I've never been a huge fan of Patti Smith's music, but I sure do admire her as a very a genuine person, and as an artist. She's been called the "punk poet laureate." I don't really think of her as a "punk", but as an artist first and foremost.
My exposure to punk was more so punk rock bands like The Ramones or even Sid Vicious when I headed for England in 1977, and horrified my mother after I got myself a haircut much like his. I wasn't a fan of the Sex Pistols but I found it all curious from the stand point of a cultural phenomenon.
I don't know if Patti Smith was a cultural phenomenon but legendary for her contribution to music, and song writing ability. She is both a renegade and a wise woman.
The interview with her this morning reflected the kind of person she really is I think, and what you see, is what you get. She has been and will continue to be a real mentor for so many other artists. Her ideas about the importance of daydreaming, having discipline as an artist, and concentrating on the work at hand, exemplifies her commitment to creativity. These are all the elements of her personality I admire, and I look forward to reading her memoir, M Train.
In my opinion Patti Smith is a wild woman in the truest sense, a wolf woman, a Crone, the Wise Woman, a woman who runs with the wolves. She understands that the real work is to keep doing the work of creating, growing, and life long learning.
"Freedom is the right to write the wrong words"
- Patti Smith
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