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Seventh Heaven
1972 collection of poems from the Godmother of Punk and the author of the National Book Award winner "Just Kids." Includes the 1."Seventh Heaven" 2."Sally" 3."Jeanne Darc" 4."Renee Falconetti" 5."A Fire of Unknown Origin" 6."Edie Sedgwick" 7."Crystal" 8."Marianne Faithfull" 9."Girl Trouble" 10."Cocaine" 11."Judith" 12."Fantasy" 13."Marilyn Miller" 14."Mary Jane" 15."Amelia Earhart I" 16."Amelia Earhart II" 17."Linda" 18."Death by Water" 19."Celine" 20."Dog Dream" 21."Female" 22."Longing"
47 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
2 people are currently reading
1734 people want to read
About the author
Patti Smith
147 books13.7k followersPATTI SMITH is a writer, performer, and visual artist. She gained recognition in the 1970s for her revolutionary merging of poetry and rock. She has released twelve albums, including Horses, which has been hailed as one of the top one hundred albums of all time by Rolling Stone.
Smith had her first exhibit of drawings at the Gotham Book Mart in 1973 and has been represented by the Robert Miller Gallery since 1978. Her books include Just Kids, winner of the National Book Award in 2010, Wītt, Babel, Woolgathering, The Coral Sea, and Auguries of Innocence.
In 2005, the French Ministry of Culture awarded Smith the title of Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres, the highest honor given to an artist by the French Republic. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
Smith married the musician Fred Sonic Smith in Detroit in 1980. They had a son, Jackson, and a daughter, Jesse. Smith resides in New York City.
Smith had her first exhibit of drawings at the Gotham Book Mart in 1973 and has been represented by the Robert Miller Gallery since 1978. Her books include Just Kids, winner of the National Book Award in 2010, Wītt, Babel, Woolgathering, The Coral Sea, and Auguries of Innocence.
In 2005, the French Ministry of Culture awarded Smith the title of Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres, the highest honor given to an artist by the French Republic. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
Smith married the musician Fred Sonic Smith in Detroit in 1980. They had a son, Jackson, and a daughter, Jesse. Smith resides in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 9, 2017
seventh heaven
Patti Smith
Oh Raphael. Guardian angel. In love and crime
all things move in sevens. seven compartments
in the heart. the seven elaborate temptations.
seven devils cast from Mary Magdalene whore
of Christ. the seven marvelous voyages of Sinbad.
sin/bad. And the number seven branded forever
on the forehead of Cain. The first inspired man.
The father of desire and murder. But his was not
the first ecstasy. Consider his mother.
Eve's was the crime of curiosity. As the saying
goes: it killed the pussy. One bad apple spoiled
the whole shot. But be sure it was no apple.
An apple looks like an ass. It's fags' fruit.
It must have been a tomato.
Or better yet. A mango.
She bit. Must we blame her. abuse her.
poor sweet bitch. perhaps there's more to the story.
think of Satan as some stud.
maybe her knees were open.
satan snakes between them.
they open wider
snakes up her thighs
rubs against her for a while
more than the tree of knowledge was about
to be eaten...she shudders her first shudder
pleasure pleasure garden
was she sorry
are we ever girls
was she a good lay
god only knows
I have a copy of Smith’s first book of poetry that I bought from City Lights Bookstore in 1973 soon after it came out. Smith didn’t go to college, she didn’t graduate from an MFA program. Her “teachers” were Rimbaud, Dylan, Artaud, Jimi Hendrix, William Blake. The likes of Gregory Corso rand Allen Ginsberg read her work and commented on it. She was living with the artist/photographer Robert Mapplethorpe at the time.
Patti Smith is seen by many as the poet laureate of rock, with a punk aesthetic. The poetry is experimental, playful, not nearly as lucid as Just kids, which is rich in reference and description. She was a singer, songwriter, artist, playwright (she co-wrote Cowboy Mouth with Sam Shepherd that same year (1972).
I reread this—dusting off an old copy I have hard for many decades—because I finaly read Smith’s award-winning memoir, Just Kids, which in form if not content is a somewhat conventionally-written memoir (that I loved). This poetry collection is experimental, stream-of-consciousness, cruder than Just Kids, a very young woman’s first book, not that impressive to return to, but it does capture the period, NYC, the beats, experimental writing.
