Rene | New York Diaries by William Rand. First Edition. Published by Osprey Press, 2022.
Compiled by art historian Raymond Roye. The book is written by William Rand, with the primary subject being Rene Ricard, a poet and artist who was a significant figure in the New York art scene.
It uses excerpts from Rand's diaries to provide a firsthand, often shocking, account of the East Village art world from the 1980s and 1990s, including street crime, drug addiction, and a look at the lives of artists and others in the milieu.
The book explores the intersection of brilliance and madness, the nature of addiction and survival, and the sense of community among the artists and friends who surrounded Ricard.
