Just Kids is a memoir written by Patty Smith and was launched in 2010. This story is of that time period of her life when she was 20 years old and moved to New York in 1967. There she started working as a waitress in the initial days to make ends meet. Later, she got a job at a bookshop and met rising artist Robert Mapplethorpe for the first time.
- Patti Smith took to Instagram Thursday to announce she will release a new memoir later this summer titled Year of the Monkey. A blend of fact and fiction, the memoir will follow Smith embarking.
- From David Bowie to Patti Smith: The 10 greatest rock 'n' roll memoirs of all time The great rock ‘n’ roll memoir is a tricky thing to get right. More often than not, the act of writing about the excruciating highs and terrifying lows of being in a rock band can feel like an ugly batch of self-aggrandising tripe.
- Smith had her first exhibit of drawings at the Gotham Book Mart in 1973 and has been represented by the Robert Miller Gallery since 1978. Her books include Just Kids, winner of the National Book Award in 2010, Wītt, Babel, Woolgathering, The Coral Sea, and Auguries of Innocence.
- Patricia Lee Smith was born on 30 December 1946 at Grant Hospital of Chicago in Chicago to Beverly Smith, a jazz singer turned waitress, and Grant Smith, a machinist at a Honeywell plant. The family was of part Irish ancestry 12 and Patti was the eldest of four children, with siblings Linda, Kimberly, and Todd.
I grew up on classical music and progressive rock. I also grew up in 1990s Venezuela, where musical cliques were so closed-off in their own lanes, it was almost considered treason to listen, or even to admit to like, anything that was considered to be outside the approved bands within the genre. While in later years these cliques began to open up to a more general appreciation of all that could be considered “rock,” I grew up never listening or learning anything about entire genres, from pop, to soul, to hip hop, all the way to punk
That’s how I managed to go all my life not knowing anything about Patti Smith, an icon of 1970s punk, an influential and widely admired song writer, singer and writer. In fact, I found Patti Smith by pure chance. I was looking for great artists interviews on YouTube and after entering some magical query, an hour long interview with Smith came in the top. I clicked and was instantly enraptured by her long, profound answers, her vivid stories, and her ability to talk as if she was writing at the same time. Spellbound by the interview I saw online, I immediately bought and downloaded Just Kids, the book she was talking about on the video.
I really believe that certain books (or bands, or songs or artists) find us when we most need them, which is when we are ready to be moved or changed by them. I was more than ready to be found by Just Kids, a stunning memoir about Patti Smith’s early days in New York, when she was still a young and naive bookstore clerk trying to find her way in the art world. As if in a fairy tale, one day Smith briefly meets a sleeping, beautiful young man, who then reappears in her life as if by magic in a moment of great need. That young man was Robert Mapplethorpe, who was to become a prominent artist and photographer in the early 80s. Part love story, part historical chronicle of late 60s New York, Just Kids is also a lovingly rendered portrait of Mapplethorpe, from his early artistic efforts, to his later success and renown, and finally to his untimely death of aids in 1989.
Soon after meeting, Smith and Mapplethorpe started living together, and almost immediately also started working and creating together. Young and alone in New York, they were true starving artists, relying in the kindness and support of other artist in the city. Smith never glorifies this. In the very early days, when she still did not have a place to stay, she slept on the street, and then later, after she had found a job at the bookstore, she would sleep there after everybody had left. After she meets Mapplethorpe, she explains how hunger was a constant preoccupation, and how they scavenged around the city to find everything they needed to furnish their place.
In almost equal measure to their hunger, there was their preoccupation with art: the consumption of it, the search for it, the creation of it. Gifted with a prodigious talent, Mapplethorpe was quicker to find his calling than Smith, who was a voracious reader, but also an aspiring painter and poet. Mapplethorpe was extremely ambitious, not only for learning and improving his art making, but for recognition. Smith on the other hand was a special kind of free spirit, one for whom the search for art, the creation of meaning, was almost as natural as breathing. The emphasis was always on work: the work and effort required to produce a collage, a poem, an art installation in their own little apartment. She was also the breadwinner, as for many years it was her steady work at multiple bookstores that sustained them both financially.
Smith’s writing in Just Kids is gentle, yet full of a deep erudition that nonetheless feels natural and unaffected. She is a master at describing the origins of Mapplethorpe’s and her own work, the inspiration, the evolution, the meaning behind it. Her detailed and clear eyed description of Mapplethorpe’s evolution as a collage and installation artist, and later on the photographic work that made him famous, is insightful, loving, and full of admiration.
In describing her relationship with Mapplethorpe, she describes another way of being together that goes beyond love, sexual attraction, or friendship; it was a relationship between artists, symbiotic, often wordless. Theirs was a relationship that extended across time and consciousness, an unbreakable bond held together by their need, their instinct to transform experience into art. Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith worked together all their lives and beyond, even after Smith married her husband and moved to Detroit and Mapplethorpe stayed with his partner Sam in New York. Just Kids is the continuation of that life-long creative relationship.
