Devotion: Why I Write

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Mala Peti, koja proviruje noću kroz prozor, dok cela njena porodica spava; ona molitvom "pozdravlja svog Boga" i kroz snene oči posmatra poljanu snova pored svoje kuće na kojoj vredno rade tajanstveni sakupljači vune... A última parte, uma espécie de epílogo intelectual, é consideravelmente melhor. Quando Patti chama e dialoga com suas referências, quando podemos ver as engrenagens daquela cabecinha privilegiada e rebelde funcionando. Aí sim. Most often the alchemy that produces a poem or a work of fiction is hidden within the work itself, if not embedded in the coiling ridges of the mind.’ Smith goes to the house of the daughter of Camus, where she looks through the manuscript Camus was working on, The First Man, when he died in a car accident. This short anecdote has magic in it. There’s an air of nostalgia and mortality in it, too. I make a note to reread this book, having just read Camus's The Fall. I enjoyed Dedication immensely and especially appreciated translator Paula Taberland's Afterword with its summary of Patti Smith's career and especially of her published work, of which I was previously only familiar with the terrific memoir Just Kids (2010).

Devotion is short enough to devour at one enjoyable sitting and thought-provoking enough to deserve re-reading."-Suzi Feay, Financial Times o yaşında, bu kadar canlı hatırlaması beni biraz kıskandırmış olsa da, Patti Smith her zamanki yalın ama şiirsel diliyle aklımı başımdan aldı. Üslubu o kadar güzel ki… Kasıntı şiirsellikle insanın kusmuğunu ağzına getirmiyor. Hani bazı yazarlar vardır ya, okurken kastığı aforizma tadında, ritmik ama içi bomboş cümlelerinde ara verip “kesin bu cümleyi yazdın ve kendini tebrik ettin, uf be çok iyiyim dedin” dersiniz kendi kendinize. Patti Smith bunun tam tersi. An enchanting peek into the mysterious ways of creativity, as Smith immerses in her beloved French literary classics and cites the everyday encounters that can spark inspiration.”—Brian McCollum, Detroit Free Press If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for 65 € per month.

Summary

Smith had her first exhibit of drawings at the Gotham Book Mart in 1973 and has been represented by the Robert Miller Gallery since 1978. Her books include Just Kids, winner of the National Book Award in 2010, Wītt, Babel, Woolgathering, The Coral Sea, and Auguries of Innocence. The last section of the book details Patti Smith's trip to Albert Camus's house. Camus's daughter invites her there, and Smith gets to stay in Camus's room, have lunch with Camus's daughter and spend time with Camus's granddaughter, take in the same views Camus took in, and even look at Camus's last manuscript, handwritten and complete with his crossouts and insertions. The point of this section is that looking at Camus's manuscript inspires Smith to do some more writing of her own, but to me it honestly just felt like she was bragging about her amazing experience at Camus's house; the writing element was peripheral. All of my activism is an extension of common sense,” Smith says. “It’s obviously the right thing to do to fight for civil rights, it’s not a matter of consideration or taste. Climate change, war, they really affect all people. So much of my efforts, so-called politically, have been toward the greater good. It’s something that sometimes hits us very specifically, like, the writer [Rooney], I thought that was a very brave move, because I have my own considerations. I haven’t performed in Israel since 1999.” Hayalperestler ile Patti Smith’in hayatına ve aile bağlarına doğru kısa bir serüvene çıkıyoruz. Annemizin anlattığı masallara benzetsek de kitapta geçenleri ısrarla onların masal değil, gerçeğin ta kendisi olduğunu söylüyor bize Smith. Okudukça, her sayfayı çevirişimizde ise masal kahramanlarının sesini duyar gibiyiz. Üstelik sümüğü burnunda bir kız çocuğundan çok, bu ses, hırçın, hayat dolu bir çocuktan geliyor gibi hissettiriyor. A work of creative brilliance may seem like magic--its source a mystery, its impact unexpectedly stirring. How does an artist accomplish such an achievement, connecting deeply with an audience never met? In this groundbreaking book, one of our culture's beloved artists offers a detailed account of her own creative process, inspirations, and unexpected connections.

The Loomingu Raamatukogu (The Creation Library) is a modestly priced Estonian literary journal which was initially published weekly (from 1957 to 1994) and which now publishes 40 issues a year as of 1995. It is a great source for discovery as its relatively cheap prices (currently 3 to 5€ per issue) allow for access to a multitude of international writers in Estonian translation and of shorter works by Estonian authors themselves. These include poetry, theatre, essays, short stories, novellas and novels (the lengthier works are usually parceled out over several issues). Devotion is very different from the others, part of the Why I Write series, that ‘reads’ like a memoir-ish collection of stories - a drifting in and out of thoughts which flow from one to another, some seemingly loosely connected, others more dreamlike and random. It begins with a section titled How the Mind Works

