Patti Smith (1946-) and Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989) found each other on the streets of New York City in the late '60s and made a pact to keep each other afloat until they found their voices--or the world was ready to hear them. Lovers first and then friends as Mapplethorpe discovered he was gay. Mapplethorpe was quicker to find his metier, with a Polaroid and then a Hasselblad, but Smith was the first to fame, transformed from a poet into a rock star. Mapplethorpe soon became famous too before his death from AIDS in 1989. Smith's memoir of their friendship, Just Kids, is open-eyed with the oracular style familiar from her anthems like 'Because the Night,' 'Gloria,' and 'Dancing Barefoot' balanced by her powers of observation and memory for everyday details .