The Book of Nods

by Jim Carroll

Poetry by author of basketball diaries.

Genres: Poetry, United States, Nonfiction

172 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

James Dennis "Jim" Carroll was an author, poet, autobiographer, and punk musician. Carroll was best known for his 1978 autobiographical work The Basketball Diaries, which was made into the 1995 film of the same name with Leonardo DiCaprio as Carroll.

Carroll became sober in the 1970s. After moving to California, he met Rosemary Klemfuss; the couple married in 1978. The marriage ended in divorce, but the two remained friends.

Carroll died of a heart attack at his Manhattan home on September 11, 2009, at the age of 60. At the time of his death, he was in ill health due to pneumonia and hepatitis C. He was reportedly working at his desk when he died. His funeral mass was held at Our Lady of Pompeii Catholic Church on Carmine Street in Greenwich Village.

Year of birth corrected & extra info added from Wikipedia

Reviews

[marek .. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Someone tell me where to buy this book bcs I can’t find it !!!

[Eddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a blend of poetry and short fiction. I would say that it is an early example of flash fiction. The poems or stories in this book show the descriptive skills that make Carrol such a vidid writer. You feel as if you are witnessing the events that he described first hand. In this way he is able to say a lot in just a few words. Although I prefer his shorter poems or his longer journal entires, this is an interesting read none the less for all fans of Carol.

[Jon Vreeland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I still pick it up now and then and read a page or 2 or 3; it’s done wonders for me, that’s all I can really say.

[Duc · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the first book of poetry which got me interested in Gerald Manley Hopkins. I carried this book during my high school years and attempt to write poetry which got published in my high school literary journal. The painting on the cover is by Will. I decided to apply for the design position and was in charge of the illustration. I have not had a poem published since. I still wrote them for my self. I remember having a period of block after that one poem appearing in school.
"Of Rodents sealed in kegs of blue water..." is a line I remember from the collection although I can seem to find the poem later. Did I make up this image after reading the entire collection?

Oubliette is a word I had to look up. It means dungeon. It has to do with a deer and it's eyes being the portal to a locked dungeon. Or did I make that up too, I can't remember.

The New York Variation is much more vivid. Through the poet's eyes, street lights become alien sperm hanging over the road. There is a sense of perforation through out the landscape.

[Patrice · Rating 3 out of 5]

After my long journey through an epic Stendhal novel I decided that I could read a shorter book of poetry. I found The Book of Nods at the most amazing book store in all of the land. The Friends of the Library Bookstore is my Juneau version of Powell's but much less expensive and in my opinion even cooler.

Jim Carroll is of course famous for his punk rock autobiography The Basketball Diaries and his band's celebrated 1980 album, "Catholic Boy".

The most notable poem in this collection:

I drank cough syrup in alcoves
of vast men's rooms in Grand Central Station
The eyes of broken commuters leaned
against me like tender knives.

And I took trains
to wealthy suburbs to walk the streets
and summon up clap from queenly town daughters.

I settled in Rye at midnight
walking until dawn, the tall reeds
near the cemetary were fingers
that beckoned me to lay.

And with the sun I set
on the graves of soldiers dead from the Revolution
and understood there the hilarity of fear.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

great poems by the master of nods

[Ted · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because I enjoyed his earlier work, but this one... not so much.

[Stan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure Genius! Have read over and over.