Patti Smith on Patti Smith: Interviews and Encounters

by Aidan Levy (Editor)

From the moment Patti Smith burst onto the scene, chanting "Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine," the irreverent opening line to Horses , her 1975 debut album, the punk movement had found its dissident intellectual voice. Yet outside the recording studio—Smith has released eleven studio albums—the punk poet laureate has been perhaps just as revelatory and rhapsodic in interviews, delivering off-the-cuff jeremiads that emboldened a generation of disaffected youth and imparting hard-earned life lessons. With her characteristic blend of bohemian intellectualism, antiauthoritarian poetry, and unflagging optimism, Smith gave them hope in the transcendent power of art. Her interview archive serves as a compelling counternarrative to the albums and books. Initially, interviewing Patti Smith was a censorship liability. Contemptuous of staid rules of decorum, no one knew what she might say, whether they were getting the romantic, swooning for Lorca and Blake, or the firebrand with no respect for an on-air seven-second delay.  Patti Smith on Patti Smith is a compendium of profound and reflective moments in the life of one of the most insightful and provocative artists working today.
 

Genres: Music, Poetry, History

544 pages, Hardcover

Published November 10, 2020

Reviews

[Tanya · Rating 1 out of 5]

Abandoned at 17%.

As a Patti fan, I jumped at the opportunity to read this, but I knew I most likely wasn't going to finish it (which is a real rarity for me) after the first "chapter". I wanted to get through at least a third to still be able to give an informed review about the things that didn't work for me, but the thought of at least another two hours of reading time invested in this was too daunting, so I called it quits mid-chapter last night.

It's part of a series called "Musicians in their own words", and the title should've given it away as well, but I guess I still expected more than the incredibly lazy patch-work this was? It was a bit of a Dead Dove moment from Arrested Development.

The editor cherry-picked widely available and obscure interviews spanning Smith's five-decade career (I got up to mid-way through a pre-Radio Ethiopia one, her sophomore album), giving each a bit of context with an introductory paragraph or two, often redundantly including quotes pulled straight from the interview that was about to follow. These interviews were not edited at all, but faithful transcripts, meaning that there was a "like" and "you know?" every other word. It was way beyond conversational, and not at all pleasant to read, and if there was anything of substance said in these interviews at all (that I didn't already know from her own memoirs), it wasn't stuff I cared to know—her views haven't aged well, and I guess I have to perhaps come to terms with the fact that I'm a fan of the music, and not the person.

This was unfortunately a complete waste of my time. I usually approach unofficial "biographies" warily, but am prepared to overlook the fact that it's not authorized by and does not financially benefit the person it makes its money off if it comes through as well-researched and a clear labor of love—this was neither of those things. I can't believe one can get a book published with such little effort. Where's my Tori Amos book deal? I could slap one together by next month.

—————

Note: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Julie Rylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a while to read and digest this enourmous outstanding book.
It was quite indimidating at first and i was not so sure if it was worth the effort and carrying the kilos in my backpack almost daily but after a short while i was hooked on it. Especially the Patti after motherhood. Patti Smith is such an inspirational person, I really love her intake on life and i will always be forever thankful to have access to her thoughts.

I cried at times, when she was talking about the death of her husband followed by the death of her brother. That the first gave her the drive to continue to express herself through music and the latter to have to joy to live. These events could have crushed her but instead she made something beautiful with it. She said Ginsberg told her you have to let go of the dead in order to keep living (something related, i do not remember the exact words) and she lives with the dead among her, carries them with her.

We also share the same love for most of the same poets. The ones i do not know, i took notes to check them and try to find their books. I am sure they will impress me too.

I remember at one point she talks about Jim Morrison and how she could not grasp how an individual that writes such intricate poetry was able to come up with such catchy lyrics to songs like "Hello I love you" but that song was written by Robby Krieger.

Anyways, long story short i am the proud owner of 3 more of Patti's book and I am planning on reading everything she ever published.

[M. Sarki · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://rogueliterarysociety.com/f/pa...

...What matters is to know what you want and to pursue it and understand that it’s gonna be hard because life is really difficult…You’re gonna lose people you love, you’re gonna suffer heartbreak, sometimes you’ll be sick, sometimes you’ll have a toothache, sometimes you’ll be hungry, but on the other end you’ll have the most beautiful experiences. Sometimes just the sky, sometimes, you know, a piece of work that you do feels so wonderful, or you’ll find somebody to love, or your children. There’s beautiful things in life. So when you’re suffering, just, you know, it’s part of the package. You look at it—we’re born and we also have to die. We know that. So it makes sense that we’re gonna be really happy and things are gonna be really fucked up, too. Just ride with it. You know, like a roller coaster ride. It’s never gonna be perfect; it’s gonna have perfect moments and rough spots, but it’s all worth it. Believe me…

There really isn’t anybody like Patti Smith. She is a very special person and extremely talented. She knows who she is, or is constantly working at it. Smith is a good role model for living a life ripe with meaning.

