Patti Smith, Just Kids

PATTI SMITH, JUST KIDS

I finished reading Patti Smith's autobiography 'Just Kids' for the second time last night and just like the first time I read it, I absolutely adored the book from start to finish. It's a wonderful, wonderful piece of literature and such a fascinating, inspiring and beautiful read, with Patti's story being simply unparalleled. But the strange thing is that despite her rather extraordinary life, massively deserved success and huge influence on the rock-punk-poetry scene, she isn't known or remembered in quite the same way that other artists from her generation such as Bruce Springsteen, The Ramones, Fleetwood Mac and others are. I admit even I didn't really know who Patti Smith was before I read 'Just Kids', just as one of my flatmates, who I consider to have an incredibly diverse and deep musical education, surprisingly didn't either when he saw me reading my book and asked who had written it. The only reason I picked up 'Just Kids' in the first place was 1) the cute cover design, featuring a little polaroid photo of Patti with Robert Mapplethorpe, 2) the blurb, with it's promise of a tale intertwining romance, music and New York City (and I'm a sucker for all three), 3) Johnny Depp's words of high praise emblazoned on the back cover, and 4) it was only £2.99 at HMV. So I figured why the hell not, and honestly I now consider 'Just Kids' to be one of the best purchases I've ever made, because it introduced me to Patti Smith and that pretty much changed my life.

I'm not entirely sure why Patti Smith isn't that well known amongst my generation, but I sure wish she was because she's one heck of a woman who deserves all the recognition, respect, and adoration in the world, which is why I wanted to write about her and her book in this post. Most of us can only dream of living a life like hers, which is detailed so beautifully, introspectively and fascinatingly in 'Just Kids', and from a woman's perspective Patti is essentially the perfect female icon, she's the kind of woman that I want to be. Strong, independent, creative, unique, passionate, loving, loyal, a dreamer... she sees the beauty of the world in the most romantic and dream like of ways, she isn't afraid to push boundaries, explore, experiment and she certainly isn't afraid to be herself, even if that means being different to everyone else. There's a toughness to Patti that is also coupled with a beautiful fragility and delicacy, and as a fellow woman I find it so inspiring to see a woman like that. It reminds me that as a woman I can be anything that I want to be, I can feel whatever I want to feel, there can be as many individual fragments constituting the prism of who I am as I want there to be, and that's completely okay. There don't have to be limitations if you choose to see past them and instead focus on what possibilities are lying beyond that, and I think that's such an important message that 'Just Kids' conveys and intertwines throughout the course of the story.


I know this little review is just a tad late, with the book's 2010 release now being five years ago at the time of me writing this, but Patti's book and story is so timeless that I feel it's just as relevant now as it has always been and will continue to be for so many years to come. 'Just Kids' is such an engaging, exciting read, as we join Patti recalling her rise from a New Jersey dreamer to a famous New York artist, specialising in so many different mediums, encountering the most famous of faces, weaving her way in and out of the historical events that imprinted on her life and so many others, and perhaps most movingly her unique bond with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Even though I know my life will never quite emulate Patti's, reading her story always inspires me to believe in myself, know my worth and never forget it, be fierce, be forever optimistic and grateful for what comes my way, appreciate the people I encounter and choose to surround myself with in life, never fail to appreciate, enjoy and seek the beauty of art in all its shapes and forms, and that it's okay to be knocked down from time to time as long as you always get right back up on your feet in pursuit of something better.

Patti Smith is a truly spectacular woman, an inspiration to us all, and I think she's just incredible (that's if you couldn't already tell from my extensive gushing that predominates this post), so as I finish this post, I strongly urge you to:

1) Read 'Just Kids' (you will love it)
2) Listen to Patti's awesome music
3) Get out there into the world and just completely and
 unashamedly embrace your inner Patti Smith. 

You can buy 'Just Kids' here.