Devotion (Why I Write)

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Devotion is short enough to devour at one enjoyable sitting and thought-provoking enough to deserve re-reading."-Suzi Feay, Financial Times This is what is so astonishing about [Smith’s] career and what motivates Devotion—the way that, as she has gotten older, Smith’s vision has expanded, framing her self-awareness not as self-absorption but rather a deep dive into everything, the exhilaration and the terror and the transcendence that we all share.”—David Ulin, Barnes & Noble Review The middle of the book contains Smith’s first published piece of fiction, a long, dreamlike, and rather tedious short story entitled “Devotion” where the image of the ice skater and Simone Weil will improbably morph into a story about a feisty young woman who also skates and has a slightly creepy affair with a starchy older man. It’s supposed to represent passion overcoming reason, or something- –the billowing steam of pseudo-romantic clichés (“-I belong to no one, she said defiantly. -No one? He smiled, unbuttoning her sweater.”) bored me to wooziness. Any story written on a European train and apparently inspired by soaking up the ancient bohemian atmosphere of Paris and London ought to be way more alluring than this.

Review of Patti Smith’s Devotion - Ashley Hajimirsadeghi A Review of Patti Smith’s Devotion - Ashley Hajimirsadeghi

Of her effort to write about writing, we might say that Smith ends up saying what a lot of writers who write about writing might say: that it is a calling, that it is done out of necessity, that it aims to improve the world, that it aims to show the best of its author, that it’s hard, that it’s joyous, that it’s under the influence of everything in the author’s life, and that it’s an influence on everything in the author’s life. By turns allegorical, metaphysical, fictional and factual, Devotion shows rather than tells what it means to give a life to writing. A master of poetic innovation, Smith takes her style to the next level in this slim volume.”—Katherine Cooper, Hyperallergic a b c d Khanna, Vish (May 2007). "Patti Smith Fights the Good Fight – Timeline". Exclaim!. Canada. Archived from the original on January 24, 2009 . Retrieved December 5, 2008. a b "National Book Awards – 2010". National Book Foundation. Retrieved February 26, 2012. (With acceptance speech, interview, and reading.)

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Sometimes it’s enough to know it was a dark and stormy night. Great American literature is riddled with dark and stormy nights, so why shouldn’t Smith take advantage of those same telling, clichéd psychological details? Her story, “Devotion”, contains: a promising ice skater, the aforementioned mysterious man, a frozen lake, a small cabin in the woods, some trains and passports, and a good deal of feeling. Feelings include: surprise, gratitude, lust, and a death wish. Smith is telling it her way, but also in the ancient way. It’s recognizable to readers for its mythic proportion, accessible to all kinds of people for its brevity and intensity — and yet, it’s still distinctly Patti Smith.

Devotion by Patti Smith | Waterstones

Columbia's 2022 Honorary Degree Recipients Announced". Columbia University in The City of New York. April 15, 2022 . Retrieved May 28, 2022.

Summary

In March 2003, ten days after Rachel Corrie's death, Smith appeared in Austin, Texas and performed an anti-war concert. She subsequently wrote "Peaceable Kingdom", a song which was inspired by and is dedicated to Corrie. [109] In 2009, in her Meltdown concert in Festival Hall, she paid homage to the Iranians taking part in post-election protests by saying "Where is My Vote?" in a version of the song "People Have the Power". [110] Manson, Shirley (April 15, 2004). "The Immortals: The First Fifty". Rolling Stone. No.946. Archived from the original on March 16, 2006 . Retrieved February 4, 2008. The climate emergency is at the forefront of Smith’s mind. We’re meeting via Zoom to discuss her headline concert at the opening of Cop26, and I’m momentarily thrown by the sight of the queen of punk waving at me from her bedroom in New York. But there she is, her thin frame draped in a green shirt, her long silver hair in plaited pigtails on each side of her angular, undone face. A guitar rests in the corner of the room, while her cat makes regular appearances on screen. An artist, almost more than anyone, has got to be free Smith, Patti (October 17, 1997). "A conversation with singer Patti Smith". Charlie Rose (Interview: Video). New York: WNET. Archived from the original on January 21, 2011 . Retrieved January 12, 2011.