...It’s like when I was a little kid I always knew that I had some special kind of thing inside me. I mean I wasn’t very attractive. I wasn’t very verbal. I wasn’t very smart in school. I wasn’t anything that showed physically to the world that I was something special but I had this tremendous hope all the time, you know, I had this tremendous spirit that kept me going no matter how fucked up I was. Just had this kind of light inside me that kept spurring me on…

And she isn’t alone. Many of us have had the same feelings but for one reason or another failed to acquire the courage and persistence to see it through, or perhaps not of the needed constitution to achieve what remained just out of reach. Or we were delusional in light that our talent and skills fell far short of our own inflated perception of ourselves.

...I could see the finished product before I even touched the paper and it was frightening to me. I like to work. I like that anguish you go through when you’re writing something. I like to battle with language…

And I think this is the key. The greatest lesson for me was my hard-won acceptance that revision was paramount to success; that success being in the creation of a work of merit regardless of the attention garnered or the praise received. We do art for ourselves or sometimes just to be on stage or drawing enough attention to ourselves in order to get laid. It matters little how much we are paid.

...My brain is hungrier than it ever has been in my whole life but my pussy is being fed so I can...Now when I heard Mick Jagger I knew what to do. Drop my pants…

Patti is a bit crude at times, but her honesty is inspiring. She has always had a foul mouth, but as she aged it is obvious she toned herself down. No way would she speak today the way she did back in her early days. Perhaps having children and going dark for nine years helped to realize how important her public words were.

...Let me just say one nice thing about Andy Warhol: he gave Stevie Wonder a camera, which was really cool…

One of my favorite quotations. Just the image of Warhol handing Wonder a camera is smashing.

… The interesting thing about it is that I could go two ways: I could think of him and go into this sea of complete desolation, or dip into the positive, that joy he exuded and the self-confidence that he developed in me. Instead of focusing on the loss of individuals, I’ve found that it’s very helpful to consider one’s privilege to have had those individuals in your life…

Patti has grown into such a wise old sage. She always had it in her. Her memoirs are real and insightful even if at times she gets a bit too ornamental for my tastes. The many talismans she finds and keeps, and the spiritual importance she gives them, is often unnecessary for me in order to appreciate her journeys around the world. But she is so charming and real that I forgive her these indulgences. She is never maudlin.

...it seemed like the trappings were more important than the actual communication. That might have been presumptuous of me, but that’s how I felt. I felt that rock & roll was being taken away from the streets. From its roots, from the people and being more taken over by people with money and more show business or theatrical aims…

My one complaint or fault I find with Patti Smith is her undying love and respect for The Beats. I acknowledge their importance to change and to poetry itself, but the very ornamentation that Smith finds umbrage with in rock & roll The Beats exhibited in the performance art. Taken as words only, with no physical or theatrical performance, Beat poetry basically sucks. A lot of yelling, excessive pointing, agenda-filled diatribes, and little lyrical incest among the words and syllables. Nothing in the words themselves to transport you out of your mind and into an alternative reality of “made-time”. I wish Patti Smith would one day discover my favorite poet Jack Gilbert who actually abhorred the poetry of The Beats except for Howl by Allen Ginzberg. Gilbert particularly disliked Gregory Corso who Smith both loves and champions every chance she gets. Corso is at best a mediocre poet who later survived on the coattails of the famous iconic characters making up the core of The Beats. Gilbert famously interacted back in the early sixties with Corso in Gordon Lish’s litmag Genesis West when Gilbert as poetry editor rejected Corso’s poems and wrote to tell him why. Gilbert was subsequently fired by Lish for being too hard and blunt on the poets trying, and expecting, to be published in his magazine. Gilbert, as poetry editor, rarely accepted for publication any submission by anybody as he exacted such a rigid standard for quality so few could achieve. I’d bet on it that Patti Smith’s poetry, as another example, would never have been accepted for publication in Genesis West either. I am of the opinion that if she were to read Jack Gilbert’s poetry it could elevate her own work immensely. It is unfortunate that she would most likely not care as she is doing all right by her own standards (and those of her publisher’s). But she could do so much better.

