Early Work: 1970-1979 [Paperback]

Patti Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 17, 1995

Selections from Patti Smith's writings over the decade in which she made a lasting impact on America's underground literary and rock scene.

Collected here are selections from Patti Smith's writings over the decade in which she made a lasting impact on America's underground literary and rock scene. Smith's work evokes the experimentation and the desire to break boundaries of those pre-punk days. Over one-quarter of the works selected are unpublished pieces from journals, performances, and Smith's personal papers. Heavily illustrated with photographs by Judy Linn, Robert Mapplethorpe, Edward Maxey, and others, Early Work brings together all sides of Patti Smith, from the thoughtful intellectual to the explosive performer.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This collection of Smith's poetry, focusing on her work during the decade in which she made her greatest impact on the punk and literary scenes, includes photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe and others.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

"An artist wears his work in place of wounds. Here then is a glimpse of the sores of my generation," Smith says in a brief introduction. It is in the context of its decade that readers might best appreciate this volume. The writing from the four books gathered here, which seemed so daring in the 1970s, has lost some of its fury, especially when held up against recent performance artists. But this also works to the book's advantage: readers are not shocked as easily, and those who were caught up in their own turmoils during the 1970s can look more objectively at what Smith has to offer. Her stream-of-consciousness style permits superficial stabs at mystical vision, but beneath the sex, drugs, and four-letter words, she reveals a romantic sensibility. Sometimes, as in a magnificent three-page prose meditation on God and her father, everything calmly falls into place. With photos by Robert Mapplethorpe and Judy Linn. Recommended for larger, metropolitan collections.
- Rochelle Ratner, formerly Poetry Editor, "Soho Weekly News," New York
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (June 17, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393313018
• ISBN-13: 978-0393313017
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 4.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #511,005 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:

4.0 out of 5 stars Early Work: 1970-1979 By Patti Smith, March 13, 2001

By 

"awriterwithguts" (Kaneohe, Hawaii) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Early Work: 1970-1979 (Paperback)

Excellent compilation of the early stuff that would be hard to get now. I also have the "originals" small chap books containing most of the same works. It is great to have it all together on one book. Not for everyone, but for those who "know" her this is a "must" to add to your collection. Reading this work is highly inspirational to poets like myself. Those who are new to her works and those who are wanting to really "know" Patti should read this book of her early stuff. I have followed her since the ealy 1970's. A true Patti fan will not be disappointed. Buy this book !

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Patti, at her most mythic and provocative, June 1, 2004

By 

M. Bromberg "BellemeadeBooks" (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Early Work: 1970-1979 (Paperback)

Patti's fans (and foes) will find plenty of ammunition in this collection of lyrics and poetry from the 1970s. From the earliest, it is obvious that Patti's a romantic mythmaker at heart, with syntax and meaning almost losing out to the sheer power and rhythm of the word. It's difficult to read her lyrics without hearing the rock'n'roll that carried them aloft. Patti's subject matter on the earliest albums -- art, drugs, and mysticism in full romantic swoon -- she delivered with nearly Biblical passion. Her lyric styles and confessional soul-searching owe a debt to Jim Morrison, which Patti has always acknowledged, and the power of Patti's words (like Morrison's) is often in their performance and not on the printed page. Her fans will appreciate having a written record of Patti's earliest lyrics, but the simply curious may not be converted.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Patti!, April 4, 2000

By 

Patti forever (Fort Lauderdale) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Early Work, 1970-1979 (Hardcover)

Patti, you've got to love her. She's either wonderful and sublime, or she falls flat on her face. Think about Radio Ethiopia, gems like Pissin in a river, combined with the incredibly self indulgent title cut. This book is a bit like that, all over the lot. Her poetry, however, sounds a lot better coming from her mouth than on the printed page. What we need from Patti is a live album, taken from her glory days. It would be one of the greatest ever, better than the new Clash live album.