in Patti ´s mind and on the streets, too
Patti Smith: Devotion.
Year of the Monkey by
Patti Smith blew my mind. Then, because of reading that book, I then bought most of her books, now reading them, enjoying them, one by one.
Smith ´s
Book of Days I read every day. I most often start my writing session reading thet day ´s notion and then, just write.
Okey, so this small of size book
Devotion. I had the book with me as I was travelling. I chose to travel with it mainly because of
Patti Smith (bien sur!) but to be honest, because the size of t.
Devotion slides quite nicely in purse, even pocket). In the cover photo, there she is,
Patti, modelling, angelic pose, her hand reaching for the window, standing on the bed, I guess in a hotel.
The book itself, the 107 pages, consists of four parts: How the Mind Works, Devotion, A Dream is not s Dream and Written in a Train where we get to see
Patti ´s handwritten pages, her texts (if one can read that writing).
The first part -
Patti wonders like her mind, like
Patrick Modiano in Paris, let her thoughts move, wander, take place, fall off when there is nothing more to say about something (that instant) - and that part (she obsesses with
Simone Weil!) I loved the most. Let the text flow, let it all feel random, let it be not linear. I love how she uses her English, how she gathers her sentences.
The Devotion - part -I don ´t need in my life. It was a fairytale like story of a girl, a skater. And to me, it was just a very normal a goood story, well written but it lacked the
Patti mind-walking-wondering- memories-kind of a text I love the most. A dream tells (mostly) about Patti visitin
Albert Camus ´s daughter,
Camus ´s house in south of France. And the last part - I could not read her handwriting (oh my poor old eyes) but all through the book I enjoyed her photos, like little pebbles along the route.
Always a good idea to read Patti, even if it turns out not to be her finest moments with you.
