Patti Smith

Here is the next installment. Somewhat dark but so is government.

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Happy February first. It’s a leap year, and I have leapt into this little book nearly unpremeditated. It was just there and now here. I think I will read it to you til we reach the end. It’s a small book and February is the shortest month, though neither wanting in intensity. And being a leap year we can look forward to February 29th. Perhaps the opening will raise questions, though I’m not altogether certain I can answer, as much of the work was written in a kind of emotional code.

Now I am switching gears and heading to Oliver Ray’s Substack: Rimbaud’s Lost Papers. He is a gifted writer with a unique and generous perspective, and has a nice surprise waiting for me there. You can find him on my list of recommendations or in the high Abyssinian plain, in search of a certain valise that only a diviner such as he might unearth.

Patti Smith is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support the work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pattismith.substack.com/subscribe

Patti Smith is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pattismith.substack.com/subscribe

Hello everyone,

I am turning in early but made you a video. And now I am saying goodnight with the emphasis on good.

p.s. I like this guy, he seems very sincere.

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Hello everyone,

Kind of quiet tonight, a good time to hang out. I’m working, but I noticed my mind was wandering and thought I would take a break to say hello, and introduce Half Magic. Speaking of half, this video looks half fading away, sorry about that.

Every once in a while I see a wisp of Cairo, perhaps more half magic, always startling, always appreciated. I suspect she will always be somewhere in the ether of my room, as this is where she truly lived to her last breath.

Today is MohammedAli’s birthday. I was startled to note that he was only around five years older than me. Once I was in an elevator with him at the Chelsea Hotel. He was a big fellow, with glowing skin and a warm yet mischievous smile. On his birthday I offer a quote of his that I have loved: It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe. I have found that a very heartening thought tramping through life. It gives one a mangle perspective. One can always sit on a rock, remove the shoe, shake it out and continue on.

Well, as I said, I wish you a happy night, I wish it twice. I wish love, comfort and safety for the children of the world. I wish it a thousand times.

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Good evening everyone

It’s after 10 and I am winding down at my work table, and thought to stop by. I made a little video which froze at the end so I was unable to finish my sentence and tell you what I would love to have. Truthfully, it was nothing altruistic or imaginative, quite simply, it was a mug of hot chocolate and a box of animal crackers.

Well, unfortunately I have neither at hand but perhaps tomorrow. But at least I can say goodnight. I noticed I somehow got ink all over my Robert ring finger. It’s messy business using a dipping pen. In any event, goodnight all, it was fun hanging out!

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Hello everybody,

I know this is a pretty rough video, kind of laconic and a lot of text message dinging, but too much perfection is never good for anyone. Below is my little presentation speech for Lily Gladstone. Daniel Day Lewis gave a very touching speech for Martin Scorsese for best director. I was happy to note he opened with quotes from Andrei Tarkovsky.

I hope everyone is well. Please strengthen your immune system, a lot is going around. I am boiling yellow onions, adding turmeric, black pepper, fresh ginger, and cinnamon. After straining it you might want honey or cayenne pepper. In any event take care of yourselves.

Below are my words for Lily:

LILY

At its paramount, the merging of art and activism provides the people with revolutionizing truth,  exposing what must be exposed and raising up what must be raised. Martin Scorsese’s film Killers of the Flower Moon presents an abysmal shard of American history, confronting our conscience with the collective experience of Indigenous People globally.  It pierces the vein of human weakness, greed, cowardice and betrayal. And what is more piercing than the face of Lily Gladstone, as the camera captures the shifting tones of her interior process, seamlessly embodying the courageous Mollie Burkhart. Whether off or on screen, like the new moon, she could be felt if not seen.

Filmmaking is vastly dependent on intense collaboration and all who have taken part in bringing this film to light should be commended. But sometimes an artist must stand alone and draw solely from herself. As Mollie, Lily’s sense of the space around and the rushing energy of her own blood can be felt in every gesture, every side glance, in the lift of her head, in the folding of her hands, in the burgeoning illness, mirroring the afflictions imposed on her people, coupled with her stamina to love, heal and quietly condemn.

Heritage, humor, intelligence, earthy sensuality. She drew from the many aspects of herself, infusing them within her spiritual sister, the Osage woman Mollie Burkhart, with dignity and grace.

It is with great honor that I am here to present the National Board of Review Award for Best Actress to the awesome LILY GLADSTONE.

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Hello everybody,

I am sitting in my room working on my manuscript, but took a break to say hello. While I did the sun appeared from the clouds and lit up my room. I thought that a good sign. The little bit of snow we received this weekend has melted away, but not the brief happiness for having seen it.

I am reading Poor Things and Sun and Steel. I’m excited to see the film and was happy that both Emma Stone and Lily Gladstone were recipients of the Golden Globe. My deep concerns for the intensifying of wars in our world occupy my thoughts. But still I must do my work and occasionally seek inspiring entertainment.

On the nutrition front, I have added purple sweet potatoes, fresh parsley, beets and a minimum amount of Celtic salt to my diet. Boiling onions and ginger together and letting it steep makes a good medicinal tea. Also taking a walk outside everyday despite the blustering wind. haha. If there is blustering wind.

On Verlaine’s passing day I will include his poem Through interminable land below. I like how he describes the snow as vague, as it seemed on Saturday. Happy New Year everyone, and much gratitude, as ever, to my Subscribers and Founding Members.

Through interminable land

Ennui of the plain,

Vague snow once again

Shimmers like sand.

The sky is copper

Devoid of any light,

You might almost gather

The moon had lived and died.

Floating clouds

Grey oak-trees lift

In near-by woods

Among the mists.

The sky is copper

Devoid of any light,

You might almost gather

The moon had lived and died.

Wheezing crow

You gaunt wolves too,

When north winds blow

How fare you?

Through interminable land

Ennui of the plain,

Vague snow once again

Shimmers like sand.

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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pattismith.substack.com/subscribe

Tonight at Brooklyn Steel we performed Masters of War by Bob Dylan for the first time. Considering the role that governments and corporations play in the perpetuation of wars it sadly is a fitting song for our time.

It feels good to get back to work. I returned to the stage with some trepidation but my confidence, thanks to the support of the people, has returned. The video is courtesy of Janine Bubb. The rose on the screen was shot by Robert Mapplethorpe. Tomorrow, on my 77th birthday, we have one more concert. I will share some more video if you like.

Goodnight everyone, take care of yourself as we say farewell to 2023.

Patti Smith is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support the work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit pattismith.substack.com/subscribe