...Because after all the things I’ve seen, people I’ve loved passing away for health reasons or AIDS or Vietnam or drugs—I’ve lost a lot of friends and loved ones from all types of scenarios, and I feel really happy to be alive! I feel really lucky and grateful to be alive and having these things to confront...And it just shows, you know, life—it’s unbelievable, life. If you stick around long enough, the most wonderful things will happen to you…

And the list continues. She has met and had relationships with so many iconic characters, writers, artists, musicians, film and TV personalities, actors, and on and on she is bound to have her share of heartbreak and loss. Sam Shepard was the latest friend she lost and she wrote extensively of their loving relationship in her last book Year of the Monkey.

...And he said to me, “You must,” uh, he said, “in the Buddhist tradition you must try to let go of the spirit of your departed. And, uh, of the departed, and uh, continue your own life celebration, or to celebrate your own life,” and he said, “the best way to do that is to begin to work right away and to serve others.”

It is good to listen to Patti Smith who because of her own great losses and willingness to consider them, feel them, honor them, she has come to understand the meaning and underlying truth of existence. She is a wise sage. And boy can she dance.

...Well, I think it’s important that ...well, everyone has to know, I mean, we all have a limited time period on the earth, and it’s up to us all to use it well, and we’re all gonna lose somebody. We’re gonna lose our parents or a friend or a loved one, or our dog, you know, we’re gonna lose somebody, and we have to know that, and we have to find a way to reconcile that, you know, in our hearts, in our minds. And it’s always gonna be painful. I mean, I lost my husband sixteen, seventeen years ago. I think of him every day. But the way that I operate, really, is I don’t leave people in the past. I bring ‘em along with me. I walk with them…And, um, that’s been really helpful to me, because in truth, I’ve suffered a lot of loss, and one has to find a way to happily traipse through life no matter what, because life is the best thing we got. There’s nothin’ better than our own life, so, you know, we got to do good by it...the idea that time heals all wounds is not really true. Our wounds aren’t really ever healed. We just learn to walk with them. We learn that some days we’re going to feel intense pain all over again. And we just have to say, OK, I know you. If (laughter)—you can come along with me today...

[Macey · Rating 4 out of 5]

very interesting but it got a little bit repetitive - journalists and radio hosts all seem to ask the same questions, which makes sense but as a collection it means the same stories are told many times.

a few golden moments, especially in the earliest ones - she was pretty intense in the 70s. real rock and roll energy. cool how to see how she was very punk when she was younger and then from the 90s was so much more literary like she was always literary but you know what I mean.

it is a well-curated collection of interviews, each has something unique in them so it is worth reading the whole book. The interviewers ask intelligent questions, so the conversation feels normal and not forced. the editorial comments are well-researched and useful for context if you don't already know the order of albums or books.

overall it was worth it but it took me a really long time to read because the interviews are short but it's a long book so I'd read a couple and then forget about it for a while.

[Mish Middelmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a joy to continue my rediscovery of Patti Smith, fifty years after she inspired me so much when she burst onto the music scene in the 70s! "I contain multitudes" is what she says, quoting Walt Whitman. And it is true: she is so many passionate creators all in one.

I was one of those who felt abandoned when she quit the wild edge of music in 1979, going cold turkey on her career and the Patti Smith group and a huge global following. As a youth I couldn't really comprehend that becoming a parent and raising children could be anywhere near as exciting or important as raising hell and challenging the establishment through music.

Now I get it. Having a private life, perhaps including raising kids, is easily as important as having a public life. And with the blurring of boundaries brought on by social media, I am all for being firm about boundaries of privacy in the way she was from 1979 till after her husband died and her children were well on their way to adulthood.

And I see what a wonderful public life she created again in the 21st century! I am thrilled to find out she is still performing and I hope she comes back to Canada soon. At least this book gives insight and some sharing of the experience of her long life. It is completely fascinating to travel with Patti Smith as she lives her life, hearing in each interview both how she sees herself and how her interviewers see her, over nearly 50 years. This book was too big for me to read every word but I appreciate just how comprehensive it is, and I read most of it over a period of more than a month.

She was really a poet before and after being a musician

I just realized what language was. I started seeing language as magic (1972)

And I suppose the sparseness of punk rock suited her brand of magic - some influential people were "betting that her cerebral punk aesthetic would catch on." More importantly, I think she touched a nerve in society (of which I was but one neuron) that longed for the kind of powerful androgyny she embodied:

There are masculine and feminine rhythms in me. We're all made up of opposites, and they often crucify us, but I deal with that ... I don't feel guilty or stupid because of my weaknesses.

I was only dimly aware of this at the time, but as Dave Marsh says in his 1976 article, "What Patti Smith was about to attempt had been pulled off by no one before her. She fits no female rock stereotype" at that time. As a woman she stepped into a role that had up to then been pioneered by several male rock stars: "intense sexuality was sped along by gender ambiguity."

