“I’ve never had that lifeguard look, but when I ran into D.M.Z. today, he mentioned that my normal iridescent paleness is gradually taking on a greenish tint . . . ‘It’s a bit like one of those radium-laced bulbs that hang on a string from the light fixture in the bathroom; you know, they sort of glow in the dark.’ ”

—Jim Carroll, Forced Entries: The Downtown Diaries: 1971–1973; 1987.