WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD It was the summer Coltrane died, the summer of love and riots, and the summer when a chance encounter in Brooklyn led two young people on a path of art, devotion, and initiation. Patti Smith would evolve as a poet and performer, and Robert Mapplethorpe would direct his highly provocative style toward photography. Bound in innocence and enthusiasm, they traversed … innocence and enthusiasm, they traversed the city from Coney Island to Forty-Second Street, and eventually to the celebrated round table of Max’s Kansas City, where the Andy Warhol contingent held court. In 1969, the pair set up camp at the Hotel Chelsea and soon entered a community of the famous and infamous, the influential artists of the day and the colorful fringe. It was a time of heightened awareness, when the worlds of poetry, rock and roll, art, and sexual politics were colliding and exploding. In this milieu, two kids made a pact to take care of each other. Scrappy, romantic, committed to create, and fueled by their mutual dreams and drives, they would prod and provide for one another during the hungry years.
Just Kids begins as a love story and ends as an elegy. It serves as a salute to New York City during the late sixties and seventies and to its rich and poor, its hustlers and hellions. A true fable, it is a portrait of two young artists’ ascent, a prelude to fame.
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I fell head-over-heels for this book as soon as I began reading it.
Like nearly all of the work that Patti Smith creates, this biography is absolutely captivating and beautiful.
As much a history of #NewYorkCity in the 60s and 70s as her story. When the art scene was happening in the city.
Reading and rereading Patti’s important memoirs is like imbibing some warm shot of bittersweet velvet nostalgia. A reminder of so many things we have lost.
Enchanted and captivated by this wonderful evocation of friendship and art. Patti Smith is a poet and a writer I cherish.
Patti Smith has written several books that are all highly entertaining and thought provoking. ‘Just Kids” is about her experience with chucking the safety net and heading to NYC to go for it. Her friendship with Mapplethorpe is central in the book, but it’s more than that as well. When I first heard ‘Easter’ way back in the late 70’s I knew i …
Remarkably candid and insightful.
Perfect reflection of a moment in culture .
Wow! Who knew!
Amazing memoir about their friendship- set in all of the old nyc haunts. Loved it.
Lyrical, hypnotic, effortless – Patti Smith is the kind of writer I’d like to become
It’s the story of Patti Smith in the 60’s. It’s a wonderful read, particularly
for those of use who grew up at the same time.
What a time. What an artist. What a wonderful story.
What a life!
Fascinating insight into the rock n roll era of Patti Smith. A lot of name dropping. Well written memoir.
This memoir of Patti’s life was eye-opening. What a hard, interesting life. How lucky for her and her lover and soul friend, Robert to have found each other, and stay friends throughout their lives… Weaves her interaction with so many profound people and the impact they have on each other…
The way of life described is not for everyone, but being interested in Mapplethorpe and the art scene from that time I found it interesting. I had to stop in places to catch my breath.
unique and open look at a super talent of the 60’s scene
Patti Smith writes a tender reminiscence of her family and friends and takes us deep into the 60’s and 70’s.
This is a wonderful read. Especially for those of us who remember when all this was actually happening. It’s nostalgic, of course, but it also brings the reader into the intimate details of two people who were so influential within their own genres and who also were fearless and in being so reshaped our society in a small, yet powerful way. …
A story that is both sweet and sad. This is musician Patti Smith sharing her 20+ year journey as lover, muse, and friend to Artist/Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-89). The book reads a little like a diary — a series of personal anecdotes, poetically written, that expose this couple’s intimate connection.
At the start of the book, it’s …