed.
He certainly was.
*most of whom I still run with, thankfully.
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