Here is Smith reading the first twelve poems from the collection at St. Mark’s Church, 1972:
http://www.openculture.com/2014/04/he...
Patti Smith
Oh Raphael. Guardian angel. In love and crime
all things move in sevens. seven compartments
in the heart. the seven elaborate temptations.
seven devils cast from Mary Magdalene whore
of Christ. the seven marvelous voyages of Sinbad.
sin/bad. And the number seven branded forever
on the forehead of Cain. The first inspired man.
The father of desire and murder. But his was not
the first ecstasy. Consider his mother.
Eve's was the crime of curiosity. As the saying
goes: it killed the pussy. One bad apple spoiled
the whole shot. But be sure it was no apple.
An apple looks like an ass. It's fags' fruit.
It must have been a tomato.
Or better yet. A mango.
She bit. Must we blame her. abuse her.
poor sweet bitch. perhaps there's more to the story.
think of Satan as some stud.
maybe her knees were open.
satan snakes between them.
they open wider
snakes up her thighs
rubs against her for a while
more than the tree of knowledge was about
to be eaten...she shudders her first shudder
pleasure pleasure garden
was she sorry
are we ever girls
was she a good lay
god only knows
I have a copy of Smith’s first book of poetry that I bought from City Lights Bookstore in 1973 soon after it came out. Smith didn’t go to college, she didn’t graduate from an MFA program. Her “teachers” were Rimbaud, Dylan, Artaud, Jimi Hendrix, William Blake. The likes of Gregory Corso rand Allen Ginsberg read her work and commented on it. She was living with the artist/photographer Robert Mapplethorpe at the time.
Patti Smith is seen by many as the poet laureate of rock, with a punk aesthetic. The poetry is experimental, playful, not nearly as lucid as Just kids, which is rich in reference and description. She was a singer, songwriter, artist, playwright (she co-wrote Cowboy Mouth with Sam Shepherd that same year (1972).
I reread this—dusting off an old copy I have hard for many decades—because I finaly read Smith’s award-winning memoir, Just Kids, which in form if not content is a somewhat conventionally-written memoir (that I loved). This poetry collection is experimental, stream-of-consciousness, cruder than Just Kids, a very young woman’s first book, not that impressive to return to, but it does capture the period, NYC, the beats, experimental writing.
Here is Smith reading the first twelve poems from the collection at St. Mark’s Church, 1972:
http://www.openculture.com/2014/04/he...
May 31, 2013
The female Keith Richards had me shaking in my brown leather fringe boots in 1972. And she still makes my senses soar.
December 2, 2016
Do you have a soul? A boring thought but I'm curious. If you are sure you don't have a soul I extoll you, and the notion of eugenics; there are too many of you out there, those without soul. I believe you don't have the right to live on this planet. Your open your arms embrace the emptiness I hate, so may you be snuffed. I hate you, and all your openness. I'll appreciate your deaths as zero quality. You are my hatred of gentrification. You are the people I need to hate with fervor. The love in my heart, loves hating you. Wiping you off the planet. I pray to G-d to send me energy to hate you further. I cant stand your open arms, You're Armageddon, and you mean so much less. This book is my Bible, of which you are not. Nice to meet you and slash your throat. I just wanted to let you know I cared enough to make sure you knew you didn't matter.
February 19, 2023
mezcla mis cosas favoritas: imágenes bíblicas y la insoportable carga de ser mujer
September 7, 2024
this was so good. i'm afraid now i'll have to read more of patti smith.
March 2, 2024
Patti really did that…
January 13, 2008
this is a kick ass book of poetry.
January 23, 2025
Seventh Heaven is a raw, early work that pulses with hunger and disobedience. Written when Patti was in her late twenties, the collection captures her spirit in a formative stage, where her words feel dark, horny, queer, and restless.
Patti’s reluctance to embrace traditional womanhood (in Female) reflects her hunger to transcend binaries and expectations. This aligns with a Jean Genet quote she includes at the start of the poem: “To escape from horror bury yourself in it.” Her work dives into darkness as a means of transformation—and damn it, I love that about her work.
Longing becomes central to the collection’s vision, culminating in a climactic moment of surrender: “the passkey… was longing.” Here, longing is not just a feeling but a gateway to a new, almost divine understanding. This hunger for more—more connection, more meaning, more freedom—permeates the work and resonates deeply.
