In times gone by there used to be small books about writers, not quite biographies, more like biographical meditations on the writer, his work and his life; the best known example of this may be Henry Miller's book on French Symbolist poet Arthur Rimbaud, a book that Jim Morrison and Dennis Jakob surely knew. In "Summer With Morrison", Dennis Jakob, a UCLA film school friend of Morrison's, does the favor to Morrison in writing a small book of meditations, it isn't a throwback or even an homage to the form, but the best way to present Morrison to the reader, and Jakob tells us stories we may not have heard before and a view of Morrison few others would be able to provide.
"Summer With Morrison" is divided up into two sections, the first Jakob's stories, anecdotes, and adventures with Jim Morrison the summer Morrison had his vision quest on top of the building Jakob was living in. Apparently, it wasn't as much of an exile as legend has it, Jakob has Morrison coming off the roof to discuss a variety of subjects. Jakob also was there when Morrison burnt his old journals in a furnace before embarking on the notebooks that would contain the poems that would become the genesis of The Doors.
Jakob also discusses some of Morrison's ideas such as on libraries. One afternoon Jakob trails Morrison to the public library and watches as Morrison collects a huge blue book from the librarian and reads it through the afternoon, is this what Morrison had in mind when he later said he was "interested in activities that seemed to have no meaning?" When Jakob confronted Morrison about his library expedition, Morrison said, "The public library is one of the most exhilarating and dangerous institutions existent in our society ".
Doors fans have long asked about Jim Morrison's reading list, Jakob does that one better, presenting recreated conversations with Jim Morrison on books, philosophy, film and what Jim Morrison's thoughts on each were. Dennis Jakob is said to have read more books than Jim Morrison and reading these conversations, no matter how well read you are, will make you feel like a neophyte in the literary world, both Morrison and Jakob have command of some of the most arcane theories but also are able to discuss them with true insight and intelligence. It seems the reading section can also be broken down by aphorisms that describe Morrison to varying degrees. The first is, "Whom the Gods favor they make die young", which the reader will instantly agree with, but there's another that Jakob thinks Morrison may have been wiser to heed, "For the mindful God abhors untimely growth".
There is also a third section of 13 pages of Jim Morrison prefame. "Summer With Morrison" is an intriguing read and a very different perspective of Jim Morrison, Jakob asserts Morrison was much more interesting before he was a rock star than after. So get "Summer With Morrison" and get some real insight into Jim Morrison and his mind.
Jim Cherry writes The Doors Examiner
