After quitting a longtime heroin addiction, moving...

After quitting a longtime heroin addiction, moving from New York City to a rural town outside San Francisco and taking a hiatus from rock ‘n’ roll to write a sequel to “The Basketball Diaries,” a journal about living on the mean streets of New York City, Jim Carroll said he had to make a lot of decisions about his life.

“Forced Entries: The Downtown Diaries 1971-1973” is now in bookstores, and Carroll has since moved back to New York, where he resides on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The modern poet, songwriter and rock musician will read excerpts from “Forced Entries” and his last collection of poetry, “The Book of Nods,” at 9 p.m. Sunday at the Saigon Palace.

Trembly-voiced at age 36, Carroll, who was once part of an underground scene where he was often found at Andy Warhol’s Factory (studio) or at Max’s Kansas City hanging out with Lou Reed during Velvet Underground shows, talks like a man who has been made dull by too many drugs and an abundance of bad experiences.

He has been hailed by Newsweek as “a contender for the title of rock’s new poet laureate” and has chummed around with Allen Ginsberg and Bob Dylan, but now says he has become a recluse.

“I don’t really go out too much,” he said during a phone interview. “I see Ginsberg and William Burroughs once in a while, and I’m still real good friends with Lou (Reed) and his wife, Sylvia. By living on the Upper East Side I’m away from the scene. When I went to Northern California I got used to being by myself. The book deals a lot with my decisions to change my life style. Now one visit downtown every six months is enough.”

During the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, Carroll was a permanent fixture downtown. It was on those city streets that the teen-ager learned the ropes of scoring dope by ripping off dealers, snatching purses and turning tricks, which is documented in both diaries.

It wasn’t until he met Patti Smith that he became involved in the new wave and punk music scene. Carroll said that his first rock ‘n’ roll show was opening for Smith in San Diego in 1978. However, the poet said now he will have to reconsider what direction to take with his musical career within the next couple of months.

“I haven’t been thinking about rock ‘n’ roll,” Carroll said. “I’ve been wrapped up in writing and have put music on hold. I’ve written a few songs that will come out on Boz Scaggs’ new album in a couple of months. A year ago I did a couple of sessions with Ray Manzarek (formerly of the Doors). I’ve also been thinking about doing some things with a few members of my old band.

“When I was writing songs for other people I decided to keep some. So I guess I knew subconsciously that I would come back to music.

“The state of rock ‘n’ roll is pretty bogus today. The record business is not concerned about art. I think radio is really different now. The (Federal Communications Commission) is coming down hard on college radio and has a lot of them scared about what they can do. The things I do hear on the radio just don’t excite me.”

Carroll will read from “The Book of Nods,” a feverish and hallucinatory collection of poetry. He will also read diary entries from his new book.

The writer said he hasn’t yet planned which years of his life he will uncover during the reading. The journal, which dates back to 1970--contrary to its title--begins on Carroll’s 20th birthday.

“Forced Entries” follows Carroll through his rising stardom and presents intimate episodes in his life.