a patti smith website.

Just Kids is getting great reviews
One of them by The Sunday Times: "They first met in 1967: she, an awkward Catholic girl from New Jersey, he an awkward Catholic boy from Queens. Both were 20. Smith, tall, thin and dreamy, had just recovered from an unwanted pregnancy, in which the nurses had been “very cruel and uncaring…[they] left me on a table for several hours, ridiculed me for my beatnik appearance and immoral behaviour, calling me ‘Dracula’s daughter’ ”. Giving the child up for adoption and jacking in her job at a text-book factory, she arrived in New York on a stolen fare with a raincoat, a suitcase and a copy of Baudelaire. Sleeping rough in parks and graveyards among junkies and hustlers, she finally secured a job; a series of chance encounters brought her together with Mapplethorpe, then a student at the Pratt Institute. Within days, they became inseparable, two downtown urchins “irrevocably intertwined, like Paul and Elisabeth, the sister and brother in Cocteau’s Les Enfants Terribles”."

"By day she scraped a living at Scribner’s, the bookstore, by night she painted, drew and wrote poetry with Mapplethorpe. To supplement their income, she stole half-eaten lobster claws from the restaurant next door for him to spray and sell as jewellery; he, in turn, took to, er, hustling “to make money for us”, she says, admitting a few pages later that he sometimes failed to take payment."

The 36th annual New Year's Day Poetry Reading features Patti Smith, Philip Glass
The Independent: "For the 36th year of the event, the 2010 New Year's Day Marathon Poetry Reading will occur at St. Mark's in New York City's East Village. More than 140 writers, poets and performers will read and perform, including Patti Smith, composer Philip Glass, and singer-songwriter Steve Earle. The event draws over 1,000 through the day, beginning at 2 pm on January 1, 2010."

Objects of Life
An exhibition by Patti Smith and Steven Sebring in Robert Miller Gallery, New York City: January 6th - February 6th 2010.

"Objects of Life is a fascinating exhibition of photographs, objects and video inspired by Steven Sebring's time with Patti Smith during the filming of their extraordinary documentary Dream of Life. During the 11 years of filming, Sebring became increasingly interested in the history and mythology behind the possessions and personal treasures that Smith shared in the film's most intimate moments. It resulted in the desire to return to his roots as photographer and to recontextualise the sacred and the commonplace through his camera lens. Objects of Life consists of 14 large-scale photographs taken by Sebring. This collection ranges from Smith's childhood dress to an ancient urn containing the remains of Smith's close friend and collaborator Robert Mapplethorpe, to black leather boots that have stomped around the world and a video installation of Smith in the course of creating an art piece. The exhibition also includes a rare oil painting by Smith, her largest and most recent work to date. Also featured is a private collection of personal belongings from both artists whose collaboration is grounded by their relationship to the film and to their individual personal experiences."

Who Shot Rock and Roll
A photographic exhibition at Brooklyn Museum until January 31st 2010.

"The New York City rock and roll scene figures prominently, featuring photos of bands from the Talking Heads and the Ramones, to Patti Smith and the Velvet Underground. "Very important what we were doing. For me, photographing in the streets, the Ramones being photographed on the streets, Talking Heads writing about Psycho Killer, everything was very of the moment and of New York and we were working to transform New York into an art form," said photographer Godlis. The exhibit shows the importance of photography to a musical movement as a silent window into the world of sound."

The New York City 400
"In celebration of New York's 400th birthday, the Museum of the City of New York recently compiled a list of the 400 most influential New Yorkers from the last four centuries. Of these great figures, one of them was Patti Smith, and along with this honorable title, she was also awarded a lifetime membership to the museum."

Pratt Institute honors Patti Smith
Interiordesign.net: "For her part, Smith accepted her award with recollections of her time spent living near the school. "Even though I never attended Pratt, I was touched by the world of Pratt, by the campus, by the students, by the professors, and I'm very happy to be part of a night that builds resources for scholarships."

"Smith wrapped the ceremony up with a four-song performance that included her classic "Because the Night," which she dedicated to Robert Mapplethorpe. "

Patti Smith – Simply a concert
An Italian photographic book of Patti Smith performing has been published.

"Patti Smith fans storm Mapplethorpe opening"
Artinfo (October 14th 2009): "The Alison Jacques Gallery could have found no better way to drum up interest for its exhibition of photographs by the late Robert Mapplethorpe than to host a performance by Patti Smith: songstress, poet, onetime Mapplethorpe muse, and all-around cultural icon. The problem was, the event last night generated a little too much interest. By 5:45, 15 minutes before Smith was to go on, a line of her fans stretched a full block from the gallery’s Berners Street address, and no sooner had the gallery thrown open its doors than more of them arrived, and streamed in, until the two rooms were packed and stifling, becoming an inadvertent play on the exhibition’s Rimbaud-derived title, “A Season in Hell.” One gallery-goer was seen fleeing, tossing over her shoulder the remark, “If you want to get hot, definitely go in there.”

Patti Smith performs 'Because The Night' at the opening (Youtube)

In Perfect Harmony: Music Legends and their Animals
A calendar, whose proceeds benefit Rational Animal, a nonprofit organization specializing in awareness for at-risk animals, includes Patti Smith: "Photographer Frank Stefanko’s portrait of Patti Smith and her kitty, titled “The Lookout,” successfully smashes the stereotype of the unhip “cat lady.”

Remembering Jim Carroll
Los Angeles Times: "A guardian angel for Jim then was Patti Smith, who worked at Scribner's bookshop on Fifth Avenue. One day I was there when Jim OD'd. Patti kept him awake, walking him around until he came to. "

Sam Shepard and Patti Smith in January 2010
Event information: "Sam Shepard and Patti Smith have been close friends since the early 1970s, when they co-wrote and co-starred in the play Cowboy Mouth. Upon the publication of their new books—Shepard's Day Out of Days, a collection of stories; and Smith's memoir Just Kids—they read together at the Poetry Center for the first time."

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1UPDATED FEBRUARY 6TH 2010