"SOMEWHERE IN AMERICA, IN A CERTAIN STATE OF GRACE"

SMITH, Patti. Early Work 1970-1979. New York / London: W.W. Norton, 1994. Octavo, original black cloth and paper boards, original dust jacket. $1500.

First edition of a signal collection of Smith's writings from the 1970s, together in book for the first time, many never before published, inscribed by her, "To D— Patti Smith."

"In 1975 rock and roll caught a glimpse of what lay ahead when Patti Smith… released her debut album, Horses… The musicians proudly flaunted a garage-rock aesthetic, while Smith sang with the delirious release of an inspired amateur who knew her voice conveyed more honest passion than any note-perfect rock professional" (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame). Early Work stands out and "is most revealing as an account of Smith's transition from poetry into the world of rock, showing her movement from verse to prose" (Publishers Weekly). Featured are a number of previously unpublished works, all from the 1970s, many "chosen from transcriptions of performance pieces, notebook entries" and her personal papers. "First Edition" stated on copyright page. With numerous black-and-white photographic illustrations. Issued same year as a limited first edition (150 copies), no priority established.

A fine copy.