PATTI SMITH
"What's he give you?" I once asked.
"Freedom," she breathed.
Chimes of freedom. I taped Dylan's picture between Rimbaud and Lotte Lenya. I was beginning to comprehend why we draw from others. We are trapped in our own teenage skins. We long for a way out
but lack the right moves, verbs, and curves. So we lift a hair, a gesture, a way of dress. Any means necessary to break out.
Sometimes it soothes, investing some of this wondrous, terrible energy into the profile of a stranger, transforming it all—from acne to ecstasy—and gleaning a little confidence, a little imagined
love. It is how the artist creates, how the young man gets through the night, and how the girl gets through her day. It's how we expand ourselves, and extend the perimeters of our mirror.
from babelogue - ( please right click to open links in a new tab ):
Poetry and Prose
"I don't consider writing a quiet, closet act.
I consider it a real physical act.
When I'm home writing on the typewriter, I go crazy.
I move like a monkey.
I've wet myself, I've come in my pants writing."--Patti Smith
the poetry and prose of Patti Smith is mostly available in her several books, for which the following information is available:
detailed bibliography
an example of Patti's composition process:
a 1980 trouser press photograph of a legal-pad scribbling of a poem, the text of which is displayed side by side with its final version as "true music" in Early Works 1970-1979
some selections from patti's writings that have not yet been collected, or are no longer available, are listed below.
preface to monument by lynn davis -- ('99)liner notes for peace and noise -- ('97)
Perfect Moon -- poem/song from Ivan Kral's Nostalgia album ('96). Note that the text is of the poem "december", p. 90, Early Work / 1970 - 1979, Copyright © Patti Smith 1994.
untitled -- poem from les nouvelles polyphonies corses' in paradisu album ('96)
on Artaud and Genet -- brief published remarks in association with June '96 Artaud-Genet conference in London.
mirza -- an extended version, in prose, of the poem "mirza" ('95)
introduction to Japanese edition of babel -- a letter from Patti to her Japanese readers ('94)
we can be heroes -- an article from Details ('93)
pain and ink -- a book review of Edmund White's Genet, with thoughts about Genet's influence (11/93)
february snow -- a prose piece about winter and departed friends (12/92)
shots in the dark -- memories of Robert Mapplethorpe (11/92)
Foreword (untitled) -- to Janet Hamill's Nostalgia of the Infinite ('92)
the meaning of life -- a short essay from a Life magazine anthology ('92)
poem about rimbaud -- from Hector Zazou's Sahara Blue album ('92); The poem itself, I believe, is circa 1971-75(?)
dedication -- dedication for book: Mapplethorpe's a perfect moment collection ('88)
american prayer (scream of the butterfly) -- review of Jim Morrison's American Prayer (1/79)
HERoes -- tale of trip to koln, along with review of David Bowie's Heroes (4/78)
où est baudelaire? -- short piece on the critic and the artist (5/77)
you can't say "fuck" in radio free america -- a manifesto against censorship (3/77)
on jeanne moreau -- comments on her love of jeanne moreau in the movie mademoiselle (1/77)
jukebox cruci-fix -- prose piece about departed heroes (6/75)
flying saucers rock 'n' roll -- prose piece about her experience of scarlet fever (6/75)
untitled -- review of Velvet Underground's 1969 live (9/74)
masked bawl -- review of dylan's planet waves (4/74)
star fever -- poem ('73) printed on large pink "band-aid" and enclosed in a Todd Rundgren album
jag-arr of the jungle -- Patti's fun comments on her enthusiasm for the Stones ('73)
todd's electric exploitation -- review of Todd Rundgren's A Wizard, A True Star (4/73)
Edgar Winter's After Dark -- album review (3/73)
a useless death -- poem ('72) originally published in chapbook format
3 poems from another world anthology -- "the famous easter act," "january 26," and "j.p." ('71)
ladies and gentleman / blaise cendrars is not dead -- another poem from an anthology ('71)
autobiography -- poem (9/71)
for sam shepard -- poem (9/71)
for bob neuwirth -- poem (9/71)
review of todd rundgren's runt lp -- the only time she wrote for rolling stone (8/71)
quotation from cowboy mouth -- the play she wrote with sam shepard ('71). The Play was Staged Feb '71, although it wasn't published until 1972
artwork by patti smith
about 100 of patti's drawings on extended play website of photographic resource center at boston university
drawing of lizzy mercier-desclous
another drawing of lizzy mercier-desclous
artwork from galerie veith turske -- titled human explosion, pencil and colored chalk on paper, 1969
poem and drawing of rimbaud from hector zazou's sahara blue album
illuminated manuscript page -- titled plate and commentaries i
self-portrait -- used on invitation card for robert miller gallery exhibit, early '97
drawing for promo of peace and noise
patti smith interviews
"I like performing anywhere there's a lot of energy. Like Jesus says, when two people are gathered together in my name. Well, I feel the same way. I like performing in an interview situation or for 4,000 people or in a club. As long as all the energy is directed toward the same place."
