Patti Smith tells Dua Lipa bout her “book of gratitude” ‘Bread Of Angels’ at emotional London Literature

Patti Smith se juntou a Dua Lipa no London Literature Festival na Royal Festival Hall na noite passada (Sunday October 25) para uma conversa emocionante sobre o último livro da poetisa punk, o livro de memórias Bread Of Angels.

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The book was published last year and follows Smith’s previous non-fiction tomes, Just Kids, M Train, Devotion, and The Year Of The Monkey, as well as several poetry collections.

Bread Of Angels focuses initially on Smith’s upbringing in Philadelphia, before taking in the rest of her life so far, signposted by four different dresses given to her over the years by meaningful people, including her late husband Fred Sonic Smith, brother Todd and friend and photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.

Lipa, who curated this year’s London Literature Festival with her Service95 Book Club, interviewed Smith about her latest book, exploring some of the stories inside.

Ao explicar a intenção por trás da autobiografia, Smith disse: “Isso me deu a chance de mostrar gratidão a todas as pessoas que me ajudaram a formar, e também às que eu rebelhei contra.”.

My parents, my siblings, my teachers, people I met along the way, mentors and loves – all kinds of people. Even though it’s my own story, it shows that we are also a product of all the wisdom and all the experience that we have with others.”.

Reflecting on the differences between this book and the acclaimed Just Kids, she added: “I wanted to give the people Robert [Mapplethorpe] in Just Kids, but in this book, I wanted to give them all of the people that helped me along the way.”.

Discussing what Lipa described as a “more conventional narrative” in this book, Smith added: “I wrote Just Kids because Robert asked me to write it hours before he died.

Eu não sabia nada sobre escrever uma autobiografia ou não ficção. Eu gosto de escrever poemas e contos de fadas, e foi uma responsabilidade enorme e demorou muito tempo.

Asked about the meaning behind Bread Of Angels’ title, the author and musician explained that she had initially wanted to call it Dancing Barefoot – after the song on her 1979 album ‘Wave’ – “but then some guy took my title”.

Quando Lipa perguntou qual seria o seu “bread of angels” hoje, Smith apontou para uma experiência que teve na Espanha dias antes, onde 3,000 pessoas se reuniram em corais para cantar sua música de 1988 “People Have The Power” para ela.

Smith also cited Lipa’s care with the interview and a recent conversation with Pope Leo XIV as her current “bread of angels”, as well as her bass player fixing something for her before going on stage, the people who say hi to her on the street and a hotel housekeeper.

In the book, Smith writes about her motto to “question everything” – a mantra that was influenced by her father, who she said “loved playing the devil’s advocate”.

Ele entraria em algum argumento pesado sobre o Antigo Testamento, se os OVNIs são reais, quem era melhor – Platão ou Aristóteles," Smith compartilhou. "Ele me ensinou a questionar as coisas e, às vezes, questionar, quando você é jovem, pode ser uma forma de simples curiosidade, às vezes arrogância, às vezes rebelião – mas, no fim, o que você procura são respostas.

You’re looking for a bit of wisdom or some kernel of truth that can help you evolve to be a better person.”.

Prompted by Lipa, the musician shared the first time she questioned her father, while on a trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art at 12-years-old. While her dad was taken by the works of Salvador Dali, Smith was more excited by Picasso.

Naturally, many musicians populate the pages of Bread Of Angels, from Richard Hell and Tom Verlaine to Bob Dylan, who was an early supporter of Smith. Lipa highlighted a section of the book where Smith wrote about a meeting with the folk star and other people in his circle, after which Smith “took off and went cross down to CBGBs, the stronghold of the unknown, to be with my own people”.

Em outra parte do livro, a autora observa uma ligação inesperada de Dia dos Namorados de Michael Stipe, de R. E. M., logo após a morte de Fred – a quem ela ainda não havia conhecido até então – oferecendo ser seu namorado.

At points, Smith became emotional – particularly when Lipa referenced her late husband and how the book feels like it’s split into “before Fred and after Fred”.

Moved to tears, she recollected her first meeting with her partner, describing it as being “just like in the movies when time stops”. “I knew that was the guy I was going to marry, and I didn’t even want to get married,” she smiled.

As the main conversation drew to a close, Lipa and Smith were joined by broadcaster and writer Zakia Sewell, who asked questions submitted by the audience. One attendee asked the pair to reflect on the differences between their rises in the industry and whether they felt artists “still have the freedom to be as creative in their journeys” as when Smith was a rising star.

Lipa added her own perspective, noting that while “creativity doesn’t change”, the environment she had come up in was “so much more fast-paced and [because of] people’s attention spans, you feel like you need to constantly churn out so much more information and put things out”.

Outra pergunta do público pediu aos artistas que escolhessem uma música do outro para interpretar, com Smith respondendo entusiasmado: “Eu escolho ‘Houdini!” Lipa, por sua vez, selecionou ‘Dancing Barefoot’, “porque é uma música tão sensual e há algo sobre o amor por algo maior que nós que parece tão visceral e divertido”.

The evening concluded with Smith sharing the writing advice she would give her 30-year-old self. “I had to work really hard – I always had a good imagination, but I had a lot of trouble with grammar, with writing, with sentence structure, and I had to keep reading and studying others and then developing a discipline, a daily practice,” she explained.

London Literature Festival continues at the Southbank Centre until November 1. The likes of Kae Tempest, Malorie Blackman, Ta-Nehisi Coates and more will take part in events across the programme.

Meanwhile, Patti Smith has been confirmed for two European festivals next summer, with the artist and her quartet set to perform at both Denmark’s Roskilde and Poland’s Open’er.

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