Patti Smith: Books

Patti Smith -- Bibliography

This list includes poetry and other books (including chapbooks) by Patti, books in which she has collaborated with others, and her published songbooks.

A separate page lists tables of contents and publication/recording history of individual poems.

See Books About for books wholly or partly about Patti.

BOOKS BY PATTI ALONE

Seventh Heaven (1972) Telegraph Books, Boston MA, USA Paperback, 47 pp.: Publication included 50 signed and numbered first editions. Contains 22 poems, including Patti's tributes to Edie Sedgwick and Marianne Faithfull.; A separate English-language version (paperback, 48 pp.) was published by Expanded Media Editions, Bonn, Germany, 1979.

A Useless Death (1972) Gotham Book Mart, New York, USA Chapbook, 3 pp.: Published in an edition of 300 numbered and signed copies, and 26 lettered and signed copies. Contains the single long poem, "A Useless Death." There is some confusion about the date, which some sources give as 1977. The cover has a drawing by Patti of a girl falling through the air.

kodak (1972) Middle Earth Press, Philadelphia PA, USA Paperback, 17 pp.: This is the hardest of Patti's books to find. It has a stiff black cardboard cover bound with a single knotted string. The pages consist of 5 folded sheets of heavy stock, light gray, and one blank sheet frontispiece, dark gray-brown. The cover has the title, author's name, and a faceless silhouette printed in white (credited inside: cover photograph by Robert Mapplethorpe). "An edition of 100 copies printed by The Middle Earth Bookstore, numbered and signed by the author." On title page are 4 quotations re: photography, credited to Robert Leverant. The book contains 9 poems, including the poetic version of the song "Redondo Beach", which is on Patti's first album, Horses. It's likely that a pristine copy of this book (if you can find one) can sell for over $100.

Early morning dream / Patti Smith (c1972) Publisher: m, [s.l. : s.n.] Description: [8] p. Notes: Limited to 100 copies.: Quite Rare.

WITT (1973) Gotham Book Mart, New York, USA. Hardcover & paperback, 45 pp.

Contains 22 poems, including "Dream Of Rimbaud", "Rape", and "To Remember Debbie Denise"*. Signed and numbered hardcovers (100 in all) can bring high prices.**

A Swiss version, translated into German, was published by eco-verlag, Zurich, 1979. It contains several photos of Patti from that year.

A French version (116 pp.) was published by Michel Esteban Editeur, Paris, 1977. The first 150 copies were signed and numbered. This is a bilingual Edition with the adaptation francaise par Francois Merles Des Isles. The page size is almost identical to the Gotham Book Mart edition. This edition is dedicated to Alan Lanier. Rimbaud and Burroughs have been dropped from the dedication. At the end is a forty page scrapbook of photos and writings with lots of cool stuff.

A Portuguese/English version was published in 1983; edition size was 3500. It's the same as the original edition but includes 16 pages of photos, drawings and misc. items. The cover has a nude photo of patti sitting in front of a radiator (by Robert Mapplethorpe).

* The Blue Oyster Cult put music to this poem and recorded it as "Debbie Denise" on their 1976 album Agents of Fortune.

** Patti also signed 26 additional hardcovers and lettered them a-z. These were "for the use of the author and publisher".

Ha! Ha! Houdini! (1977) Gotham Book Mart & Gallery, NYC, USA Chapbook, 8 pp.: Consists of a single poem, Patti's tribute to Houdini. Some versions come with the pages locked together by a small padlock (keys included). Patti signed 126 first editions, numbered 1 through 100 and lettered a through z.
A separate UK version (red paper cover, 16 pp.) was published by FKN Ace Publications, London, UK, 1978.

Patti Smith - Gallerie Veith Turske (1977) Galerie Veith Turske, Cologne, West Germany Paperback, 44 pp.: In October 1977, Patti went to the Veith Turske Gallery to do a special poetry reading commemorating Arthur Rimbaud's birthday. This gallery had on display many of Patti's drawings and paintings dating from about 1965-66 to the present day (1977). This book is the gallery catalogue published for that particular event. It includes reproductions (many in color) of most of the paintings and drawings on display, copies in English and German of many of Patti's previously published poems* and song lyrics, reprints of magazine articles, and photos. It is a must have for any serious Patti fan, but it's almost impossible to find today. Interestingly enough, the poetry reading was on TV (in Cologne) and video tapes should be easier to obtain than the book.

