Is patti smith gay
Patti Smith Defined Cool in Woman loving woman Bars of the ’80s
I pinballed between circles of lesbians but settled nowhere. Gorgeous women were everywhere but always out of attain in San Francisco’s mesmerizing haze.
C.J. Janovy
C.J. Janovy is a Kansas City-based journalist and the composer of "No Place Like Home: Lessons in Activism from LGBT Kansas," winner of the Stubbendieck Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize and a Lambda Literary Award finalist in LGBTQ nonfiction.
[from "Opinion," A&U: America's AIDS Magazine, March ]
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In the Mailbox section of the January '98 A&U, Ira Joel Haber ("Patti Bashing") attempts to demonstrate Patti Smith's homophobia by citing portions of Patricia Morrisroe's biography of Robert Mapplethorpe. It is clear that Haber has very little knowledge of Smith's work and is merely relying on Morrisroe's ideas--interpretations which, instead of revealing Smith's homophobia, actually betray Morrisroe's prurient fixations.
Morrisroe's book focuses heavily on Mapplethorpe's sexual practices. The author appears to be much more interested in unearthing lurid scatological details than exploring Mapplethorpe's work. Morrisroe does not even seem to respect Mapplethorpe as a photographer. By emphasizing and exploiting Mapplethorpe's sexuality, she implies that a same-sex attracted artist should be studied in terms of his or her erotic activities instead of the works themselves. Such an assumption is homophobic.
In his letter, Haber mentions that, according to Morrisroe, Patti Smith was very upset when she foun
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It might be hard to think at first glance, given that eminent long, stringy hair, androgynous appearance, and her origins as a proto-punk poetess and singer dubbed &#;The Godmother of Punk.” But Patti Smith is not who she necessarily seems on the surface. She is an incredibly well-read woman, writer, photographer, and a correct romantic with a tremendous aesthetic eye and love of beauty. While I cannot confess to being a amazing fan of her music, I acquire watched and decipher many interviews with her, saw in her speak in public, and so an exhibit of her photographs at the Detroit Institute of Arts. There is so much to admire about her!
-She is highly cultured. This is the artist who considered Balzac to be her first love! Smith has made pilgrimages to the homes of various artists and writers around the world. She admires how Red Warm Chili Peppers’ guitarist Flea warms up with Bach runs. And one of her childhood heroes was Maria Callas. She loves going to bookstores and always talks about the book she is reading in interviews. Patti Smith has spoken of how she really considers
James Patrick Carraghan
James Patrick Carraghan is an award-winning activist, writer, librarian and scholar at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. He spends his free time gardening, hording books and flirting. You can follow him on tumblr at
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‘Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine.’
So begins Patti Smith’s debut album, Horses. Even though it was not an overnight success, the album has gone on to become one of the most iconic rock albums of all second, inspiring more and more imitators with each passing decade. The sound of the album is a combination of classic rock and roll, early punk experiments, and neo-Romantic poetry, seeped in queerness.
The album begins with a reimagining of Van Morrison’s ‘Gloria’ that is so nice it is even excel than the original. As with many of Smith’s covers, the lyrics possess been slightly rewritten and feature Smith’s poetry as a supplement to the original lyrics. Every ballad Smith covers becomes her own to a certain extent, existing in a world of co-creation between her and the