Book Review

Title: The American Night-The Writings of Jim Morrison, Volume 2
Author: Jim Morrison
Publisher: Wilderness Publications
Rate: 8

Next to Sylvia Plath, Jim Morrison is a poet that it would take many readings to grasp a hold of what he is saying. Unconventional, bold, and startling, he displayed an intellect and depth that is confounding and creative.

I was a teen when Morrison burst on the rock scene. Jim was the charasmatic singer, sonwriter and poet the the 1960s rock band, the Doors. Their sound was like no other and Morrison's poetry is the same way. His lyric verse could be dark and stormy. Yet, it spoke of a world succimbing to war, death, pollution, and destruction by corporations. To me, Morrison preferred death over such a life.

Morrison's use metaphors and similes were were similar to Sylvia Plath's in that he often used the sea and ocean as a back drop (he was an avid swimmer). He challenged people to go beyond convention and to break down barriers. In the Paris Journal, Morrison wrote an angry and reflective poem about the world he lived in.

Jim liked to read and talk, so I would have loved to talked with him aboout literature because of my interest in it also. The American Night is not one of those books that you can easily decipher, if that's possible. I like the books because I'm drawn to cmplex characters. Jim Morrison was certainly one of them.