The Odyssey of Patti Smith

Those of us who even vaguely remember the late 70’s music scene can take a moment to look back and celebrate the 50th anniversary of Patti Smith’s seminal work, “Horses,” which is receiving a lot of well-deserved praise in both literary and musical quarters. Like other notable artists of that era who masterfully blended poetic passion and musical calling (think Bob Dylan), she created one of the most important rock albums of the last century by adding a raw edge in her vocal delivery. But across the decades of the 50 years that have passed, what I have come to celebrate, more than her poetry and music are her essays and memoirs. In her National Book Award winning “Just Kids,” she wrote of her journey from South Jersey misfit to scrappy writer and ultimate survivor in the Chelsey Hotel wo…