just kids.

 my new bedside table buddies: patti smith & robert mapplethrope. 

i am so into memoirs/biographies these days. perhaps because i am truly attempting to write one myself. and what better way to get into mine (other than writing) than by reading others’  contributions to the genre. so, for the next few weeks, i’m reading about patti smith’s years in new york city in the late 60s/70s as she pursued her dream of living as an artist. i’ve just begun the book, but i am completely devouring the words… and the setting, well you must know, i heart nyc. especially in the 60s/70s. not that i was there then, but oh i should have been!

so far, i’ve read about patti’s first days in the city. she spent them wandering the streets, living in park after park, soaking in all of the scenery… the people, the smells, the music, the sounds. she describes her first impressions in this way:

“an open atmosphere [that] was something i had not experienced, simple freedom that did not seem to be oppressive to anyone.”

what a quote. i love it. a feeling i can identify with, then i think of asheville, nyc, or the states in general. i’ll keep you posted if i come across anything else outstanding & worthy of mentioning from the book as i keep turning pages & discovering the pat’s passionate pursuit of living life as an artist. in the meantime, do you have any book suggestions on travel journals, memoirs, biographies, or other books following people’s lives? there’s nothing wrong with getting my hands on my next good read!

peace.