Fascinating, beautifully written memoir about Smith's life in New York City in the 1960s and 1970s and her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe, as well as her discovering her artistic passion. Beautifully evocative of New York City in that time period--one of the best books about New York I've ever read. Photographs and artistic illustrations are sprinkled throughout the book like little treasures. Lovely reminiscences including one about a moment with a bunch of legendary people but how she couldn't recognize it because she was too young and self-involved. Love her encounter with Salvador Dali, as well as her complex relationship with Sam Shepherd (aka Slim Shadow). And did I mention the writing?
"The Chelsea was like a doll's house in the Twilight Zone, with a hundred rooms, each a small universe. I wandered the halls seeking its spirits, dead or alive. My adventures were mildly mischievous, tapping open a door slightly ajar and getting a glimpse of Virgil Thomson's grand piano, or loitering before the nameplate of Arthur C. Clarke, hoping he might suddenly emerge....I loved this place, its shabby elegance, and the history it held so possessively....So many had written, conversed, and convulsed in these Victorian dollhouse rooms. So many skirts had swished these worn marble stairs. So many transient souls had espoused, made a mark, and succumbed here. I sniffed our their spirits as I silently scurried from floor to floor, longing for discourse with a gone possession of smoking caterpillars."