By 1978 she was already forseeing the shift that only hit [my] public eye a year later:

I'm gonna get more conservative, I'm gonna be cooler ... and I don't know if I'm sorry to report that I'm more crazy than ever.

And when she came back sixteen years later, for her fans there was more truth to the following quote than for herself:

Dead to the world, alive I awoke

For us, it was like she had been gone for 16 years. But actually she was doing something deeply exciting - raising a family out of the public eye. Perhaps this is a helpful summary from the introduction to a collection of her poetry: "In are and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life may you proceed with balance and stealth."

I do hope to see more of Patti Smith while she lives on this earth. As Holly George-Warren wrote in 1996, "If Patti Smith's stage persona in the 1970s was remarkable for its raw fury, in the 90s her performances are just as powerful in their calm reflections on loss." I'll end with this piece of her wisdom from Terry Gross' 2015 article:

you know, the idea that time heals all wounds is not really true. Our wounds aren't really ever healed. We just learn to walk with them. We learn that some days we're going to feel intense pain all over again. And we just have to say, OK, I know you... you can come along with me today.

[False · Rating 2 out of 5]

I interviewed Patti Smith when she first left New York to dip her toes into performing. She was a non-stop motormouth then, spouting whatever came out of her head, a lot of it fictitious, and ego driven to the core. That night, on stage in a small club, she held on to a guitar she never played, but she did a twenty minute rant on "Haller Heads" which back then was the standard tuning pegs on guitars. I remember thinking, "Either play it, or put it down and shut up." That how much "Horses" moved me. Thank God, Robert Mapplethorpe took that picture, because it sold her artistic visions and it certainly wasn't what you got in real life, but who needs reality, right?

In reading this book of interviews that start in the '70's and carry forward, there is so much repetition for an "era." The factory story, the child given away, her mystical childhood, then the losses: Mapplethorpe, her brother, her husband and now Sam Shephard and some friend he turned out to be, with his cowboy mouth calling her something short of a hag. To her credit, she rose about that and wrote a loving tribute to him for The New Yorker magazine.

I looked at the reviews on this book on Amazon. One reader wrote, "But this endless parade of ME ME ME and ME was horrible. I tried reading different interviews conducted by different people and at different times in her life, but it was the same ME ME and ME how special it is to be ME." I thought, "As good a summation as any." When she can step away from her martyr mantel and reflect on others, she does write...very well. But when she's placed in front of a microphone? Jesus died for our sins, but not mine? Now she says she regrets saying that and that it really isn't her. What is?

[Guilherme Araujo · Rating 3 out of 5]

ler as entrevistas de patti smith é um exercício que todos deveríamos fazer de tempos em tempos. no entanto, através deste livro, a tarefa se torna um pouco maçante. a curadoria deixa a desejar ao trazer textos em que determinados temas se repetem (algo comum quando se fala com tanta abertura com a imprensa, sobretudo, pensando que são cinco décadas na ativa). penso, voltando nesta obra alguns anos depois, que talvez fosse mais interessante rever quais textos, de fato, fazem jus à proposta; ou privilegiar uma edição em tópicos, e não necessariamente seguir uma linha cronológica? para quem busca conhecer ou se aprofundar, continua sendo uma leitura interessante, mas não incontornável.

[Mercer County Library System · Rating 4 out of 5]

For fans of Patti Smith--music, poetry, art--this is a fascinating dive into her life and work, over a wide range of interviews throughout her career.  Covering her start as a poet, her success in the punk scene, her later writings, and the changes in her music as she grew as an artist, this collection of interviews provides a satisfying overview of this compelling artist. (Reviewed by Jeanne, Twin Rivers Branch)

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 A look at Patti Smith’s career through an edited collection of reviews and interviews over her career. In some ways repetitive in each section since the reviews/interviews were covering in general the same album or show, but overall it was an interesting look both at how she was/is viewed by critics and other musicians over her career and also gives insight into what she herself thinks of her career and body of work over a long stretch of time. Free ebook from the library.

[literateliv · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite artists ever and she's so eloquent so it's a total treat to read her in her own words. I learned so much about her and felt very connected to her coming of age. I read most of this before seeing her in concert in September 2023, best show ever.

[Clarence Goodman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not thrilled about an anthology of interviews with a very famous person - particularly when the series begins prior to the fame. It feels to me like a lot of fudging and shell-gaming when it comes to the facts.

[Kristin]

It’s not that I didn’t like this. It was just too long and repetitive. I keep forgetting to go back to it.

[Glenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent career-spanning interviews Ms. Smith.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still want to be her

[Zuvielekatzen · Rating 4 out of 5]

phew that's a lot of Patti - but I'm a fan so it doesn't matter

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5.