Early Work, 1970-1979

by Patti Smith

Collected here are selections from Patti Smith's writings over the decade in which she made a lasting impact on America's underground literary and rock scene. Smith's work evokes the experimentation and the desire to break boundaries of those pre-punk days. Over one-quarter of the works selected are unpublished pieces from journals, performances, and Smith's personal papers. Heavily illustrated with photographs by Judy Linn, Robert Mapplethorpe, Edward Maxey, and others, Early Work brings together all sides of Patti Smith, from the thoughtful intellectual to the explosive performer.

Genres: Poetry, Music, Nonfiction, Art, Literature, American, Contemporary

180 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

PATTI 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.

Reviews

[Theo Logos · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found

I found in this collection of early work raw power.
I found intensity.
I found flashes of brilliant imagery.
I found energy and desire.
I found a few poems that sang of work to come.
I found many poems stillborn and lifeless.
I found no great poems, only great promise.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Her words changed my life.

[Jim Manis · Rating 4 out of 5]

My students were surprised to discover that Patti Smith is a poet. I was thrilled that they new who she was.

[Harry McDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

The really fascinating thing about this collection is that a good chunk of these poems are a bit crap - and that's without mentioning the use of racist streotypes that Smith employs on occasion.

The other thing that's interesting (at least to a Smith obsessive like myself) is the way that poems and phrases from these early works would turn up in songs up to 20 years later: early versions of what would become Land, Fire of Unknown Origin, Wave and Wing are here, even if all that was kept was a couple of lines.

[Anne Russo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands down the most inspiring book of poetry I have ever read. This collection changed my life. Simply put, perfect. I love everything about this book.

[India · Rating 3 out of 5]

to be honest i only read about half of this. but i count that as “read” since it’s a book of poetry. three stars because it was good, but as much as i try, im really just not a poetry girl, no matter how much i loved Just Kids and listening to Because the Night on repeat. agh.

[MJ Cunha · Rating 4 out of 5]

For this review, I will use the same word I use to describe Patti Smith: raw.

[Luca Dubroca · Rating 5 out of 5]

all praise to the high priestess of rock n roll

(maybe not an actual 5 not all the poems were that good but it’s a personal favourite)

[June · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chop! The presentation gives it a 2 star. Complete beat nonsense prose poems and just punk to the point of being offensive and crass. Now I know what it means to shit Voltaire style I guess? If that is even a thing.

[Greta · Rating 4 out of 5]

look at this land where we am. lost souls. failed moon over the carnival. deserted. there is no twilight on this island. night falls like a final curtain. how shakespearean. carnival of fools. of the seduced and the discarded. the tricked ones. the skinned ethopian. sleeping through the whole thing. the leopard rolling over. all but blushing with the discovery of his sleek coat sans spot.

[Clara Sorrow · Rating 1 out of 5]

there’s some great stuff in here. you just have to filter through all the bad. i also don’t feel comfortable giving a poetry book with this many slurs written in the 80’s a higher rating…

[sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got something to hide here called desire I got something to hide here called desire.

[Ariel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really conflicted about this one. It was so interesting to see her evolve as a poet, moving from poems that felt like beat poetry to almost-prose like passages. I found the beginning sort of clumsy (might have been better read aloud?), really enjoyed the middle bit for how evocative and messy it was and then she lost me at the end again when she attempted a longer prose-poem-story thing that got a bit triggering. It's definitely a product of its time, as it's full of words she really shouldn't be using. Also TW rape, especially at the end.

[Aidysbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

What am I going to read every day now 😭? Read it little by little because I wanted to save it like one saves their favorite perfume.

A near perfect collection of poetry and musings collected over the years. Definitely in my list of "favorite books by Patti Smith".

[Sarah Eliza · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few gems tucked into Patti Smith's earlier days as a writer; my personal favorite is "babelfield (version).

[Stay Fetters · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A very private dick
Sniff Sniff beagle brain
Your bush needs clipping
your mouth needs kissing"


Patti Smith always writes with such deep emotion and it hits your soul. Love everything she does. Total icon.

[Katherine Simmons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetry wise a bit more miss than hit for me but the insight into Smith's world is fantastic from her writing. Again more one for reading out loud to get that rhythm and sense of emotion.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dissertation research

[Basia · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's Patti Smith.