Patti Smith Interviews
No less fascinating is Smith’s description of her own discovery of music and poetry as the vehicles to best articulate her vision of the world. She was both fearless and cautious, taking many years to develop into the brilliant artist whose first album, Horses, is considered to be one of the most influential works of the American punk music scene.
This book has made me a fan of Patti Smith. She is somewhat of a contradiction: she is somebody who seems to live a life deeply immersed in symbolism and spirituality, yet her approach to seeking those things is rooted in work — the work that it takes to write a poem, to write a song, or compose a photograph. She seems to make no distinction between living and creating, elevating the process of creation to being the goal unto itself, whether it ends up in a concrete piece of art or not.
I had a profound reaction to Just Kids. Half-way into the book I had a breakdown and had to put it down. I wept one night in my bed holding my e-reader in my hands. I imagined Patti Smith like a fairy godmother, her long hair falling on the sides of her face coming to me and telling me in her extraordinary voice: “What you feel, what you want, is valid. Let yourself be moved, love what you love. Keep seeking, nurture your loves. Art is worth living for.”
Featured photo: Robert Mapplethorpe & Patti Smith, New York City 1969 by Norman Seeff.
There is nothing quite like a book to open your eyes (and your heart) to new possibilities. You can be transported into another world or experience someone else’s lived experience at the turn of a page. That feeling of being deeply engrossed in a book is addictive and when it’s good, you never want it to end—if you know, you know! So, naturally, in honor of Women’s History Month, we asked our editorial team to share the best memoirs they’ve read by female authors.
These moving stories not only captured our hearts, but also shifted our perspective, and changed our lives in the process—add these books while you’re at it too. Ready to find out which 10 tomes made the cut? Keep reading.
I’m Telling the Truth, but I’m Lying by Bassey Ipki
Riley Reed | Contributing Editor
Why I Recommend It:
I couldn’t write any words here that would suffice. Bassey Ikpi’s memoir moved me deeply. She explores her life as a Nigerian-American immigrant, a Black woman, a slam poet, an artist, and certainly not last, a mother and a daughter. The words she so effortlessly shares are gifted to us through the lens of her mental health and diagnosis of bipolar II and anxiety. Ikpi completely uproots our societal, conditioned notions of the mind. This book is incredibly honest, intimate, and raw. Ikpi leaves nothing unturned. You will leave having learned what it means to discover the self through an exploration of stories.
Favorite Quote/s:
“I give them the suggestion Allow yourself morning. I tell them it means that today may have been a rolling ball of anxiety and trembling, a face wet and slick with tears, but if you can get to morning, if you can allow yourself a new day to encourage a change, then you can get through it. Allow yourself morning.”
Patti Smith Books
“You are proud of the way the night loved you so much it offered you stars for your face.”
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling
Suruchi Avasthi | Food Editor
Why I Recommend It:
Anyone who knows me knows that I love Mindy Kaling with my whole heart. I read this book when it first came out in 2012 and recently listened to the audio version on my 20-hour drive from Minnesota to Texas. Best. Decision. Ever. Not only is this book filled with wildly funny anecdotes and quotes (who doesn’t want a sneak peek into what it was like being in The Office writers room?), there were also little gems of wisdom tucked in throughout the book as Mindy takes us along her journey that felt like advice coming from a best friend who believes in you so much. I laughed and teared up multiple times in this book, and it truly is just a wonderful dose of joy.
Favorite Quote/s:
“I will leave you with one last piece of advice, which is: If you’ve got it, flaunt it. And if you don’t got it? Flaunt it. ’Cause what are we even doing here if we’re not flaunting it?”
“If I’m at a party where I’m not enjoying myself, I will put some cookies in my jacket pocket and leave without saying good-bye.”
Woman of Color by Latonya Yvette
Brandy Joy Smith | Motherhood Contributor
Why I Recommend It:
It’s a look into the life of an everyday black woman, her life growing up in Brooklyn, and her relationship to beauty and style as defined through her blackness. She is vulnerable, honest, and insightful. Touching on topics from style to motherhood.
Favorite Quote/s:
“Stare in the mirror at your reflection; touch what you love and hug what you don’t. Sometimes we need to love and mother ourselves.”
Educated by Tara Westover
Lourdes Avila Uribe | Writer
What It’s About and Why I Recommend It:
Educated is a fascinating and oftentimes shocking look at author Tara Westover’s intense and complicated childhood. Raised by fundamentalist Mormon survivalist parents, Westover and her siblings grew up in an isolated mini-cult led by her father, who believed himself to be a prophet. Despite having never set foot in a classroom, Tara’s desire for a different life led to a quick self-education that eventually landed her at Harvard and Cambridge University. Her beautiful and rich prose is infused with compassion for her family, even while parsing through painful and abusive experiences. It’s an inspiring and unique story that touches on universal themes of love, family, and acceptance.
Favorite Quote:
“Whomever you become, whatever you make yourself into, that is who you always were.”
