"Gaze into the Abyss: The Poetry of Jim Morrison" by William Cook
Reviewed by Anthony Servante
To appreciate “Gaze into the Abyss: The Poetry of Jim Morrison” by William Cook, the reader need not be a fan or detractor of The Doors’ singer/lyricist Jim Morrison. One merely need to appreciate good poetry. But that is the question: What is “good poetry”? For an answer, we look to the poetry itself. William Cook addresses this concern immediately by revealing to us his intentions: “In order to validate my claim that [Morrison] is a significant poet worthy of canonical consideration, the focus of this critique will be on Morrison’s own words and poetry.” This is important for the readers to know up front so that we do not confuse Cook’s emotional connections to the music of The Doors or to the turbulent history of the poet himself. The work will speak for itself, and it is the job of the critic to teach us to listen to the voice of the poetry by eliminating all manner of white noise that surrounds the work, be it the poet’s controversial life or the turbulent times the poetry was written in.
The general rule in literary criticism is to critique the work, not the person, place, or time, for criticism is cold analysis, not praise or rebuke. It deconstructs the work and finds strengths and weaknesses. What makes the literature work on its own terms? William Cook is to be commended for applying this rule to his critique of the work of The Doors singer/lyricist Jim Morrison in “Gaze into the Abyss: The Poetry of Jim Morrison. In an age where creative work from books to movies is attacked or worshiped by writers who confuse admiration and disapproval for critical analysis, it is good to see that William Cook elevates the traditional role of critic up alongside those of artist and author.
Whether Cook is writing about serial killers, the literature of horror, or the poetry of a generation, we can always trust him to clear away the clutter of emotional bias and offer us a lucid analysis that gives the reader a better understanding of the subject matter. Well done, William. Gaze into the Abyss: The Poetry of Jim Morrison is another worthy example of your critical skills.
