Product Description
Fabulous letters from the vagabond Beat poet to his friends—among them Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

For all his charm and intelligence poet Gregory Corso lived a vagabond life. He never held down a regular job. He rarely stayed very long under the same roof. He spent long stretches—some as long as four or five years—abroad. Many of his letters came from Europe—France, England, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Greece—as he kept in touch with his circle of friends—among them his best friend Allen Ginsberg and a steady supporter, Lawrence Ferlinghetti. He left (or was left by) a number of girlfriends and he fathered five children along the way. He was apt to raise a bit of a ruckus at poetry readings and other public events. No one could be sure what he might do next except that he would write poetry and get it published and that it would be widely read.

When the idea of a book of selected letters was first proposed, Gregory had some reservations about it. Would the book reveal too much of his private life? But then with typical hubris he said the equivalent of "let it all hang out" and "all" does hang out in An Accidental Autobiography. The book is indeed the next thing to an unplanned self-portrait and gives a lively sense of the life Gregory Corso led, marching to his own drummer and leaving in his wake such marvelous books of Beat poetry as The Happy Birthday of Death, Elegiac Feelings American, Long Live Man, and Herald of the Autochthonic Spirit.

Bill Morgan, who is extremely conversant with the Beats, has done an admirable job collecting letters from libraries and various individuals across the country and then selecting and organizing them in a progression that spans Corso's lifetime. In addition to Morgan's introduction and commentary, the book includes a special foreword by poet and rock star Patti Smith as well as a number of photographs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent
This book fills in great holes in Corso's biography.Not only do we get an account of major periods of his adulthood, but for the first time his childhood is explored.The letter to his father is especially revealing.A major biography still needs to be done of this poet, among America's most important poets, and almost certainly the most important surrealist poet America has produced.It is especially interesting to see earlier drafts of now famous poems.The drafts are not nearly as good as the finished works, which to my mind proves that Corso was a conscious artist, and not the naif that he is often portrayed.Corso said the most important part of writing a poem was the editing.This voluminous group of letters probably gives first drafts of something like eighty poems.They are nowhere close to the hard sharp brilliance of the finished works.This book is indispensable to anyone who likes Corso's poems.It offers a very revealing insight into the biographical background.I am still hoping an excellent biography will come forth, and especially one that deals with the Catholic church, and Corso's foster families.Sadly, many of the people that Corso knew are dying off, so this project looks more and more remote with each passing year. ... Read more

Product Description

Many consider Patti Smith the godmother of punk. That label, however, is inaccurate. Although she possessed the energy and irreverence that would later mark the punk generation, she was inspired by the beatniks and by Jim Morrison, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, and many other figures whom the punk rockers were reacting against. Yet, she acted as a bridge between the two generations, finding common ground with both. The experimental and rebellious nature of her work made Smith and her band integral to the mid-'70s New York art rock scene, centered around the club CBGB on the Lower East Side. Smith's 1975 album, Horses, was the first album released from the scene and established Smith as a major artist. The androgynous appearance of Smith on the cover—shot by Robert Mapplethorpe—has become one of the most famous shots in rock history. Musically, the album was groundbreaking for its mix of improvisational music and Dionysian lyrics. As both an artist and a woman, she broke new ground.

Smith released three more albums before abruptly walking away from her fame in 1980. She reemerged in the mid-'90s to reshape her image and astound fans with her dynamic performances. Smith's impact on rock music—her rebellion against gender roles, her charismatic performances, her merging of poetry and music, and the way she's aged as a rock star—has been vast. She has redefined what it means for women to be rock performers and blazed trails for many other popular female musicians to follow after her. Individual chapters examine individual albums and account for parallel developments in Smith's life. Tarr concludes his work with an examination of the influence Smith has had on pop culture and on rock 'n' roll in general. Patti Smith is a guarded and private person, and little has been written about her. In this searching analysis of Smith's life and work, author Joe Tarr has filled a huge gap and provided an essential guide to the iconic artist's career.

Customer Reviews (1)

An excellent key to understanding both Patti Smith and the rock music of her times
Any library strong in rock music or songwriting needs Words and Music of Patti Smith: it provides a scholarly, college-level analysis of the lyrics of her punk music creations, surveys Dylan and the other classic legends of inspiration that affected her life, and considers her influence on the 1970s New York club rock scene as a whole. An excellent key to understanding both Patti Smith and the rock music of her times.
... Read more

Product Description
Impossible to categorize, moving easily between the literary, art, and musical worlds, always unpredictable and impassioned, idiosyncratic musician and artist Patti Smith here presents an impressive body of visual art, mostly works on paper. Bringing together approximately 60 works spanning the past 30 years, Strange Messenger collects early pieces as well as new ones inspired by the September 11, 2001, bombing of the World Trade Center, in which Smith expresses her views about violence, religion, war, and intolerance. This book marks the first occasion that Smith's drawings have been brought together in a single volume, as well as the first publication of most of the included works.Rumpled, tattered, unkempt, hirsute, [Patti] Smith defies the rules of femininity. Soulful, haggard and emaciated yet raffish, swaggering and seductive, she is mad saint, dandy and troubadour, a complex woman alone and outward bound for culture war. --Camille Paglia

Edited by John W. Smith.
Essays by David Greenberg and John W. Smith.

