When I was in high school in the 1970s I couldn't get enough of his poetry-- I thought Living At The Movies was just about the best book ever.
your fingers like another's darkness. it's true,
you are always too near and I am everything
that comes moaning free and wet
through the lips of our lovely grind
excerpted from "Blue Poles"
His punk band had a certain appeal as well. And he never let the fact that he couldn't quite sing get in the way...
Obituary: New York Times.