Patti Smith's Ideas

Patti Smith, is mainly known for being an American singer, songwriter, poet, and visual artist, some people even call her the godmother of punk. She is not only an artist but also a longtime activist, where her writings and words were inspiring and revolutionary. He lyrics showed the relationship between rock music and political lyrics, which focused on change that wasn’t very accepted. Her songs were motivation by a sense of injustice and explored ideas that were absent from a lot of music being made during the late 70’s. She is still a long activist where she performs regularly at antiwar rallies and political benefits. Smith was inspired by many people, from artists, poets, musicians, photographers, and so on. Her writings are mainly …show more content…
Her book opens with Smiths teenage years. She got pregnant out of wedlock and put the child up for adoption. Her mother wanted her to stay and waitress, but Pattie knew her calling, which was art and poetry. In 1967, at only the young age of 20, Smith made the move to New York, a “real city, shifty and sexual.”(Smith, Pg.26) She had a few friends, little money, sometimes sleeping in parks, and relying on strangers for food. She started working at a bookstore in Manhattan and this is where she met the love of her life Robert Mapplethorpe. Robert and Patti were both starving artists with bring dreams. Robert and Patti moved into a Brooklyn dive, with very little finances but they were just happy to have each other and didn’t need anything or anyone else. “We would visit art museums. There was only enough money for one ticket, so one of us would go in, look at the exhibits, and report back to the other.”(Smith, Pg 48) Robert and Patti inspired and accepted each other, while one was out working, the other one would stay at home and work on there art. Years later Robert came out as a homosexual, and in the summer of 1968 Patti moved. Robert started distancing himself and became irritable, “He never ceased to be affectionate to me, but he seemed troubled”(Smith, Pg.71) Robert planned on going to San Francisco to find himself, …show more content…
However she is much more than a singer, she is a poet, writer, and female activist. She faced many hardships, from struggling with feminist identity at a young age, to loosing her husband to death, as well as loosing her long time friend to AIDS. All her struggles have seemed to shape her into a very notable, original person. Her works were influenced by her own life situations, famous writers, poets, and singers, as well as her works influencing other famous artists and the average person. She does not shy away from difficult topics, and is a very blunt person, making her more relatable to readers and listeners or her artistic