The priestess of punk unveils Bread of Angels, an intimate work dedicated to Fred “Sonic” Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe, at the dawn of a world tour celebrating 50 years of Horses. Patti Smith, 78, combines memory, poetry and gratitude in this deeply personal story.
Patti Smith, tutelary figure of rock and poet of punk soul, returns to bookstores with Bread of Angels, published on November 4 by Penguin Random House. More than a decade after Just Kids — crowned with the National Book Award in 2010 — the singer offers a new testimony of her life, woven between love, mourning and creation.
The fruit of ten years of work, Bread of Angels traces her relationship with her husband Fred “Sonic” Smith, who died in 1994, but also his childhood and his first steps in music. The choice of the publication date is not insignificant: November 4 marks both the death of Fred and the birthday of Robert Mapplethorpe, his companion of soul and art.
Guest on the set of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Patti Smith confided the almost mystical origin of the project:
On set, she performed a poignant version of Peaceable Kingdom, from her album Trampin' (2004). On the eve of his 79th birthday, the artist is also preparing to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Horses, his founding work, considered one of the most important albums in rock history.
The anniversary tour, which has already visited Europe and the United Kingdom, begins this month in the United States: Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Boston, Washington… so many stops to revisit a record that redefined poetry and rebellion on stage.
Tickets are available via Ticketmaster and approved resale platforms.
Bread of Angels is on sale now at major booksellers and online.
