Patti Smith Announces New Memoir, ‘Bread of Angels’

Patti Smith is readying the release of a new memoir, with Bread of Angels set to arrive in November.

Described as Smith’s “most intimate” memoir, the book follows on from the likes of 2010’s Just Kids, 2015’s M Train, and 2019’s Year of the Monkey, and is scheduled to release on Nov. 4 via Random House

“It took a decade to write this book, grappling with the beauty and sorrow of a lifetime. I’m hoping that people will find something they need,” Smith said in a statement. According to a synopsis, the book focuses on Smith’s teenage years, her foray into the world of poetry, and the recording of seminal works such as her Horses and Easter albums.

The volume also traces Smith’s marriage to MC5 guitarist Fred “Sonic” Smith, and their move to Michigan as they embark upon “new adventures as they start their family.” Notably, the Nov. 4 release date coincides with Smith’s 1994 passing, and the 1946 birthday of Smith’s late friend and photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.

“As Smith suffers profound losses, grief and gratitude are braided through years of caring for her children, rebuilding her life, and, finally, writing again—the one constant on a path driven by artistic freedom and the power of the imagination to transform the mundane into the beautiful, the commonplace into the magical, and pain into hope,” the synopsis reads.

In February, Smith announced a run of European, U.K., and U.S. tour dates in support of the 50th anniversary of Horses. The singer will be joined by longtime side men guitarist Lenny Kaye and drummer Jay Dee Daugherty, who both played on the seminal 1975 LP.

These tour dates were announced only days after the singer collapsed on stage in São Paulo, Brazil, on Jan. 29. Smith took to social media the next day to give “post migraine dizziness” as the reason, while assuring fans she was perfectly fine. “With all the strife in the world, this explainable incident does not merit so much attention,” she wrote.

Patti Smith – Horses 50th Anniversary Tour

Oct. 6 – Dublin, Ireland @ 3Arena
Oct. 8 – Madrid, Spain @ Teatro Real
Oct. 10 – Bergamo, Italy @ ChorusLife Arena
Oct. 12 – London, U.K. @ London Palladium
Oct. 13 – London, U.K. @ London Palladium
Oct. 15 – Brussels, Belgium @ Cirque Royale
Oct. 16 – Brussels, Belgium @ Cirque Royale
Oct. 18 – Oslo, Norway @ Sentrum Scene
Oct. 20 – Paris, France @ L’Olympia
Oct. 21 – Paris, France @ L’Olympia
Nov. 10 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
Nov. 12 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theatre
Nov. 13 – San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic
Nov. 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Walt Disney Concert Hall
Nov. 17 – Chicago, IL @ The Chicago Theatre
Nov. 21 – New York, N.Y. @ The Beacon Theatre
Nov. 22 – New York, N.Y. @ The Beacon Theatre
Nov. 24 – Boston, MA @ The Orpheum Theatre
Nov. 28 – Washington D.C., The Anthem
Nov. 29 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Met

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