Woolgathering
Category: Books,Biographies & Memoirs,Arts & Literature
Woolgathering Details
Review “A poet of distinction.” - The New York Times“Smith is well attuned to the otherwordly dimension of dreams and cosmic visions. In this intimate and vaulting collection, she ushers us into the kingdom of childhood…Smith looks to family history for sources of her artistic impulses and portrays herself in adulthood as a roaming mystic, journal in hand, heart and mind open. Exultations of concentrated beauty and mystery ignite Smith’s soulful poems about the making of an artist.” - Booklist“Capturing moments of her adult life, Smith pares down her prose to a state of vivid impressionism, so enigmatic that even ordinary acts - preparing mint tea, nodding off while sewing - take on spiritual weight.” - The Guardian Read more About the Author Patti Smith is a poet, performer, visual artist, and author of the National Book Award-winning memoir Just Kids. She has twelve albums, has had numerous gallery shows, and continues to give concerts of her music and poetry. Her books include Early Work, The Coral Sea,Witt, Babel, Auguries of Innocence, Woolgathering, Land 250, Trois, and many others. She lives in New York. Read more
Reviews
Forty years ago, Patti Smith changed rock music with the release of Horses. She combined Beat sensibility with outraged punk, confounding critics and listeners alike. She embraced androgyny, sexuality, sensuality and sensibility in her music, poetry, writing and spoken word performance art, and was Robert Mapplethorp's muse. Now she has emerged as one of America's finest prose writers, and most certainly Woolgathering is a testament to her talent. Written and published when Smith turned 45, Woolgathering is a collection of childhood memories, stories she says are true as she remembers them. They are woven together in a stream-of-consciousness recollection, reading Woolgathering is like lying on the grass on a summer afternoon staring up at the sky and watching clouds drift and float and meander overhead. The sky is Smith's narrative, and her memories clouds.It makes no difference that almost 25 years has past since Smith spent some time gathering the wool of her memories and imagination and translated them into ink on paper.Don't expect Just Kids, don't expect Babel; have no expectations, and just relax and read as if sky-gazing as clouds pass overhead.