Paperback, 6.5 x 9 in., 80 pages, 50 color 6 b/w illustrations ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Superb little book
Only 9 inches tall by 6 1/2 inches wide, it contains a PLETHORA of color plates of Ms. Smith's mixed-media (mostly drawing) work. The self-portrait on p. 16 is, alone, worth the price of the book. The accompanying essays by David Greenberg and John W. Smith provide insight without artspeak. (Wonders never cease!) The writings (a bit of intro prose; a poem and some journal entries) by Ms. Smith exemplify her talent for manifesting poignancy in her own unique way. Zer Gut!!

The problem is...
The problem with buying from Amazon is that they bug you with emails to review the products and they make it a really unnecessarily arduous task.Click this, scroll that, preview, submit.Hey, get off my back! ... Read more

Product Description
"So many categories!" Andy Warhol would complain during his rigorous, nearly obsessive daily shopping regimen of antique stores, galleries, auction houses, and flea markets. Though best known as a proponent of the avant-garde, Warhol was also passionately engaged with the historical past, an interest which found a direct yet imaginative expression in the serious collecting he undertook from the mid-50s until his death. "Possession Obsession" proposes that collecting was another form of artistic practice for Warhol, one that provides as much insight into his interests, tastes, and ideas as do his other myriad art forms. Accompanying essays examine the how, why, and what of Warhol's collection, the crucial role it played in his life, the aesthetic quality and historical associations of the objects themselves, the psychological and sexual aspects of collecting, other artists' use of collecting, and the relationship between collecting and mass culture. Also included are Robert Mapplethorpe's photographs of Warhol's home, with an introduction by Patti Smith.
Edited by John W. Smith. Essays byPamela Allara, Kenneth Arnes, Frederick Brandt, Sascha Chermayeff, Ralph Coe, Jonathan Flatley, Allen Kurzweil, Michael Lobel,Alexandra Rhodes & Stephano Papi, Thomas Sokolowski, Patti SmithMatthew Tinkcom and Pilar Viladas.

8 x 12 in.
100 color, 20 duotone illustrations ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

cool concept
I bought this as a gift for my girlfriend, who loves Warhol (although now it seems everyone loves Warhol).She was not very intrigued by the book, even though she also loves collecting knick-knacks.So I looked closely at the book trying to figure out why, and I have to say that the book just doesn't have enough in it.I think that the text is well written and shares some interesting anecdotes, and philosophical/psychological discussion of collecting, but that's not really why I thought the book would be cool.I think we wanted to see those Time Capsule boxes opened up, more shots of his home (there are some, but not many), and then there is a whole chapter on random people who collect things--why is this chapter included?Do I care what some unkown goofball finds interesting?I think this book was a great concept, but it falls flat in my mind. ... Read more

Product Description
Offers a behind-the scenes, photographic look at a 1996 concert tour with the legendary Patti Smith, presenting more than one hundred images that capture life on the road with theartist.Amazon.com Review
When singer Patti Smith toured in 1995, for the first time inalmost 20 years, R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe tagged along as tourphotographer.Two Times Intro is the resulting photo diary--asStipe calls it--and it's filled with his moody black-and-white printsand Polaroids (taken with an ancient camera by Smith guitarist OliverRay) that capture a specific mood of Smith's as she moves through theshifting, impersonal spaces--taxis, concrete backstage areas, emptytheaters--of life on tour. Stipe is a long-time Smith fan, as herecalls in an essay in the book: he "bought her first album theday it came out. It was mind-blowing--emotional and imperfect,swirling, B&W." His photographs of Smith and her band matesdisplay the same emotional intensity and incongruity that her musicoriginally stirred in him. The layout, executed completely in blackand white with echoes of imperfections like torn Scotch tape, creases,and torn edges seemingly photocopied onto the page, gives readers asense of watching an ancient black-and-white television--scratchy,static-filled, impenetrable, and mysterious, but also somehowcomforting. All of this is evocative of both Smith's music and herlyrics, and in that it is a strange but fitting homage to her. Stipeintersperses throughout the images musings about Smith by the likes ofWilliam S. Burroughs, who calls her "a shaman--that is someone intouch with other levels of reality," Sonic Youth's Thurston Mooreand Kim Gordon, and long-time friend and fellow musician LennyKaye. Ultimately, the book is not a photographic triumph but it shouldbe very compelling to Smith and Stipe fans alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

