Smith at the National Board of Review Gala, 2024.

Image Credit: Getty Images

Growing up, I was surrounded by music. The voices of the 60s and 70s were always floating around the house – think John Martyn, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell. Only one artist, though, had me truly smitten: Patti Smith. 

Born in 1946, Smith caught her big break with a 1975 residency at CBGB, a legendary New York club, and almost immediately took on a pivotal role in the American punk rock scene. That same year, she released her debut album Horses, a record characterised by intense vocals and fantastical lyrics, which is now recognised as a seminal work of early punk culture. 2025 marks its 50th anniversary, and the occasion has not gone uncelebrated; a new edition, remastered and full of unseen outtakes and demos, was released in October. 

Exciting as it is, this record is not actually the most recent of Smith’s creative outputs. She is also greatly admired for her prose, which has been published over the years in a number of memoirs. Probably the most popular is Just Kids, a heartbreaking ode to her relationship with fellow artist Robert Mapplethorpe which, upon its publication in 2010, received notable critical praise, became a New York Times Bestseller, and won a National Book Award. Just this month,  Smith has added yet another memoir to her repertoire. Bread of Angels, released on 4 November, is a sprawling autobiography in which Smith invites us to travel from her post-war childhood to the present. 

Smith is a polymath, able to move from music to prose to poetry with a delicate ease. She does not only vary in form, however, but in purpose too: while the aforementioned memoirs are of course centred around her personal life, the artist has never shied away from political discussions. One very blatant example is her 1988 song ‘People Have the Power,’ which acts as an endorsement of collective action against societal evils and was largely inspired by Smith’s own protests against the Vietnam War. It has become a landmark protest song and still works to this purpose today – you can buy a T-shirt with the slogan, and Smith herself often uses the track as background to relevant social media posts. 

Patti and her daughter wearing ‘People Have the Power’ tees.

Image Credit: Kin Ship Goods 

On this note, I’d like to consider the influence of modern trends on Smith’s work and activism. Her Instagram (@thisispattismith) is incredibly active. While littered with delightful chronicles of her everyday life, the page is also representative of her involvement in certain political movements. In recent years, Smith has been advocating for a free Palestine, both by sharing informational posts and through her public endorsement of related initiatives – see, for example, Musicians for Palestine, a movement calling for ceasefire through a letter signed by various artists. 

Instagram is not the only platform on which Smith is active. Since March 2021, the poet has been posting regularly on Substack. Like most creators, she offers a paid subscription, but the vast majority of her weekly content is free to all. On her page one can find heaps of essays, musings, photos and videos, all of which are equally insightful. This is just another display of Smith’s prolificacy and unwavering proclivity for writing; and because she has embraced change, her art has smoothly transitioned from the world of tape recordings to that of internet uploads without faltering in popularity. 

The border of Smith’s Substack.

Image Credit: Substack

As I’m sure is clear, I am fascinated by Patti Smith, and my interest goes further than admiration for her beautiful voice and powerful prose. Having been a major artistic figure for over 50 years, it seems that Smith will never stop creating, and her dedication to this work, as well as to the endorsement of admirable principles, is undoubtedly inspiring. With this in mind, I encourage you to see and appreciate her as an active participant in present and future creative scenes – her influence, far from bygone, is still being cultivated.