Auguries Of Innocence: Poems

“Hauntingly beautiful…Romantic and renegade, Smith moves from anger to empathy, reminding us that there is healing in outcry, solace in language, catharsis in expression. As always, Smith leads us to the sorrowing depths, then dances us back into the light.” - Booklist“The singer-songwriter’s first collection since 1979 is both elusive and allusive (shout-outs to Rimbaud and Picasso).” - Entertainment Weekly”[A] hidden jewel…Among her best.” - Library Journal“The incendiary rock star mellows.” - The Oregonian (Portland)“She was once our savage Rimbaud, but suffering has turned her into our St. John of the Cross, a mystic full of compassion.” - Edmund White”[Smith’s writings] have garnered a cult following not unlike that of Charles Bukowski…They convey what can only be called Smith’s mystique, and the book as whole effectively transmits the affect and aura, as well as the innocence, that make her a rock star: one believes in her…These poems allow access to a major artist’s thoughts and preoccupations.” - Publishers Weekly“Punk deity Smith is famous for blending poetry’s raw emotion and lyrical sense into rock’s rigorous yowling, and her latest book of verse, Auguries of Innocence, takes its name from a poem by one of her heroes, William Blake.” - San Francisco Weekly“A Rimbaudian troubadour devoted to the visionary tradition, …Smith has little respect for categories. She is one of the world’s most influential rock stars, yet she continues to write, of all things, poetry…Musicians who write poetry don’t exactly have a distinguished track record, …so it is a welcome surprise to discover that Smith’s book is distinguished by its good writing…Her willingness to write the way she wants to-out of an ecstatic heart-may come, for some readers, as a welcome antidote to what Dan Chiasson called the ‘studied aridities’ of so much contemporary verse.” - Slate

Patti Smith is a writer, artist, and performer. Her seminal album Horses was followed by nine releases, including Radio Ethiopia, Easter, Dream of Life, Gone Again, and Trampin’. Her artwork was first exhibited at Gotham Book Mart in 1973, and she has been associated with the Robert Miller Gallery since 1978. Strange Messenger, a retrospective of three hundred works, made its debut at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh and has been exhibited worldwide, most notably at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia; Haus der Kunst, Munich; and the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam. Her books include Witt, Babel, Woolgathering, The Coral Sea, and Complete Lyrics. On July 10, 2005, she received the Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, the highest grade awarded by the French Republic to eminent artists and writers who have contributed significantly to furthering the arts throughout the world. Smith resides in New York City and is the mother of two, Jackson and Jesse.