* "Poem #2", co-written by Richard Hell and Patti, is included.

Babel (1974-1978) G. P. Putnam's Sons, NYC, USA. Hardcover and paperback, 202 pp.

This book contains an assortment of poems, prose pieces, song lyrics, and pictures. Pictures include photos of Patti, photos taken by Patti, and some of her drawings.

Reissued in mass-market paperback in 1979 by the Berkley Publishing Corp., NYC. In this smaller version, one drawing of a Native American has been replaced by a photo of Fred "Sonic" Smith.

A separate UK version (paperback, 206 pp.) was published by Virago Press, London, UK, 1978.

A French paperback version was published by Christian Bourgois Editeur, Paris, in 1981. Its only difference from the American edition, besides being in French, is a different cover photo of Patti.

A Japanese version was published by Shichosha, Tokyo, in 1994. It contains all the poems in the original form, Japanese translations of most of them, a special introduction by Patti, and some promo photos.

Woolgathering (1992) Hanuman Books, NYC, USA, and Madras, India Paperback, 80 pp.: This is a beautifully done descriptive work of childhood recollections and dreams. Included are photos taken by Patti's sister, Linda, which appear to be of locations in southern New Jersey where Patti grew up. The book itself is interesting, being no bigger than a pack of cards.

Early Work, 1970 - 1979 (1994) W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. NYC, USA Limited-edition hardcover in slipcase, 150 signed and numbered copies Hardcover and paperback, 177 pp.

This book is set up in four parts. Each part consists of poems and prose pieces over the years 1970-72, 1973-74, 1975-76, and 1977-79. A good deal of the work has been previously published in Patti's other books. In addition, there are poems and prose pieces which have never been published before. Also included are "Ha! Ha! Houdini", "Piss Factory", and a new forward (1994) by Patti. The book is similar to Babel in its layout, with many black and white pictures.

There is a UK edition as well (details not available).

There is an Italian edition titled Il Sogno di Rimbaud ("Dream of Rimbaud"): it is the same text, but is missing the illustrations. The cover photo is
a different one by Robert Mapplethorpe.

The Coral Sea (1996) New York: W. W. Norton Hardcover, 71 pp.: A single prose piece in separate short sections, illustrated with photos by Robert Mapplethorpe. This book is a meditation on Mapplethorpe in the form of an oneiric fantasy about "Passenger M" on a voyage.

Patti Smith Complete : Lyrics, Reflections & Notes for the Future (1998) New York: Doubleday; ISBN: 0-385-49079-8(hc); Hardcover - 272 pp. (October 20, 1998) Dimensions (in inches): 0.96 x 10.29 x 8.33: Clearly the Book was Intended to be "Complete"; Certainly it contains much wonderful material, and yet: It is Not Complete. It does contain the lyrics to Most of Patti's (and her Collaborators') songs - but not All. It is Not only that She isn't done yet, 'though surely that will suffice as Excuse...

Patti Smith Complete : Lyrics, Notes and Reflections (1999) New York: Anchor Books; ISBN: 0-385-49080-1; Paperback - 264 pp. illustrated edition (October 19, 1999) Dimensions (in inches): 0.87 x 9.96 x 8.12: This paperback edition contains new material not found in the hardcover edition. Surely that will suffice as Excuse... Note too that the Title has been revised. She isn't done yet.

NOT YET PUBLISHED

Patti Smith Memoir (2000) New York: Doubleday; ISBN: 0-385-49077-1(hc); Hardcover - (October 2000): This item is to be published in October 2000.

The Eternal Café,
by Janet Hamill and Patti Smith

Rumoured as forthcoming for several years now; There has been No recent news.

