Just kids, by Patti Smith

This is the book that Patti Smith promised Robert Mapplethorpe she would write about their time together.  He died in 1989 of AIDS.  They met as “just kids” making their way in New York.  Patti wanted to be a poet, Robert an artist.  Living together from hand to mouth in the legendary Chelsea – next door to where Dylan Thomas died, down the hall from William Burroughs, hanging out in the lobby with Janis Joplin, they explored both their art and their sexuality, with Robert hustling for money and discovering that he was homosexual.  But that, and the presence of other partners, didn’t break their bond for many years.  In fact, it has endured even after his death. Reading like a Hall of Fame of 1970’s rock and roll, it is a fascinating journey for both of them.  Patti discovers performance as well as writing, Robert picks up a camera.  The rest is history.  300 pp.