Void of Course

In 1973, at the age of twenty-three, Jim Carroll burst upon the poetry scene with his first collection, Living at the Movies, a book of vivid and inventive verse that won him comparisons to everyone from Arthur Rimbaud to Frank O'Hara.

Carroll's first new book of poetry in more than a decade, Void of Course presents work composed over the last two years. His major themes--love, friendship, desire, time and memory, and, above all, the ever-present city--emerge in an atmosphere where dream and reality mingle on equal terms. These seventy-seven poems range from graphic, sensuous shorter pieces to edgy stream-of-consciousness prose poems to longer, more contemplative works such as "While She's Gone," an eerie tour de force of longing over a departed lover. Void of Course establishes that Carroll's power and purity of vision are stronger than ever.

Void of Course presents new work composed over the last several years. Carroll's major themes - love, friendship, desire, time and memory, and, above all, the ever-present city - emerge in an atmosphere where dream and reality mingle on equal terms. These seventy-five poems range from graphic, sensuous shorter pieces to edgy stream-of-consciousness prose poems to lengthier, more contemplative works such as "While She's Gone," an eerie four de force of longing over a departed lover.

Jim Carroll was born and grew up in New York City. As a musician Carroll has released five albums of music and spoken-word material.