Patti Smith
Author of Just Kids
About the Author
Patti Smith was born in Chicago, Illinois on December 30, 1946. She is a singer-songwriter, writer and visual artist. She gained recognition in the 1970s for her revolutionary mergence of poetry and rock. Her album Horses has been hailed as one of the top 100 albums of all time. She has recorded show more twelve albums. In 2007, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She has written several books including Witt, Babel, Woolgathering, The Coral Sea, Auguries of Innocence, M Train, and Just Kids, which won the Nonfiction category of the National Book Award in 2010. Her drawings, photographs, and installations have been shown at numerous venues including the Andy Warhol Museum and the Fondation Cartier Pour l'Art Contemporain in Paris. In 2005, she was awarded the title of Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture, which is the highest honor awarded to an artist by the French Republic. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Disambiguation Notice:
Not to be confused with Patty Smyth.
Image credit: Patti Smith à la 81e édition de la Mostra de Venise en 2024.
Series
Works by Patti Smith
Patti Smith Complete 1975-2006: Lyrics, Reflections, and Notes for the Future (1998) 228 copies, 1 review
Voz M 3 copies
Patti Smith (sound recording) 3 copies
Work Songs 3 copies
Set Free 2 copies
A Small Entreaty — Author — 2 copies
Patti Smith. Poesie e canzoni 2 copies
Gloria (In Excelsis Deo) 2 copies
A Normal Day 2 copies
Poesie 1 copy
Gloria in Excelsis Deo 1 copy
“Time”April 29, 2024 1 copy
Piss Factory 1 copy
Patti Smith dream of life 1 copy
Patti Smith - Rote Fabrik 1 copy
Om å skrive 1 copy
Adanmışlık 1 copy
Patti Smith 35 1 copy
ATP Patti Smith 1 copy
A Useless Death 1 copy
Poesie rock 1 copy
Wicked Messenger 1 copy
Home For The Holiday 1 copy
The Beavers of Popple's Pond 1 copy
Two More (A Perfect Day / Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect) — Artist — 1 copy
Smith, Patti Archive 1 copy
Associated Works
The Rolling Stone Book of the Beats: The Beat Generation and American Culture (1999) — Contributor — 181 copies, 2 reviews
Dead Man Walking : Music from and inspired by the motion picture {sound recording} (1995) — Contributor; [Walkin Blind] — 27 copies
Until The End Of The World: Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack (1991) — Contributor — 25 copies, 1 review
Democracy in Print: The best of the Progressive Magazine, 1909-2009 (2009) — Contributor — 14 copies
KCRW Rare On Air, Volume Three — Contributor — 3 copies
Smash 4 — Contributor — 1 copy
CUZ 3 — Author — 1 copy
In'hui, No.9 — Contributor — 1 copy
No Alternative [sound recording] — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Smith, Patti
- Legal name
- Smith, Patricia Lee
- Birthdate
- 1946-12-30
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Deptford Township High School
- Occupations
- singer-songwriter
poet
artist
writer - Awards and honors
- Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2005)
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2007)
Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize (2022) - Relationships
- Smith, Fred Sonic (husband)
- Short biography
- Patti Smith is an American singer-songwriter and poet. She was influential in the birth of punk rock with her 1975 debut album "Horses". Called "Godmother of Punk" she integrated the beat poetry performance style with garage rock. Her allusions introduced American teens to 19th century French poetry, while her "unladylike" language defied the disco era. Smith is most widely known for the song "Because the Night", which was co-written with Bruce Springsteen and reached number 13 on Billboard Hot 100 chart.
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Places of residence
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
New Jersey, USA
New York, New York, USA
St. Clair Shores, Michigan, USA - Map Location
- Illinois, USA
- Disambiguation notice
- Not to be confused with Patty Smyth.
Members
Reviews
This is a beautiful book, a lovingly told story about a best friend, soulmate, someone who is your other half. Simply told but written with deep insight, this book is as much about Patti figuring out what Robert was to her, deciphering their relationship through the analysis of memories.
As for the book, the background of the Chelsea Hotel and New York is as much a character as any human. Before this, I knew that Chelsea Hotel was the catalyst for so much music and art in the late 70's, early show more 80's, but I didn't realize just how important it was, it seemed every important artist had a connection there, even if it was just a few weeks.
