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Patti Smith on the power of daydream time

Singer-songwriter Patti Smith joins Shad to discuss her new memoir, M Train, and why we should all free our minds to wander.
CBC Radio ·
Q23:37Patti Smith on M Train and the power of daydream time

How often do you let your mind drift? Patti Smith — writer, poet, musician, artist, world traveller — urges you to put down the phone and daydream. It's a habit that's been essential to her life and work.

Smith's last memoir Just Kids was a compelling portrait of New York in the late 1960s and the 1970s, and a window into her relationship with the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.

Her follow-up, M Train, takes the reader on a much more winding journey through her life, her memories, her creative impulses, and her secret passions. In an interview packed with sweet and surprising moments, Smith explains the beauty of the wandering mind. 

Patti Smith has described her new memoir, M Train, as a roadmap to her life.

The life and times of Patti Smith 

Explore a few photographic highlights from the life of punk icon, Patti Smith. 

"Jesus died for someone's sins but not mine." With those biting words, Patti Smith introduced herself to the world in 1975. (HarperCollins)
Patti Smith performs during a ceremony with Occupy Wall Street members as they attend a candlelight vigil march to honor Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. on January 15, 2012. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)
Patti Smith poses during an exhibition dedicated to late U.S. photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in Paris on March 24, 2014. (Patrick Kovarik/AFP/Getty Images)
Patti Smith, left, shares a light moment with the Dalai Lama as she performs at the Glastonbury Festival in Britain, June 28, 2015. (Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

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