Reading with Patti Smith

Robert and Patti

One of the joys of finishing school has been that I can read books for fun again.  No more articles or research.  No taking notes, just time to get lost in another’s story.

A few weeks ago, I read Patti Smith’s autobiography, Just Kids, a tale about her early days hanging out with Robert Mapplethorpe in 1970s New York City.  I loved Patti Smith’s book. Used to listen to her tons in my early twenties, which is why I picked it up at the Barnes and Noble.  It was a story about making art, how Patti and Robert inspired each other as complementary muses, how she started as a poet but over time, her art turned into music, how Robert found photography after years of making collages … just read it.  It is inspiring if you have ever fancied yourself as a young struggling artist.