Author(s): Patti Smith

Music

An American original, Patti Smith is a multi-disciplined artist and performer. Her work is rooted in poetry, which she infused in her 1975 landmark album Horses. A declaration of existence, Horses was described as 'three chords merged with the power of the word'; it was graced with the now iconic portrait by Robert Mapplethorpe, the subject of her award-winning memoir Just Kids. Initially published in 1998, Patti Smith's Complete Lyrics was a testimony to her uncompromising poetic power. Now, on the fortieth anniversary of the release of Smith's seminal album, Collected Lyrics has been revised and expanded with more than thirty-five additional songs, including her first - Work Song written for Janis Joplin in 1970 and the most current - Writer's Song, to be recorded in 2015. The collection is liberally illustrated with original manuscripts of lyrics from Smith's extensive archive. Patti Smith's work continues to retain its relevance, whether controversial, political, romantic or spiritual. Collected Lyrics offers forty-five years of song, an enduring commemoration of Smith's unique contribution to the canon of rock and roll.