Patti Smith Devotion

Patti Smith celebrating new book 'Devotion' in NYC tonight

Patti Smith Devotion

Patti Smith has been having a busy past few days in NYC. She played the Mother! premiere at Radio City and then played Central Park the next day with surprise guest Michael Stipe. She’s got another event in NYC TONIGHT (9/19) at the Barnes & Noble in Union Square to celebrate the release of her book Devotion, which came out last week. Here’s an excerpt from PopMatters‘ review of the book:

It’s completely unfair to compare Patti Smith’s new book, Devotion, to her previous two, Just Kids and M Train. Just Kids and M Train are memoirs. While Devotion purports to be non-fiction, it’s not strictly speaking a memoir. Devotion is actually the title of a short story, which takes up most of the scant hundred pages in this book. It opens and closes with Smith’s reflection on how the short story of “Devotion” came to be written. What we really have is the first piece of fiction by Smith, and her accompanying thoughts on how it was made. She knows there’s no great secret to this work: “I push aside my computer and cast a ruling upon the uneven plaster ceiling: we pillage, we embrace, we know not” (6). Yet it is still the greatest of mysteries, how writers transcend to their writing space: “I linger, content to be with the ghosts of writers who have passed into this same perimeter” (14).

Tonight’s B&N event starts at 7 PM, and the event page says, “Wristbands for event will be distributed with purchase of Devotion from this Barnes & Noble location the day of the event. In the interest of time Ms. Smith will not be personalizing, posing for photos, or signing any additional backlist or memorabilia.”

Watch a trailer for the book:

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