Patti Smith

Nicknamed the "Godmother of Punk," Patti Smith's rise during the 1970s New York counterculture movement welcomed a new breed of rock and roll. Smith sanctioned the presence of a strong-willed woman in the mainstream rock community by not only breaking the fragile glass ceiling, but by breaking the rules then current about women on the rock stage. Smith pushed right up to the front of the punk scene, stripping down sexual, religious and emotional barriers to create a raw, viscerally personal message. In Patti Smith: America's Punk Rock Rhapsodist musician and historian Eric Wendell delves into the volatile mix of religious upbringing and musical and literary influences that gave shape to Smith's lyrics, music and artistic output. Wendell explores how Smith's androgynous stage presence pulled the various societal triggers, adding a new layer of meaning to popular music performance. Songwriter and singer, performance artist and poet, the work draws together biography, history, and music into a powerful collage of an artist who shaped a generation of musicians. For poets and performers, fans of Patti Smith and punk rock history, Patti Smith: America's Punk Rock Rhapsodist is the perfect introduction to her achievements and the politics and art of a generation that is still felt.