Criticism > Contemporary Literary Criticism > Carroll, Jim - Kirkus Reviews (review date 15 May 1987)

1. Printable Version
2. Download PDF
3. Cite this Page

Kirkus Reviews (review date 15 May 1987)

SOURCE: A review of Forced Entries, in Kirkus Reviews, Vol. 55, No. 9, May 15, 1987, p. 767.

[In the following review, the critic pans Forced Entries for its lack of substance. While acknowledging the occasional flashes of intense humor and wit, the critic derides Carroll for providing too much debauchery and not enough intellectual or literary content.]

A slice of the debauched life of poet Carroll at the tail end of the 60’s, before he embarked on a second, dual career as a rock singer.

Carroll achieved recognition early in his 20s with the publication of Living at the Movies, his first collection of poetry, and The Basketball Diaries, a record of New York youth steeped in sports, dope, and urban iconography. Here, he picks up the story as he’s living at the Chelsea Hotel in New York, addicted to heroin, and spending nights at Max’s Kansas City...

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass

1. Introduction
2. Principal Works
3. Criticism
   1. Seamus Cooney (review date 1 November 1973)
   2. Gerard Malanga (review date November 1974)
   3. Jamie James (review date February 1980)
   4. Chet Flippo (essay date 26 January 1981)
   5. Publishers Weekly (review date 4 April 1986)
   6. Daniel L. Guillory (review date 15 April 1986)
   7. Christopher Lehmann-Haupt (review date 9 July 1987)
   8. Peter Delacorte (review date 12 July 1987)
   9. Kirkus Reviews (review date 15 May 1987)
   10. William Hochswender (review date 18 October 1987)
   11. Jim Carroll with Thomas Gladysz (interview date 1987)
   12. Cassie Carter (essay date Winter 1996)
   13. Publishers Weekly (review date 28 September 1998)
   14. Booklist (review date 15 October 1998)
   15. Jim Carroll with Suzan Alteri (interview date 13–19 January 2000)
4. Further Reading
5. Copyright