‘How should I cast my soul?’ Patti Smith’s intimate new memoir is a quest for her true self
Patti Smith’s acclaimed memoir Just Kids was celebrated as one of the best books of the 21st century. Her newest work, Bread of Angels, captures the essence of a life shaped by passion, love, loss, and enduring creativity.
A Life Marked by Love and Loss
The book’s release date, November 4, holds special meaning. On that day in 1946, Smith’s lifelong artistic companion and first love, photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, was born. Exactly 48 years later, her husband and musical partner Fred “Sonic” Smith passed away. The memoir’s timing mirrors the circular rhythm of creation and loss that defines her journey.
“The hourglass overturns,” she writes in the opening pages, “each grain a word that erupts into a thousand more, the first and last moments of every living thing.”
Evolution Through Words and Time
Written over ten years, Bread of Angels reflects on nearly five decades of Smith’s transformative art, arriving close to the fiftieth anniversary of her landmark debut album Horses. The narrative reveals how her poetic reflection binds the physical and spiritual worlds, exploring how memory fuels creativity.
The Continuum of Her Work
- Just Kids depicts her bond with Mapplethorpe and their early artistic rise in 1970s New York.
- M Train and Year of the Monkey follow her inner and outer travels, grappling with impermanence and faith.
- Devotion examines writing as an act of resistance and renewal, protecting her identity from the influence of others.
Together, these works form an evolving self-portrait that continues to search for meaning in art and existence.
Author’s summary: Patti Smith’s Bread of Angels intertwines memory, loss, and artistry into a poetic meditation on the cycles of creation, love, and the passage of time.