The sum of the parts doesn't addup to the whole
Michael Stipe's surprisingly incomplete photo essay of Patti on tour is a minor disappointment, akin to discovering an old photo album with the more important events -- the ones you'd really like to see -- obviously missing from the book. What's there is intriguing but doesn't reveal a lot, and the out-of-focus style Stipe uses isn't artful, just simply affected. Somewhere in Michael's garage, and Oliver Ray's basement, there are some great photos of Patti-the-shaman, as Mr. Burroughs describes her. I hope they don't get water-damaged in that cardboard box along with the discarded Polaroid camera.

Beware!
When I first saw this in a bookstore, I passed on buying it because the photographs are absolutely awful. But I'm a huge Patti Smith fan, and when I read a review saying that it was worth getting just for the text, I took the bait.Bad move. The text isn't bad, but no big deal.And again the photos are just terrible, "arty" in the very worst way-- badly framed, mostly out of focus, uninteresting shots to begin with. Considering the opportunity Stipe was afforded, this is a real shame.

Michael Stipe's view revealed in black and white
This book includes not just black and white photographs shot by Michael Stipe while on the road with Patti Smith, but also many polaroid photos taken by Patti Smith's guitarist Oliver Ray. Oliver Ray's photographs are designated by a little "O" near his photos.

While Stipe certainly has some real gems here, he doesn't demonstrate complete mastery over his camera equipment, which to my knowledge was a Leica M6. Many of the images here are blurry and/or out of focus. But that is ok, it evokes a certain frantic 'on the road touring with a rock band' style.

Oliver Ray's Polaroids are on the other hand, wonderful. Taken with a cheap Polaroid Land Camera 100 (circa 1960s) using instant Polaroid 667 black and white 'peel-apart' film (which is still sold), Ray achieves stunning results especially when you understand the' limited featured' camera he worked with.This book is an interesting study for anyone who is as fond of Polaroid photography as I am.

If you are an R.E.M. and Michael Stipe fan, or a Patti Smith fan,then of course you will enjoy this book. However if you are seeking true pristine photographic works of art, look elsewhere. Most of these images evoke a more 'grunge' (for lack of a better word) feel.There is some great prose by Stipe, Ray, and many others including Patti Smith. And, there are many famous people depicted including the likes of Allen Ginsberg.

One note about my copy of the book-after just one reading, the binding fell apart and the first quarter of the book fell apart into separate pages from the book. This was very dissappointing and should not have happend under normal reading...

um...yeah...
A couple of things I've learned being an REM fan are that 1) things don't have to be logical to make sense and 2) that beauty is in the eye of ME, not the beholder sitting over there somewhere (of COURSE, everyone is theirown "me" but that's just common sense).And I think this book isbeautiful.If you love logic, or perfection for perfection's sake, don'tbother, but if you want to look at something that's a bit different, seesome images that it takes a mind like Michael Stipe's to think up, then Iheartily reccomend it to you.The writings are fascinating as well.Ialmost felt like it gave me a bit of a peep hole into this group of people,to read some of their thoughts, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A Touchingly Beautiful Tribute to Patti Smith!
Michael Stipe should be commended on this great book of photography being on the road with Patti Smith. What I find truly wonderful is his love and admiration of his dear friend Patti Smith. I am truly moved by this work. Iam a fan of both Smith and Stipe. I too like Stipe have been blessed andinspired by Smith's poetry and music. The words included in the book areworth reading. The photos are terrific and presented in an artistic way. Itallows the reader (or viewer) to see what is special about Patti Smith, herband, and friends in ways not seen before. It is a great addition for fansof both Patti Smith and REM. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellentbiography
Very accurate account of Patti's childhood and the early years. Many never seen pictures and rare quotes from her on a million different topics. Photocopies of rare hand written poems and drawings. A must have if you know of and appreciate her work. ... Read more

Product Description
A set of three personal books by an icon of the New York underground music scene.

Published on the occasion of Patti Smith's exhibition at the Cartier Foundation in Paris, here are three books devoted to her artistic world, combined in a set entitled Trois.

Charleville encompasses Smith's texts, drawings, and photographs revolving around the figure of Arthur Rimbaud and collected over a period of almost forty years. Photographies showcases her photographs of sculptures taken between 2002 and 2008 and accompanied by her poems. Cahier is a notebook inspired by those belonging to Patti Smith. The first pages are filled with her handwriting and the rest is left to the reader's personal use.

