“Devotion is short enough to devour at one enjoyable sitting and thought-provoking enough to deserve re-reading.”—Suzi Feay, Financial Times

“Devotion shows rather than tells what it means to give a life to writing.” —Katherine Cooper, Hyperallergic

A work of creative intelligence can seem like magic—the source of it is a mystery, its effect unexpectedly moving. How does an artist achieve such a feat, connecting deeply with an audience they’ve never met? In this groundbreaking book, one of our culture’s beloved artists offers a detailed narrative of her own creative process, inspirations, and unexpected connections.

Patti Smith, a National Book Award winner, initially presents an original and well-crafted story of obsession—a young skater living for his art, an influential collector relentlessly seeking his prize, a relationship shaped by their mutual need. She then leads us on a second journey, exploring the sources of her story. We travel to the South of France to Camus’s house and visit the garden of the great publisher Gallimard, where the ghosts of Mishima, Nabokov, and Genet merge. Smith searches for Simone Weil’s grave in a remote state cemetery, many hours from London, and wanders the anonymous neighborhoods of Paris described by Patrick Modiano.

Whether writing in a café or on a train, Smith generously opens her notebooks and allows us to glimpse the alchemy of art and craft in this breathtaking and original book on writing.

The "Why I Write" series is based on the Windham–Campbell lectures, delivered annually to honor the Donald Windham–Sandy M. Campbell Literature Prizes at Yale University.

Pages: 120, Publication Year: 0927, Dimensions: 12.1x12.1cm