The Coral Sea [Paperback]

Patti Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 17, 1997

"Through these poems, a singular, glowing vision of Robert Mapplethorpe develops and emerges. In The Coral Sea, Patti Smith (in the words of Tennessee Williams) 'rings the bell of pure poetry.' "—William S. Burroughs

In linked pieces Patti Smith tells the story of a man on a journey to see the Southern Cross, who is reflecting on his life and fighting the illness that is consuming him. Metaphoric and dreamy, this tale of transformation arises from Smith's knowledge of Mapplethorpe as a young man and as a mature artist, his close relationship with his patron and friend, Sam Wagstaff, and his years surviving AIDS and his ascent into death. Rich in detail, it is filled with references to Mapplethorpe's work and shows the man beneath the persona. Set against photographs by Mapplethorpe, the work emerges as a hymn, a prayer, a fable wishing him Godspeed on his latest journey.

"She was once our savage Rimbaud, but suffering has turned her into our St. John of the Cross, a mystic full of compassion."--Edmund White

Editorial Reviews

Review

After Thoughts
An Auctioned Heart
A Bed Of Roses
Crux
The Herculean Moth
Imago
Light Play
Magua
Monkeyshines
Music: A Woman
The Passenger M
The Pedestal
Rank And File
The Solomon Islands
Staff Of Life
The Throw
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

She was once our savage Rimbaud, but suffering has turned her into our St. John of the Cross, a mystic full of compassion. -- Edmund White

About the Author

Patti Smith is a poet, performer, visual artist, and author of the National Book Award-winning memoir Just Kids. She has twelve albums, has had numerous gallery shows, and continues to give concerts of her music and poetry. Her books include Early Work, The Coral Sea, Witt, Babel, Auguries of Innocence, Woolgathering, Land 250, Trois, and many others. She lives in New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 72 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (June 17, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393316262
• ISBN-13: 978-0393316261
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 7.6 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,305,460 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Staggeringly beautiful and elegantly restrained., November 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Coral Sea (Hardcover)

This gorgeous elegaic tribute to Mapplethorpe, to the enduring and transforming power of Love, is like a drop of purest gold that will work quiet alchemy in your spirit; elegant, restrained, and all the more powerful for the subtle discipline Ms Smith brings - as ever - to her heartfelt poems and meditations. We're privileged to share this healing, necessary work. Staggering and Beautiful.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous lush prose/poem, July 9, 2002

By 

A. Hogan (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Coral Sea (Paperback)

Patti Smith his come aways since HORSES. Or maybe not very far at all. Lurking beneath the poet/punk of the famous mapplethorp cover was a woman of profoundly mystical bent. In this, a fable and an elegy , for Robert as she writes in the dedication, Patti smith imagines a man searching for the southern cross, and a man dying. Each of the very short capters are accompanied by a mapplethorpe photograph. Profound, wrenching prose, which caused me to wince in pain and recognition, and ultimately, which delivers a coda to a life. This is amazing stuff, the kind of book that should be passed to loved ones wrapped in a ribbon of silk,, cherished as a gift. It is that good. It moved me like few books have in my life.Nothing in Patti smiths work had prepared me for the overwhelming beauty of this book. A staggering book of wonder.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very different from "Just Kids"; depends on what you desire, March 12, 2011

By 

Ellen Etc. (Northern California, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Coral Sea (Hardcover)

I loved "Just Kids" and see "The Coral Sea" as a warm-up exercise for it, but then again, I prefer straight-ahead memoir to opaque poetic musings.

Here's a sample: "He regarded, with irony, his feverish wand. Vegetation papered his cabin--a tomb of moss and fern. Great fish leapt and became trophies in his hand and the stag advanced and licked his palm. // How should I be charged, he whispered. For want of so much bounty. For rearranging eyes. For being one who wished nothing less than to embrace the spine of a mountain as the light played on."

If, like me, you wanted a little more after finishing "Just Kids," it's here, but not anecdotes and insights into Robert Mapplethorpe, unless you're a better decoder than I. If, on the other hand, you became intrigued with the mythic figure of poet Patti Smith, the one who venerated Gregory Corso's "The Happy Birthday of Death," you'll find this book tantalizing and luscious.