As for the author - she writes with a very grateful, humble voice. Its clear she is an introvert who needs someone to tell her that what she is doing is good. I'd be interested in what her friends think about her because from what she says in this book, most of her success comes from her friends who saw something and encouraged it.
This was a joy to read. The ending is bitter sweet and this book was written to fill a void left by Robert's passing, managing to both be respectful, but not shy away from the bad. I highly recommend reading this. show less
As for the book, the background of the Chelsea Hotel and New York is as much a character as any human. Before this, I knew that Chelsea Hotel was the catalyst for so much music and art in the late 70's, early show more 80's, but I didn't realize just how important it was, it seemed every important artist had a connection there, even if it was just a few weeks.
As for the author - she writes with a very grateful, humble voice. Its clear she is an introvert who needs someone to tell her that what she is doing is good. I'd be interested in what her friends think about her because from what she says in this book, most of her success comes from her friends who saw something and encouraged it.
This was a joy to read. The ending is bitter sweet and this book was written to fill a void left by Robert's passing, managing to both be respectful, but not shy away from the bad. I highly recommend reading this. show less
This will not be everyone's cup of tea (or coffee, which is a central feature in many of Smith's experiences here), and may puzzle readers who are looking for a straightforward follow-up to "Just Kids." That said, she calls this "a roadmap to my life," and I enjoyed all the stops along the way. There is a poetic, dreamlike (more than "like," as there are many dream descriptions) quality here, mixed expertly with the details of everyday life and existence. You will find out a lot about what show more writers, music, TV shows Smith loves, and she manages to weave these names (and their importance in her life) into the narrative without sounding (to me) the least bit pretentious, and even addresses the "name-dropping" directly:
"They float through these pages often without explanation. Writers and their process. Writers and their books. I cannot assume the reader will be familiar with them all, but in the end is the reader familiar with me? Does the reader wish to be so? I can only hope, as I offer my world on a platter filled with allusions."
One thing that I never doubted: this is an authentic voice of a deeply felt existence; an honest to goodness struggle with loss and memory and loneliness and love. Thanks for the map, Patti. show less
"They float through these pages often without explanation. Writers and their process. Writers and their books. I cannot assume the reader will be familiar with them all, but in the end is the reader familiar with me? Does the reader wish to be so? I can only hope, as I offer my world on a platter filled with allusions."
One thing that I never doubted: this is an authentic voice of a deeply felt existence; an honest to goodness struggle with loss and memory and loneliness and love. Thanks for the map, Patti. show less
Wonderful, rambling, nonlinear, stream of consciousness, smattering of the life of a woman I would love to have coffee with.
I listened to it. Patti reading her own words in her own accent is perfect. Then, I bought a hard copy because it just isn't a book to listen to. It must be wandered through, again. Picked up and flipped open to this spot and that one. It's one of the few books that I need to own this way.
I listened to it. Patti reading her own words in her own accent is perfect. Then, I bought a hard copy because it just isn't a book to listen to. It must be wandered through, again. Picked up and flipped open to this spot and that one. It's one of the few books that I need to own this way.
I don’t know what brought me to Smith’s [Just Kids] back in 2012. Her music is not to my taste, but she absolutely is: I loved the memoir and have pursued her entire list. This new memoir is my favorite of everything.
It includes lots of her childhood and family; some of her music and fellow musicians/industry; some of her marriage and children; a revelation (which I beg readers to discover on their own rather than via reviews or tags); and less of what she’s already written about show more elsewhere. Much of her writing after Just Kids seemed ephemeral and even indecipherable to me (I characterized [Year of the Monkey] as a fever dream). Here, Smith is more linear again, deeply communicating with the sense evocation of the poet. It's gently sad and full of loss, and also brave and optimistic. show less
It includes lots of her childhood and family; some of her music and fellow musicians/industry; some of her marriage and children; a revelation (which I beg readers to discover on their own rather than via reviews or tags); and less of what she’s already written about show more elsewhere. Much of her writing after Just Kids seemed ephemeral and even indecipherable to me (I characterized [Year of the Monkey] as a fever dream). Here, Smith is more linear again, deeply communicating with the sense evocation of the poet. It's gently sad and full of loss, and also brave and optimistic. show less
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Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 129
- Also by
- 40
- Members
- 12,952
- Popularity
- #1,801
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 445
- ISBNs
- 329
- Languages
- 25
- Favorited
- 34