[Note: listed dates for print media are dates of publication, not necessarily dates of interviews]
11/12/98 with Rolling Stone (re. Clinton fiasco)01/98 with Mojo Magazine January 1998.
01/98 on Shaktisound (With Lenny Kaye's Brother-in-Law, Webmaster/Musician Thomas Richardson (aka Ras); On His WebSite.)
12/97 with the Boston Globe December 2, 1997.
11/97 The *Official* Version of the Patti Smith / Rocktropolis Chat
Transcript, is Abridged in that *Only* the questions from the "Moderator"
are transcribed; Whereas *All* of Patti's Answers are given.
-- An Enhanced Version of the Chat: Patti's Cyber-Chat - Part I; And,
Patti's Cyber-Chat - Part II.11/97 with allstar (Rocktropolis)
11/97 with Stomp and Stammer.
09/97 with philadelphia city paper
09/97 with philadelphia inquirer
08/97 with Benjamin. The Vocalist with *Smoke*. There is Patti Smith Content.
01/97 with the age
01/97 with the australian
07/96 with bam magazine
07/96 with uno mas
07/96 with shambhala sun
06/22/96 with the guardian
06/96 with terry gross on national public radio
06/96 with new york times
05/96 with lisa robinson in elle
03/96 with sonicnet music news
01/96 with thurston moore in bomb
--A short piece by Thurston Moore which is a great Addendum to his Previously published 1996 Bomb Interview with Patti.
12/12/95 with the new york times
11/95 with philadelphia weekly and city paper
09/95 with big o
08/95 with the village voice
1988 with tower records' pulse!
10/88 with the music paper
05/88 with interview
04/88 with spin (actually 3/79 with william s. burroughs)
06/79 with new york rocker
09/78 with creem
08/78 with stereo review
1978-81 with hit parader and new york rocker (news items re. end of the patti smith group)
1978 (again) with hit parader
1978 with WNEW in nyc
1978 with philadelphia inquirer
1978 with japanese television
1978 (again) with hit parader
1978 with circus
03/78 with melody maker
03/78 with lisa robinson in hit parader
11/77 with acid rock
10/77 with patti smith fan club journal
07/77 with hit parader
06/77 with hit parader
04/77 with patti smith fan club journal
03/77 with "miles," published in john bauldie's wanted man
01/77 with club quest
12/76 with circus magazine
11/76 with WNEW in nyc
11/76 (realaudio) at loyola college
10/76 with british press (in melody maker)
07/76 with oui
05/76 with melody maker
04/76 with penthouse
01/76 with hit parader
01/76 with rolling stone
12/75 with newsweek
12/75 with crawdaddy
12/75 with new times magazine
12/75 with the new york times magazine
09/75 with mademoiselle
1975 with hit parader
09/74 with after dark
1973 with andy warhol's interview
people have the power
...this section is the merest beginning of an index of people who've been important to patti in one way or another...you can contribute by volunteering to do a brief write-up (even just a couple of lines) about someone, where possible including a quotation from patti about that person, and/or providing a link to an already-existing write-up or home page...we also need more suggestions for this list...also, don't assume that because someone's name is in this beginning list, that we already have a full write-up on them: some of the pages just have links to other sites.
other suggestions so far: bruce brody, jeff buckley, rosemary carroll, jesus christ, the dalai lama, jay dee daugherty, jack douglas, jane friedman, jean genet, jean-luc godard, lynn goldsmith, patty hearst, jimi hendrix, jeanne heberterne, alan hovhaness, jimmy iovine, pope jean paul I, mick jagger, brian jones janis joplin, jack kerouac, ivan kral, wayne kramer, allen lanier, judy linn, albino luciani, robert mapplethorpe, brice marden, amedeo modigliani, andi ostrowe, jackson pollack, oliver ray, keith richards, the ronettes, rumi, todd rundgren, edie sedgwick, tony shanahan, the queen of sheba, beverly smith, huey smith, jackson frederick smith, jesse paris smith, linda smith, todd smith, richard sohl, bruce springsteen, samuel wagstaff
![[phtp in patti's handwriting]](http://www.oceanstar.com/patti/pics/phtp3.gif)
