Wilderness: The Lost Writings, Vol. 1My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I bought this volume of Jim Morrison’s poetry at Starrlight Books, a great shop in Flagstaff, Arizona. I’ve been fascinated with Morrison since I first started listened to the Doors back in high school in the 80s. This is a wonderful collection that goes, in my opinion, far beyond his writings with that band. I’m so glad to have picked it up and will place it among my other treasured books.

I read this volume straight through it on the plane ride home a few days later. A few of my recent reading selections haven’t grabbed my interest. I’ve even resorted to skimming through parts. That wasn’t the case with this work. I read every word of each poem, sometimes flipping back a few pages to reread one that was echoing in the back of my mind. I scribbled a quick note saying that he wasn’t like most modern poets I’ve read. Morrison reminded me more of 18th and 19th century poets. Perhaps that’s because of what I mostly read nowadays, but I think it’s also since he drew a lot of inspiration from poets of that era, such as Blake and Rimbaud.

While everything resonated with me, there were a few lines that stood out. Echoing the second generation of Romantics (e.g. Shelley and Keats), Morrison writes: “Shrill demented sparrows bark / The sun into being. They rule / dawn’s Kingdom” (p. 35). In a poignant commentary on social relationships (p. 117), he says

Actors must make us think they’re real Our friends must not make us think we’re acting
Reminding me of my own youth, when we didn’t have 24-hour radio or online streaming: “When radio dark night existed / & assumed control, & we rocked in its web / consumed by static, & stroked with fear / we were drawn down long from / a deep sleep” (p. 135). Finally, from his poem “As I Look Back” (p. 201):
As I look back over my life I am struck by post cards Ruined Snap shots

faded posters Of a time, I can’t recall