Patti Smith - Woolgathering (book)

Yes, I've been on a bit of a Patti Smith kick of late so when I found this small volume online, I picked it up at a reasonable price. Originally a limited edition 1992 release by a small press company, Hanuman Books, it literally was minuscule - the size of a deck of cards. This time it is a somewhat larger 5x7-ish, but still basically a less-than-100-page pocket book.

Written at a time when she was happily married with two children whom she loved, she still found herself immersed in melancholy for no particular reason that she could discern, and her short tableaus mostly talk of her childhood and her young fantasies and innocence lost but also of some adventures as a young adult. She alternates between relatively straightforward narratives, although embellished with her unique poetic flourishes, and avant prose that is more lyrical than literal. She includes intricate details that others might ignore and interprets events in ways that most people would not and I find those to be fascinatingly captivating traits of her writing.

I enjoy all of her works, and while this might not be one of my first choices, it is well worth perusing if you of a like mind and find an equitable deal.