Justin Hampton at The Bookloft

Well, I’ve been waiting to get the all-clear from the Powers That Be to talk to you about my Burning Man Experience and some of the unique things I’ve learned from it. But I couldn’t let the day pass without acknowledging Jim Carroll’s passing. Died while he was on the job, writing away, I’m told. That’s probably how I’ll end up going, if I’m lucky.

I have a copy of The Basketball Diaries, one with an absolutely dreamy picture of Leonardo DiCaprio on the cover, but have yet to make it all the way through. But yeah, those were the days, when a guy could write about his drug-soaked youth and have it matter. Top THAT, Frank McCourt, right?

Well, I’m looking forward to Oprah’s retrospective on the man, not to mention Obama’s inevitable name-dropping of a fellow substance-happy hooper at some point. Why should Richard Price and George Pelecanos get all the glory? For me, I’ll be cranking up “People Who Died,” one of the few truly rocking tunes ever written by a career writer, and feel grateful that Carroll actually made it this far. RIP.

Jim Carroll Rocking Out