Patti Smith Complete: Lyrics, Reflections, and Notes for the Future

The release of any new material by legendary poet and musician Patti Smith, either written or recorded, is cause for celebration. But last fall, when Smith released her lyrics in a lavishly illustrated and annotated book, crowds turned out in record numbers across the country at book festivals, libraries, and local clubs to celebrate this artist's magnificent and ongoing journey in words and music. The Chicago Tribune describes Patti Smith Complete as "a collection of her songwriting oeuvre, notes, and unpublished photos by Robert Mapplethorpe and Annie Liebovitz, and countless memorabilia from the complex life of this nearly fifty-two-year-old image of American individuality."

Now in paperback, in a beautifully designed package, here are the words and pictures that influenced a generation from the fever pitch of performance to the solitude of the artist. Never has a collection of lyrics offered up images from a lifetime as intimate and forthright as those collected in Patti Smith Complete.

Patti Smith's latest albumn, Peace and Noise, was nominated for a 1998 Grammy Award. Her discography includes such groundbreaking albumns as Horses and Easter, and Newsweek hailed her 1996 albumn, Gone Again, as "the most powerful rock albumn of the year." She is the author of three books of poetry, including the most recent, The Coral Sea.