Patti Smith Hits Portsmouth With Her Memoir 'M Train'

On Saturday, November 7, The Music Hall's Writers on a New England Stage series will present Patti Smith, the legendary artist and the National Book Award-winning author of "Just Kids." Smith will discuss her latest memoir, "M Train," which follows her journey through life, beginning in a tiny Greenwich Village caf� and continuing to such rare locations as Frida Kahlo's Casa Azul in Mexico, a meeting of an Arctic explorer's society in Berlin, and the graves of Genet, Plath, Rimbaud, and Mishima.

The event begins at 7:30 p.m. with an author presentation followed by an onstage interview with Virginia Prescott, host of New Hampshire Public Radio's "Word of Mouth." It will be held at The Music Hall's Historic Theater at 28 Chestnut Street in downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
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"It's a great honor to welcome legendary artist Patti Smith to our historic theater," said Patricia Lynch, Executive Producer of "Writers on a New England Stage." "Talented across the mediums, Patti Smith shows us exactly where her craft and inspiration begin in her new memoir, ultimately taking the reader through the roadmap of her life. We are certainly in for a treat."

"M Train" is an unforgettable odyssey of a legendary artist, told through the prism of the caf�s and haunts she has worked in around the world. Woven throughout are reflections on the writer's craft and on artistic creation. Here we find singular memories of Smith's life in Michigan and the irremediable loss of her husband, Fred Sonic Smith. Braiding despair with hope and consolation, illustrated with her signature Polaroids, "M Train" is a meditation on travel, detective shows, literature, and coffee.

The book follows Smith's journey through eighteen "stations." It begins in the tiny Greenwich Village caf� where Smith goes every morning for black coffee, ruminates on the world as it is and the world as it was, and writes in her notebook. We then travel, through prose that shifts fluidly between dreams and reality, past and present, across a landscape of creative aspirations and inspirations: from Frida Kahlo's Casa Azul in Mexico, to a meeting of an Arctic explorer's society in Berlin; from the ramshackle seaside bungalow in New York's Far Rockaway that Smith buys just before Hurricane Sandy hits, to the graves of Genet, Plath, Rimbaud, and Mishima.

Woven throughout are reflections on the writer's craft and on artistic creation, alongside signature memories including her life in Michigan with her husband, guitarist Fred Sonic Smith, whose untimely death was an irremediable loss. For it is loss, as well as the consolation we might salvage from it, that lies at the heart of this exquisitely told memoir, one augmented by stunning black-and-white Polaroids taken by Smith herself. "M Train" is a meditation on endings and on beginnings: a poetic tour de force by one of the most brilliant multi-platform artists at work today.
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Smith is the author of "Just Kids," which won the National Book Award in 2010, and of five collections of poetry. Her seminal album "Horses" has been hailed as one of the top 100 albums of all time. In 2005, the French Ministry of Culture awarded Smith the title of Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres; she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.

Each literary evening features an author presentation followed by an onstage interview with Virginia Prescott, host of New Hampshire Public Radio's "Word of Mouth." Live music is performed by the award-winning house band Dreadnaught. Shows are rebroadcast on NH Public Radio.

The ticket package for "Writers on a New England Stage: Patti Smith" on Saturday, November 7, at 7:30 p.m. is $35 and includes a voucher for a copy of the book, "M Train."�Vouchers can be redeemed on the event night for signed copies of the book.

For tickets, visit The Music Hall Box Office, 28 Chestnut Street, Portsmouth, call 603-436-2400 or visit themusichall.org.