[Chris]

An interesting book witnessing Patti Smith in formation with her poetry. I particularly enjoy her rhapsodizing about music such as: "the note of nobility can go on forever. I never tire of the solitary E and I trust my guitar and don't care about anything." Well put. I would feel most guitarists feel that way. Her beatnik racism can get a bit tiring about idealizing Black people and seeing them as abstract inspiration for white poets, not unlike what Norman Mailer wrote about in his essay, "The White Negro," and Kerouac wrote about in his worst moments like in *Dharma Bums*. She is heavily indebted to the style of Rimbaud, but we start seeing the forming of her own cadences and imagery. What I appreciate most of all is that she is open to everything at this moment: making poetry from tour notes, incanting over a posthumous Jim Morrison album, meditating over Georgia O'Keeffe.

The book is not her best or most consistent writing, but it is interesting seeing it develop and see what poems start getting reconfigured into song lyrics. I would say this is a book for a deep Patti Smith fan, not for people just getting into her. *Just Kids* is the most user-friendly of her writing. *The Year of the Monkey*, I think, is her most ecstatic.

[Juliano · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Time is expressed / in the heart / of an instrument / Something that stops / in the heart of a man / Time is the wall and the space around / Time is the tree a life that resounds.” In Patti Smith’s Early Work: 1970 — 1979, prose and poem works from her earliest publications (Seventh Heaven, Ha! Ha! Houdini!, Witt, and Babel) are collated in chronological order, showing a decade of development as Smith’s style solidifies into what we all know and love today. It’s brash + punk, full of longing, restlessness, verve; always pushing at its own edges, sure that the limits are always surpassable. “i haven’t fucked w/ the past but i’ve fucked plenty w/the future.” A fitting final book for 2020.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounding up from 3.5

This wasn't the greatest start for me, but I got more into it as it went on, and by the end was thoroughly enjoying it. There's no denying that Patti Smith is a genius with words, even though some didn't resonate with me. It was also interesting to read this right after finishing Just Kids, as I tried to align the poetry and prose in this book with what was going on in her life at the time. Some things were much more obvious (e.g., Jim Morrison's death) than others, but the context from Just Kids was helpful.

Worth reading, for sure.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Patti's poem 'Grant' about her Dad was my favourite from this collection. I really love how she writes, even if her ideas are a little abstract at times.

The edgy punk poems kind of give me a bit of a giggle at times. Just becuase I can imagine some of the art students I know saying similar things to what Patti writes about as a young woman.

I love her poems about art, artists and I love seeing little echoes of the people in her life in her poetry after reading all of her memoirs. Maybe this is my sign to reread Just Kids hahaha

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read Just Kids and M Train in recent years has me on a Patti Smith kick. Reread this about 30 years after the first time and enjoyed it much more, as age & experience lends a deeper understanding to the archetypal subject matters she was exploring. Smith was born an old soul and has always had a deep understanding of life as well as death which she weaves into mythological writing. Recommended!

[Maria Dedelis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Patti says: we worship the flaw.
- the imperfect, raw, galloping poetry, uneven, cadenced words spilling out of the very soul of the punk beat poet. Emotions, sounds, scents - all mingling and overlapping, springing and musing - mad and thoughtful at the same time, the poems evoke arrows of inspiration shooting from the imagination and all the senses that the body experiences poetry with. Manifestoes, hymns, love songs, surreal worlds. A true gem.

[Joel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love her music. Her poetry can be very hit and miss for me. Much of this collection is culled from her notebooks at the time and it really shows. Some of it is very good, but some of it feels like unfinished sketches, probably not originally meant for publication. Worth the read if you’re a Patti Smith completist, just listen to Horses if you’re not.

[Karen Roth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used this title because they did not have Patti Smith at the Minette Lane.
So all my review and stars are regarding Minette Lane.
Excellent! A bit of song and story all live and still relevant, from love to voting!

[Courtland Bethune · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this collection of poetry!!

To me it is perfect and it truly touched me.

That being said, there are some words in this collection that are dated and/or triggering.

I had to read up on why she chose to use some of the words.

[Lizzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book holds some of my favorite poems of all time, but the book overall is a little hit or miss for me. Lots of times where I had to just push through reading it. The goods are incredible though! “Oh Billy Dancer I need a good lover
And you sure look good to me.”

[Carson Meloche · Rating 4 out of 5]

maybe 5 stars
personally i love her writing and her train of thought
i love how crude yet artistic she can be.
i wish the poetry community would recognize her work more, my local book store told me she didn’t write poetry when i asked if they had any of her collections. :(