The Basketball Diaries Jim Carroll author dies at 60

The author of punk-era classic The Basketball Diaries, Jim Carroll, has died aged 60 in his New York home.

Carroll's 1978 book shot him to fame, while his poetry and punk rock persona won him comparisons with stars such as Bob Dylan.

His story of teen life at the elite Manhattan Trinity school during the 1960s earned him a cult reputation.

It chronicled his basketball achievement, drug addiction and love of poetry and was later made into a film starring Leonardo DiCaprio in 1995.

Speaking to The New York Times, singer Patti Smith, described Carroll as 'sophisticated and elegant' and 'the best poet of his generation'.

Carroll met Smith in 1970 and went on to form his own punk band with her assistance, calling his debut album Catholic Boy.

He later returned to writing, publishing several more poetry collections, but failed to publish another finished book.