`` Just Kids '' recounts Smith 's relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe . The book is a fascinating look at the life of one of America's most influential and controversial artists, who died in 1993 after an overdose from heroin. During these years , the two spurred each other to new adventures in their respective fields : He as a photographer , she as a poet and later as a songwriter and musician . National Book Award winners get a check for $ 10,000 and a bronze statue .
`` Just Kids '' recounts Smith 's relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe . The book is a fascinating look at the life of one of America's most influential and controversial artists, who died in 1993 after an overdose from heroin. National Book Award winners get a check for $ 10,000 and a bronze statue .