She knew them all (or almost all) at New York’s Chelsea Hotel. So who was the coolest? Patti Smith was in no doubt at all when asked the question during her inspiring, heart-warming appearance at the Oxford Literary Festival on Monday.
“William Burroughs was the coolest person I have ever met. I had such a crush on William. He was around 50. ‘My dear, I’m a homosexual . . .’ [the imitation sounded perfect]. We both loved detective stories. [!] We became good friends.”
But what of Dylan?
“Yes, he came to a club to see us in the early days. He had such magnetism. He was a magnetic kind of guy.” A cheeky grin crossed Patti’s face. “But he was not as cool as William Burroughs . . .”
Under the intelligent questioning of David Freeman, Patti supplied a festival event that none of us present are ever likely to forget.
And she sold a truckload of books.
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