Patti’s reluctance to embrace traditional womanhood (in Female) reflects her hunger to transcend binaries and expectations. This aligns with a Jean Genet quote she includes at the start of the poem: “To escape from horror bury yourself in it.” Her work dives into darkness as a means of transformation—and damn it, I love that about her work.
Longing becomes central to the collection’s vision, culminating in a climactic moment of surrender: “the passkey… was longing.” Here, longing is not just a feeling but a gateway to a new, almost divine understanding. This hunger for more—more connection, more meaning, more freedom—permeates the work and resonates deeply.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 13, 2025
«and god created seventh heaven, saying let them all in. and caused it to be watched over by the bitch and the aeroplane»
Bello, rudo y anhelante. Lleno de ángeles, de agua, bañeras, santas y deseos violentos. Hermosos poemas sobre la inspiración monstruosa que se obtiene al rozar la muerte en busca de la trascendencia y la elevación.
Interesante mirada del yo poético sobre los hombres en el sexo: de la animalidad como pretexto, de la criminalidad.
Mis favoritos: Death by water, Seventh Heaven, Judith y Amelia Earthart.
Bello, rudo y anhelante. Lleno de ángeles, de agua, bañeras, santas y deseos violentos. Hermosos poemas sobre la inspiración monstruosa que se obtiene al rozar la muerte en busca de la trascendencia y la elevación.
Interesante mirada del yo poético sobre los hombres en el sexo: de la animalidad como pretexto, de la criminalidad.
Mis favoritos: Death by water, Seventh Heaven, Judith y Amelia Earthart.
August 17, 2025
Some poems were too short and needed more expansion, yet I can't bring myself to complain about this book, it has a nostalgic feeling to it, to a life I once desired, something I once aspired. Also, I love love love Patti Smith so deeply. Thanks for writing, for music and for everything <3
July 21, 2022
3.5* (contenuti fantastici, forma? Punk)
July 30, 2022
Patti Smith y la sexualidad y el género. Me sorprende las referencias bíblicas y la asimilación a Bukowski. No me sorprende las referencias a Plath y Morrisson. Lo predije todo
January 31, 2025
I get it. Exept I don't. But oh boy I do.
September 8, 2025
female and longing were excellent poems. will always come back to reread them, and to reread seventh heaven.
July 23, 2016
it's patti smith, yearning, and she has balls.
star fish quivers in the belly
maria fake
renee falconetti
I'm mad for you
your death in life / for film
as jeanne darkc of light
dry yellow palm crown of thorns
line of blood that circles circles
your morphine eyes
like two wet balls
you got balls
you got balls
i'd like to see her rise again /her white white bones /with baby brian jones/ baby frickin jones like blushing baby dolls/ ammonia clouds yur armpits/ goodie goodie gunbox / i need a chick not a fresh easter chick/egg pop, not a new peach, /but a girl with intricate balance, /a girl who is grown up but not cold enough to be called a woman. anouk aimee of the black dress and bruised eyes, not a bombshell.
i need a birthc not a bull heycke not a hard egged flufff with a lilac stuffed in her trouser. and not a woman. i could never handle one. ah spansule what's in it for me.
my gentle sister linda marguerite was born screaming, the doctor didn't have to slap her, rather he shoved his thumb and forefinger in her mouth , so she wouldn't swallow her tongue, so she wouldn't scream to death.
star fish quivers in the belly
maria fake
renee falconetti
I'm mad for you
your death in life / for film
as jeanne darkc of light
dry yellow palm crown of thorns
line of blood that circles circles
your morphine eyes
like two wet balls
you got balls
you got balls
i'd like to see her rise again /her white white bones /with baby brian jones/ baby frickin jones like blushing baby dolls/ ammonia clouds yur armpits/ goodie goodie gunbox / i need a chick not a fresh easter chick/egg pop, not a new peach, /but a girl with intricate balance, /a girl who is grown up but not cold enough to be called a woman. anouk aimee of the black dress and bruised eyes, not a bombshell.
i need a birthc not a bull heycke not a hard egged flufff with a lilac stuffed in her trouser. and not a woman. i could never handle one. ah spansule what's in it for me.
my gentle sister linda marguerite was born screaming, the doctor didn't have to slap her, rather he shoved his thumb and forefinger in her mouth , so she wouldn't swallow her tongue, so she wouldn't scream to death.
August 10, 2007
I used to have this and I lost it.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews