I recently finished reading Just Kids by Patti Smith. This book inspired me to write, to make art, to sing, and to learn about my city's and culture's history. It follows the story of Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe making their way into the art and music scenes in New York City in the sixties and seventies. She introduces you to some of the most remarkable people of the 20th century, like Jimi Hendrix, Allen Ginsberg, Sam Wagstaff, and Bob Dylan.
As a poet, visual artist, and performer, I like to think that Patti and I have a lot in common (in theory). But one of the most beautiful aspects of the memoir is her relationship with Robert. Their devotion to one another is so wholesome and unconditional that it sort of makes you want to go find Patti Smith and hug her, or maybe write her a really long letter, or look at every picture of them together. Patti allows you to experience the intimacy of their relationship unapologetically and fully. After I finished Just Kids, I immediately Google'd Robert's work and took out some of my favorite photographs of his. I felt that much more connected to his pictures because I'd learned his personal history and about his climb to the pinnacle of artistic talent.
I strongly recommend the book to everyone, no matter if you're a Patti Smith fan or not (I'd never heard her music before I read her book). It's wonderful and well-written and beautiful. And it has lines like, "It had started with the moon, inaccessible poem that it was."
If there's a Robert Mapplethorpe exhibit near you at any point, you obviously must go see it and report back to me.
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