Pete Reviews "Just Kids"

Before reading Just Kids I really only knew Patti Smith from her cover of Bruce Springsteen's 'Because the Night' and perhaps a few other songs. I knew something about
Robert Mapplethorpe because when I was going to college there was real controversy about his photography. I thought, what could be so controversial about a few photographs? And then I saw them. Whoa! Hang on, Nelly. What am I looking at here? One thing I
loved about this book (a deserving National Book Award winner) is the way Patti describes his work, a way in which you get past the shock and look upon the art and the artist in a new light. Patti's own poems are beautiful, and it's interesting the way her art and poetry evolved
into a musical form in the early days of punk.

Patti Smith started out in New York City homeless with only a small suitcase. A chance meeting with Robert (also essentially homeless) led to a very different kind of love
story, but a love story nevertheless. From where they started to where they finished is an amazing tale. This is the late 1960's of Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, and Andy Warhol. They were all there and Patti and Robert got to witness and participate as "just kids".

--Pete