In the mid-eighties, while browsing through a bookstore, I discovered two writers who would have a huge impact on how I wrote and viewed the act of writing. One was Jim Carroll, the other was Charles Bukowski. The first two books by Jim Carroll that I read were: Living at the Movies (poetry) and The Basketball Diaries (autobiography). The poetry book was exciting to me because of its dreamlike way of mixing  metaphors/images. And The Basketball Diaries was a great read because it opened up to me the possibilities of subject matter: there really haven't been too many books about youth as naked and brutal and funny as that book.
   Then, of course, there was his best album: Catholic Boy. Now, admittedly, I have never been able to get any of my friends to like the album. But, in my opinion, its one of the very best punk-rock albums ever made.
   Throughout the eighties and beyond, I read and re-read any books I had bought of his.
   I had the oppurtunity to go see him perform at the UCSB campus in the late eighties. It was quite a night of words & music: poet Michael McClure read his work while Door's keyboardist Ray Manzarek played piano... And Jim Carroll read some poems and stories and also performed a few songs.
   I find it a little difficult to explain why his influence was so important to myself and others, but I think one of the reasons was this: there was a clear-sighted vision of pain in his writing. He wasn't afraid to express frightening feelings. He also had a solid sense of humor on top of that.
   If there is a heaven, he deserves to be there.

Chris. Sept. 2009.