BOOKS IN COLLABORATION WITH OTHERS

Angel City, Curse of the Starving Class & Other Plays (1976) by Sam Shepard (w/ Patti Smith), with preface by Jack Gelber Urizen Books, Inc., NYC, USA. 245 pp.: Included among the eight plays in this book is "Cowboy Mouth". It was co-written and co-acted (in its first American showing, April 29, 1971) by Sam Shepard and Patti. A good deal of the play appears to be autobiographical on Patti's part.
This book also contains a five page poem entitled "Sam Shepard: 9 Random Years [7 + 2]" by Patti.
There are other Sam Shepard collections that include "Cowboy Mouth". The earliest is Mad Dog Blues & Other Plays (Winterhouse, 1972). This book also contains Patti's Sam Shepard poem. Tony Glover's review of this book, in which he concentrates on "Cowboy Mouth", is in the June 1972 issue of CREEM magazine.

The Night (1976) by Patti Smith and Tom Verlaine Aloes Books, London -- paperback, 14 pp.. Edition Fear Press, Paris -- paperback, 12 pp..: Contains 22 numbered poems, the odd-numbered ones written by Patti and the even-numbered ones written by Tom. The British version is pb with a plain red cover. On the last page is an announcement of a follow-up book to be called "Independence Day". This book was probably never printed.
The French version is paperback and is printed on glossy stock. It has a B/W picture of Patti and Tom on the front (negative on back). The poems are in English and French. The most interesting physical feature of this book is that it is very narrow, about the size of a folded road map.

Back page of London edition reads: "The edition is of five hundred copies printed on Star Antique paper. 25 copies are signed and numbered by the poets and specially bound with a wrapper and a signed broadsheet of a celebratory piece to Rimbaud by Patti Smith."
The second printing from Aloes Books, London, UK, 1978 is 16pp. with a pale brown paper cover -- no mention of "Independence Day."

Robert Mapplethorpe (1987) Bellport Press, NYC, USA. Hardcover: This is a super high quality collection of Mapplethorpe photos. It is more of a portfolio or photo album than an actual book. The photos are pasted on the pages. Included is one 1987 photo of Patti. She wrote the accompanying descriptive text, which is well-done and moving. This publication was limited to 2000 copies, and consequently is very rare.

Flowers Mapplethorpe (1990) Bulfinch Press/Little, Brown & Co., Boston MA, USA. Hardcover, 50 pp.: This is a high quality collection of Mapplethorpe photos of flowers. All the pictures are in color. The forward was very movingly written by Patti. Since this book is recent, it should be obtainable in any quality bookstore.

More Reflections on the Meaning of Life (1992) by David Friend (Editor) and the Editors of Life (C)1992 by The Time Inc. Magazine Company; Little, Brown and Company Toronto, Boston, London ISBN: 0-316-29409-8 (hc); Hardcover -- First Edition Dimensions (in inches): 0.88 x 11.81 x 10.87: This is the sequel to The Meaning of Life; Previously published as here (The details, however, are not presently available.) Patti does not appear in the earlier book, although MomBev does. The Major difference between the two is that the earlier book uses B&W photos, whereas this one (1992) has Color photographs (the pictures in both are by selected Photographers, sent to "collaborate" - sort of - with the Text-Contributors... There seems to be some difficulty in finding Either Book in the Library.
Patti Smiths' Contribution to this volume is on pg. 54; Her Moms' (Beverly Smith - "MomBev") is on pg. 169. Both are listed (w/ small pictures) in the index - as are all the umpteen-dozen or so other Contributors.

Living with the Animals (1995) edited by Gary Indiana Faber & Faber, USA -- paperback: Patti contributed an expanded prose version of "Mirza" to this anthology. Other contributors include: William S. Burroughs, Richard Ford, Janet Hamill, Fran Lebowitz, Barbara Kruger, Barbet Schroeder, Lynne Tillman, Emma Tennant, Rudolph Wurlitzer, Duane Michals and Taylor Mead.

