just kids – part one

whenever i read a book i do so with pen in hand so i can underline certain lines or passages that are meaningful to me, and i dog-ear the corners of the pages so i can come back and find them.  with this book i may as well dog-ear every page, it is so full of inspiration.  here are some quotes that jumped out at me from the first couple of chapters – in which patti smith briefly describes her childhood and eventual decision to go to new york with only enough money for a one-way ticket and a few items (notebook, pencils, a book, and a few articles of clothing and photos) in her suitcase, leading to her meeting with robert mapplethorpe that can only be described as fate.

“what is the soul? what color is it? i suspected my soul, being mischievous, might slip away while i was dreaming and fail to return.  i did my best not to fall asleep, to keep it inside of me where it belonged.”

“but secretly i knew i had been transformed, moved by the revelation that human beings create art, that to be an artist was to see what others could not.”

“one by one they noted in my reports that i daydreamed far too much, was always somewhere else.”

“his young eyes stored away each play of light, the sparkle of a jewel, the rich dressing of an altar, the burnish of a gold-toned saxophone or a field of blue stars.  he was gracious and shy with a precise nature. he contained, even at an early age, a stirring and the desire to stir.”

“oh, take their picture, said the woman to her bemused husband, i think they’re artists. oh, go on, he shrugged. they’re just kids.”

“we hadn’t the money to go anywhere, had no television, telephone, or radio. we had our record player, though, and drew back the arm so a chosen record would play over and over as we slept.”

“one cannot imagine the mutual happiness we felt when we sat and drew together. we would get lost for hours. his ability to concentrate for long periods of time infected me, and i learned by his example, working side by side.”

“i wish i could just project everything on the paper. by the time i’m halfway through i’m already on to something else.”

what do you guys think of the book so far? i don’t want to put it down! leave your thoughts below!

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Tags: book club, books, just kids, patti smith, photos, picture this, words