The set perfectly reflects Patti Smith's long-standing interest in literature, photography, and all kinds of artistic expression. 150 illustrations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

patti's intimate best
a beautiful trio of small paperback books done with exquisite taste and a very intimate touch from Patti.
the photos of 'statues' brings the glowing white figures alive and we can see them from her childlike, open perspective.
the 'cahiers' book begins with a few pages of Patti's handwriting leaving the rest blank for us to take the dive into our imagination---a sort of invitation to unite with her, through our own creativity.
beautiful and unique collection. ... Read more

Product Description
This fun first number book is a perfect Spanish language introduction for toddlers to the exciting world of numbers and basic mathematical concepts.After guiding the child through the numbers up to twenty the book progresses to shape, size, and measurement exercises, games and puzzles. Mi Primer Libro de Números" thematic arrangement allows children to explore numbers within familiar contexts. ... Read more

Product Description

Guilty Pleasures is a hilarious collection of 21 essays recounting the irresistibility of (among others): o Therapy and Antidepressantso Milking Parents for Casho Marrying Moneyo How to Prepare for and Secure the Perfect Daytime Napo TVo Having AffairsEight Midwestern women also satirize their on-and-off addictions to food, eBay, toenail polish, gossiping, buying beads, and baby talk. Take their obsession with stockpiling toenail polish, for example: Tart, natural, rose cellophane. Shake gently . . . Sheer honey, gun metal, fresco. The thing to do at midnight . . . Sri desert frost, peach melba. Glob and dab the wand, stroke lavishly, smoothly . . . Blue lagoon, lilac mood, passion flower. Read something. Watch bad TV. CrŠme, enamel, high gloss, french. When dry, cover with white gym socks. Go forth.The authors unlocked the vault to expose what women everywhere really like to do. In writing Guilty Pleasures, these "otherwise good girls" uncovered a global secret sisterhood who enjoy pampering themselves in intensely personal delights.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

A Great Idea, Good Results
This is a collection of short stories written by individuals in a writers' group. I ordered it after having read two favorable reviews that peaked my curiosity. Though I'm not a fan of the short, I applaud the honesty, the idea and the writing. The most important thing about this book for me, though, is how pivotal it's been in my life. You never know where inspiration will come from. One of the stories inspired me to try something, something important that I would not have tried had I not read the book. Whoever wrote 'that' story, thank you.

Good, but not as good as chocolate
I could definitely identify with some of the essays, but others bored me and I didn't finish them.The variety of emotions, situations, and life experiences were entertaining and did lead to some introspection.I wouldn't say this is a "must read," but it's an enjoyable book that was perfect to read in bits, as the 42 essays are short.

good book club selection
My book discussion group read Guilty Pleasures this month. It was the first non-fiction book we ever selected. The book is a lot of fun, but it has serious parts, too, so it made for a good discussion.

Reading Fudge
I love to read in the same way that some people love eating chocolates. Just as they disregard warnings as to caloric intake in making their selections and opt for the largest, darkest,or prettiest piece in the box,so, too, I disregard the admonition not to judge a book by its cover and often select a book by its size, heft, and cover.Guilty Pleasures meets all of my superficial criteria: it has a pleasing fit to the hand, a weight perfect for horizontally-inclined literati such as I, and an eye-catching cover filled with colorful shoes such that one's eye is drawn to the authorship on the suspicion (unfounded) that this isImmelda Marcos' work. Of course, as my chocoholic friends might say, "the proof is in the pudding" and the quality of a book is in the reading. Just as a square of fudge delights as it melts and clings to the palate, Guilty Pleasures delights the mind. Eight women writers unrepentantly share the joys they find in ordinary and not so ordinary pleasures running a quixotic gamut fromtaking antidepressants to applying toenail polish, from crossword fanaticism to extorting money from one's parents. The writing is refreshingly witty, wicked, and wise. Although these small gems of essays are assembled of necessity in an order, I recommend reading them haphazardly.After all, what chocolate lover would adhere to the map on the candy box, eating all the creams first before proceeding to the nuts?There are enough strictures in life!Just open the book and enjoy at random. And, yes, the next time you need to tote a small gift somewhere, you might forego the candy and bring along a copy of Guilty Pleasures.Think of it as a book lover's fudge!

abashed grins
These authors have tapped into a huge vein (keg?) of human experience. Each essay details a different furtive joy, and I could feel their pleasure even in the ones I couldn't identify with myself.
There are no morals given; no helpfull hints; just honest enjoyment of many things that may not fit our public personas or enhance our professional images. Before I even finished the book, I found myself mentally starting to examine my own guilty pleasures.It's so nice to know that I'm not alone in admitting that I do get a thrill out of a few somewhat dubious activities.
My daughter keeps dipping into this book, too. Obviously, it's appeal is multi-generational. ... Read more