Maybe to learn that reading can be inspiring to a writer is not that startlingly original, but I like how it works itself out in the central piece, “Devotion,” about an orphan for whom ice skating “is pure feeling” and who seems to have an affair with an older man. It’s not that great or even that compelling a story, one of lost innocence, but I like how it gives evidence to her theory; The figure skater, images from an Estonian film, Weil, Modiano, Camus, a visit to a French cemetery, they’re all here in her story. We see how Smith’s mind recycles impressions and ideas into art. Si vous n'avez pas encore vu le documentaire d'Agnès Varda (je crois) sur le glanage, c'est exactement ce que vous devriez faire ce week end ; de toutes façons il fait moche dehors. Et puis ça vous donnera envie de ramasser des betteraves et des pommes de terre biscornues sur le bord des routes, ou alors de fouiller les poubelles du supermarché d'en face, ou peut-être de suivre la démarche de Patti Smith dans Glaneurs de rêves, et d'écrire une petite collection de textes, fragments de souvenirs, descriptions du quotidien, ce qui peut être une activité encore plus ludique que le tricot ou le macramé. Sakupljanja vune" je za mene bilo poput prisustvovanju nekom koncertu koji nije za široke mase, na kom Peti ispoveda svoje detinjstvo, malo kroz prozu, malo kroz poeziju. Ona se priseća detinjstva i puta kojim je išla - od one male Peti koja noću gleda kroz prozor svoje sobe, do one Peti koja piše ove biografske stranice. A ostalo je mnogo od tog deteta u ovoj samo fizički odrasloj verziji nje same... Ostale su one emocije i ona začuđenost svetom, samo su ih vreme i iskustvo preoblikovali. Mom!” Jesse interrupts. “Stop saying that. I hate it when she says that. It’s like when she says she’s not a musician. Of course you are.” Artık aranızda bilmeyeniniz yoktur sanırım; biz Patti Smith ile ruh ikiziyiz. Sisters from another mister durumu gibi de biraz. İkimiz de sürekli acı kahve içiyoruz. O kafe senin bu kafe benim dolaşıp en kuytu köşelerde kitaplar okuyor, hüzünlü notlar alıyor, anılarımızı bozuk pikaplar gibi sarıp sarıp oynatıyoruz yeniden zihnimizde. O 70lerde yaşadı, benimse ruhum orda yaşıyor. Sevdiğimiz filmleri tekrar tekrar izliyor, bazı sahneleri gerçek hayatta da yeniden yaratmaya uğraşıyoruz. Jean Genet’ye tapan bir tek ikimiz varız sanki koca dünyada. O, Tanca’da mezarını ziyaret etti, ben henüz edemedim. Ama yakında! İkimiz de mezarlık gezmeyi seviyoruz elbette, biliyorsunuz. Evimizi öyle çok seviyoruz ki evdeyken bile “Eve gitmek istiyorum diye sızlandım. Oysa evdeydim zaten.” gibi efsane bir cümle kurabiliyoruz. (Sen de Yengeç burcu olabilir misin acaba Patti?)

Metinin yanında fotoğraf ve illüstrasyon içeren kitap Domingo Yayınları’ndan Emre Ülgen Dal çeviriyle çıkmış ve 80 sayfa uzunluğunda.

This is what is so astonishing about [Smith’s] career and what motivates Devotion—the way that, as she has gotten older, Smith’s vision has expanded, framing her self-awareness not as self-absorption but rather a deep dive into everything, the exhilaration and the terror and the transcendence that we all share.”—David Ulin, Barnes & Noble Review but real talk. this book/memoir thing is so good. like “just kids”, it’s well-written. the writing is fantastic—it’s poetic without being pretentious and unclear. it’s balanced perfectly. reading this felt like i was holding hands with a grandparent as we were meandering through an abandoned park. the birds chirping with joy, the sky full of sunshine, our hearts beating with life. i can’t stress how much i enjoyed this. Devotion is short enough to devour at one enjoyable sitting and thought-provoking enough to deserve re-reading.”—Suzi Feay, Financial Times

Sanki rüyadan uyanmış da eline geçen ilk kağıda hatıralarını yazmış ama unutmamak için acele acele yazmamış. Sindirmiş, duygularını tartmış. Tek seferde yazmış, editlememiş, ilk seferinde ne eksik ne fazlaymış gibi. By turns allegorical, metaphysical, fictional and factual, Devotion shows rather than tells what it means to give a life to writing. A master of poetic innovation, Smith takes her style to the next level in this slim volume.”—Katherine Cooper, HyperallergicThis is what is so astonishing about [Smith's] career and what motivates Devotion -- the way that, as she has gotten older, Smith's vision has expanded, framing her self-awareness not as self-absorption but rather a deep dive into everything, the exhilaration and the terror and the transcendence that we all share."--David Ulin, Barnes & Noble Review I like Smith's book. Not as much as Just Kids, but it is a sweet short (and little) essay, Smith talking to us. But maybe you just wanted me to cut to the chase and tell you Smith’s answer to the question: Why do we write? So-ree! Okay, here it is: In Devotion, [Smith] starkly shares and uncovers, through a spare, haunting prose, the reasons she is compelled to write; so evocative is Smith’s writing that we’re compelled to read it as her voices transfixes us with its bell-like clarity and ringing passion.”—Henry Carrigan, No Depression: The Journal of Roots Music But still, there was something else, I couldn't put my finger on it until I read an interview with Smith by critic Scott Timberg (Culture Crash) in the LA Review of Books. https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/p...