Pilgrim (1997) by Richard Gere Hardcover - 144 pages (October 1997) Bulfinch Pr; ISBN: 0-82122-322-4(hc) Dimensions (in inches): 0.90 x 13.29 x 12.12

Portraits/Dessins (1998) Photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe / Drawings by Patti Smith. Paris: Galerie Baudoin Lebon Softbound, 6-1/2 x 8-1/4¨, Np pp. RePrint: Cat# VG060S (1998) Santa Fe, NM 87501: photo-eye Books & Prints, 376 Garcia Street: This compact, but elegant collection - A reprint of the catalogue of an Exhibition in Paris,
4 June to 4 July 1998 - pairs the work of longtime lovers and confidants, Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith. Mapplethorpe's photographs here are all portraits of Smith, taken over twenty years of collaboration; Smith's drawings are perverse, gritty, and imaginative.

O.K. You Mugs : Writers on Movie Actors (1999) by Melissa Holbrook Pierson (Editor) & Luc Sante (Editor) Pantheon Books New York (Random House); ISBN: 0-375-40101-6(hc); First Edition; Preface (C)1999 Preface & 27 chapters + Index Hardcover - 272 pages (October 1999) Dimensions(in inches): 1.03 x 7.89 x 5.85: Contains Patti Smiths' essay "Jeanne Moreau", first published in Interview in 1976, as well as Contributions from many others: eg, Dave Hickey, Manny Farber, Ron Padgett, Greil Marcus, Stuart Klawans, John Updike and Linda Yablonsky.

Monument (1999) by Lynn Davis, Rudolph Wurlitzer (Introduction), Patti Smith (Preface) Arena Editions; ISBN: 1-892-04107-3; Hardcover - 144 pages (September 1999) Dimensions (in inches): 0.88 x 11.81 x 10.87: Preface to Monument

NOTE: in addition to bookstores and book search services, the
Gotham Book Mart and Gallery in New York City is a good source for some of these books.

SONGBOOKS BY PATTI

The following four books contain notes and lyrics to most of Patti's songs.

Patti Smith (1977) Warner Brothers Publications Inc., NYC, USA Paperback, 104 pp.: This book contains the notes and lyrics to most of the songs from the albums Horses and Radio Ethiopia. Included are many poetic entries, such as "Oath", "Land", "Elegie", and "Radio Ethiopia". Some of them are handwritten and hard to read. There are also many pictures, including several taken during Patti's Tampa performance when she fell off the stage. Notable is one picture in which a cop is examining the back of Patti's head.

patti smith group EASTER (1978) Warner Brothers Publications Inc., NYC, USA Paperback, 60 pp.: This book contains the notes and lyrics to all the songs from the album Easter. "Privilege" is entitled "Free Me". Also included are "Babelogue" and "High On Rebellion", plus other poetic entries. Several photos are included, such as some good R. Mapplethorpe shots, and one good shot of Patti with Fred "Sonic" Smith.

Patti Smith Group wave (1979) Columbia Pictures Publications, USA Paperback, 60 pp.: This book contains the notes and lyrics to all the songs from the album Wave, with the exception of "So You Want to be (a Rock'n'Roll Star)" (just some lyrics). Also included are the notes and lyrics to "A Fire of Unknown Origin" and the words to "Wave". Poetic entries and many pictures are also included.

Patti Smith (1979) Wise Publications/Music Sales Limited, London, UK Paperback, 56 pp.: This book contains the notes and lyrics to the following: "Space Monkey", "Rock'n'Roll Nigger", "Ask the Angels", "25th Floor", "Pumping (My Heart)", "Because the Night", "Free Money", and "Gloria". Also included are photos and excerpts from interviews, centering on many of Patti's opinions.

The first three of the above song books have been advertised for sale in collector magazines such as Goldmine. The fourth book may be difficult to obtain. Apparently, no songbook for Dream of Life was published; Neither for Gone Again, or Peace and Noise. The lyrics, for the most part, are available now in Patti Smith / Complete (Paperback Edition); But Many People are really Yearning for those Guitar Chords....

This file was put together by John D. deGozzaldi <jdd@world.std.com> and now includes revisions by Fiona Webster, w/ help from several individuals who are credited on this page.

corrections/additions? contact j.BOLt <eltyger@pipeline.com>

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