Just Kids by Patti Smith
Sacha Strebe | Deputy Editor
Why I Recommend It:
If you’re a fan of Patti’s music then you will love hearing her story. Her memoir, Just Kids is like reading one giant poem. Every detail of her life is inspiring. It moves you, stirs up the creative spirit, and compels you to create, to be curious, to free your mind from the shackles of modern thinking. I loved diving into her world and experiencing early New York City that became a melting pot for so many incredible artists, singers, poets, and writers. I read the book, then bought the hardcover edition, and then listened to the audio version in which Patti reads her own story to you—I highly recommend it.
Favorite Quote/s:
“Where does it all lead? What will become of us? These were our young questions, and young answers were revealed. It leads to each other. We become ourselves.”
“What will happen to us?” I asked. “There will always be us,” he answered.”
“We went our separate ways, but within walking distance of one another.”
“I had no proof that I had the stuff to be an artist, though I hungered to be one.”
The Woman I Wanted to Beby Diane Von Furstenburg
Camille Styles | Editor-in-Chief
Why I Recommend It:
Diane von Furstenberg shares the story of her fascinating life, starting with a suitcase full of jersey dresses and a determination to be an independent woman. It’s one of those lives that feels like many rolled into one: from becoming a princess to achieving status as a fashion industry icon; from nearly losing her business to bankruptcy to surviving cancer—this is a true page-turner from which every woman, entrepreneur, or otherwise, will glean something valuable about what it means to live the life of your dreams.
Favorite Quote/s:
“My definition of beauty is strength and personality.”
“Landscapes change, people come and go, but all the landscapes, all the experiences, all the people weave into your life’s fabric. Love is not just about people you had affairs with. Love is about moments of intimacy, paying attention to others, connecting. As you learn love is everywhere, you find it everywhere.”
Malala: My Story for Standing Up for Girls’ Rights by Malala Yousafzai
Anne Campbell | Contributing Editor
Why I Recommend It:
This abridged chapter book edition of Nobel Peace Prize recipient Malala Yousafzai’s full-length memoir is an inspirational tale of heroism and courage (and even hope) against all odds. Malala’s moving story of bravery and defiance is accessible to young readers and is a brilliant choice for adults to read together alongside children.
Favorite Quote/s:
“Peace in every home, every street, every village, every country—this is my dream. Education for every boy and every girl in the world.”
Patti Smith Rockaway Beach
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Michelle Nash | Senior Producer
Why I Recommend It:
Every woman should read this book. Michelle takes us through her personal journey, one that led her eventually to the White House as the First Lady of the United States. She shares stories from growing up in Chicago and how those roots shaped her, and the highs and lows that determined the course of her future. From going to Princeton to meeting Barack, she walks us through the experiences that shaped her. As a sister, daughter, wife, mother, and First Lady, her account is honest, wise, and inviting—inspiring us all to find our own voice and defy expectations.
Favorite Quote/s:
“For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end.”
More than Enough by Elaine Welteroth
Suruchi Avasthi | Food Editor
Why I Recommend It:
I just read this one for a monthly book club (that I’ve been doing with two best friends for almost three years now) and when I say this book gave us one of the best discussions, laughs, and thought-provoking moments, I mean it. Welteroth, the first Black EIC of Teen Vogue and now a co-host on CBS’s The Talk shares her story with lessons on race, identity, and success. While I loved getting a behind the scenes peek at what it really takes to get what you want and the honesty she shares about how hard the work was in order to make her dreams a reality, Welteroth shares the lessons that also come with the struggles of being a barrier-breaker in so many areas in her life, and what it can mean to be the first in many spaces and places. Her writing is incredibly personal and relatable, and at times, we almost felt like we were reading a novel rather than an autobiographical piece. I left this book on my shelf feeling inspired, hopeful, and with an extra spark of belief in all that we’re capable of doing and that we truly all are enough.
Favorite Quote/s:
“Sometimes just being yourself is the radical act. When you occupy space in systems that weren’t built for you, your authenticity is your activism.”
“If we aren’t vigilant, we can move through our entire lives feeling smaller than we actually are—by playing it safe, by unconsciously giving away our power, by dimming our radiance, by not recognizing there is always so much more waiting for us on the other side of fear. But when we are brave enough—to go there, to grab what we want, to tap into who we are—damn, it feels so good.”
Drinking: A Love Storyby Carolyn Knapp
Chris Styles (Camille’s Mom!)
Why I Recommend It:
As a lover of memoirs, I had a hard time settling on one to recommend. The one I finally chose, Drinking: A Love Story, by Carolyn Knapp, is a book that I still think about after reading it years ago. The writing is beautiful and honest and enlightening and reading it gave me a new understanding of the insidious nature of addiction. I read this book in two days because I had to find out if the author reclaimed her life after losing so much to alcoholism.
Favorite Quote/s:
“Anyone who’s ever shifted from general affection and enthusiasm for a lover to outright obsession knows what I mean: the relationship is just there occupying a small corner of your heart, and then you wake up one morning and some undefinable tide has turned forever and you can’t go back. You need it, it’s a central part of who you are.”
Is there a memoir we missed? Share the best memoir by a female author you’ve read (and loved) in the comments below!