The Poetry of Jim Morrison

Biography and influences

James Douglas Morrison was born in Melbourne Florida on December 8, 1943 to George Steven and Clara Morrison. His father was in the United States Navy and Morrison moved a lot growing up. He graduated George Washington High School in 1961. He moved to Los Angels, California to attend University of California, Los Angels(UCLA) in 1964 and completed his undergraduate studies at UCLA film school in 1965. During this time he met Ray Manzarek, a fellow film student and a musician. The two went on to form the rock band “The Doors” in that same year. The band became a major success and Morrison spent the majority of the rest of his life recording and performing with the band until his death from unknown causes in Paris, France on July 3, 1971. (information from Steve Huey’s “Jim Morrison:Biography” on allmusic)

Morrison’s early life was defined by constant moving and his authoritarian father’s strictness, which may have let to his rebellious behavior later in life. One of the most defining moments in Morrison’s youth was seeing a Native American family on the side of the road who had been injured, or possibly killed, in a car accident, according to The Biography Channel’s “Dead Famous: Jim Morrison. He references this event in the songs “The Ghost Song” and “Peace Frog”, and it seems to have had a large impact on him.

Morrison became interested in poetry, philosophy, and writing early on, reading the works of Friedrich Nietzsche, Jack Kerouac, Franz Kafka, and many more, according to Jerry Hopkins and Daniel Sugarman’s “No One Gets Out of Here Alive”, published in 1980 by Warner Books. His eccentric taste in literature most likely led to his unique style of poetry.

Poetry

Morrison published two volumes of poetry in his lifetime, “The Lords/Notes on a Vision” and “The New Creatures”, both in 1969. “The New Creatures” was all poetry while “The Lords/Notes on a Vision” included Morrison’s opinions on cinema.

Morrison left behind a wealth of writings when he died. His friend Frank Lisciandro and his longtime girlfriend Pamela Courson’s parents, who owned the rights to his poetry, picked through these works and selected some of them to publish in two volumes of poetry, “The Wilderness”, published in 1989, and “The American Night”, published in 1990.

All of Morrison’s works exude a dark, all American vibe. There is an abundance of sex, violence, terror, and a feeling of doom in his work. His poems are very abstract, leaving the reader to decide for his or herself the meaning. With the last two works we can see a glimpse into the mind and creative process of Morrison, with several themes and phrases repeating and growing throughout the books. The same powerful themes that helped make the Doors such a success are found in his poetry, making it just as charged as his music.

LAmerica

LAmerica is a great example of Morrison’s works. In its 18 lines it gives the reader a feel of the history and vastness of the United States, the power of cities packed with people and technology, and a sense of an impending doom that it will soon see. This dark and somewhat anti-pop perspective is typical of Morrison, as is the vague wording. All of his poetry is left to interpretation, and as he is quoted as saying in “The Wilderness”, “Listen, real poetry doesn’t say anything; it just ticks off the possibilities. Opens all the doors. You can walk through any one that suits you”

Well said, Jim.

Sources

Steve Huey Jim Morrison: Biography on allmusic
Dead Famous: Jim Morrison Biography Channel
Jerry Hopkins and Daniel Sugarman No One Gets Out of Here Alive Warner Books 1980
The Wilderness by Jim Morrison VIntage, 1989