Woolgathering

This is a beautiful, magical little book. Patti Smith is such a fantastic writer. This book is very small. I read it within the hour. I really wanted it so I could put it on my bookshelf along with my other Patty Smith books and poetry collections I have. I'll be reading this again. Her words are haunting.

Patti Smith once again graces us with the opportunity to get inside not her head, but her soul. Patti does not hold anything back. She shares everything she has inside her with such care that it makes you feel as if you were becoming her, with that intimate relationship the book offers you. This short tiny book offers more deep thoughts than 700 page books. Recommended to any person who can read. A must for every human.

Forty years ago, Patti Smith changed rock music with the release of Horses. She combined Beat sensibility with outraged punk, confounding critics and listeners alike. She embraced androgyny, sexuality, sensuality and sensibility in her music, poetry, writing and spoken word performance art, and was Robert Mapplethorp's muse. Now she has emerged as one of America's finest prose writers, and most certainly Woolgathering is a testament to her talent. Written and published when Smith turned 45, Woolgathering is a collection of childhood memories, stories she says are true as she remembers them. They are woven together in a stream-of-consciousness recollection, reading Woolgathering is like lying on the grass on a summer afternoon staring up at the sky and watching clouds drift and float and meander overhead. The sky is Smith's narrative, and her memories clouds. It makes no difference that almost 25 years has past since Smith spent some time gathering the wool of her memories and imagination and translated them into ink on paper. Don't expect Just Kids, don't expect Babel; have no expectations, and just relax and read as if sky-gazing as clouds pass overhead.

Love everything about this book. Love the size, love the cover art, and love the content. A very relaxing dreamy read

good book, but liked M Train better, Just Kids as well.

This tends to be views as a prelude to her other memoirs, but that’s very unfair. This is, in its own way, better than anything else she has ever written. Which is true of everything Smith writes. Her work is always beyond comparison—even with her past and future works.

my book club loved patti smith's book of days, and were curious about "woolgathering."

A nice, small. dreamy memoir.

bEST SMALL BOOK i EVER READ:WONDERFUL

Comprei esse livrinho, lindo, lindão mesmo, só porque foi a Patti Smith quem o escreveu. Porque um livro da Patti é um livro da Patti e isso quer dizer que a leitura vai ser prá lá de boa. Não sei porque o livro não foi lançado em português, mas deveria. São divagações da autora, suas memórias que contemplam a infância e a juventude, de uma maneira bucólica bem característica da escrita de Patti, a mesma pegada poética com a qual escreve em seus posts (recomendo muito) no Instagram. Um livrinho para ser lido no aconchego do lar numa tarde largada de domingo, ou num café escondidinho da muvuca, como bem curte a autora. Em tempo: o título Woolgathring remete à coleta de lã, mas também significa abstração e devaneio. A cara da Patti Smith.

Un libro così pensato, voluto, progettato dalla sua autrice, viene rovinato dall'edizione elettronica, che perde tutte le immagini presenti nell'edizione cartacea... Pessimo esempio di digital r/evolution...

Strange, not my cup of tea (or perhaps just not what I felt like reading on the day) might finish it someday... YMMV

Short enough to read at a single sitting, Woolgathering is a strange interlude. No doubt, as Patti hopes, it will fill U 2 with a "vague and curious joy". It certainly did me . Patti's usual stream of consciousness : mystic, lyrical prose. She's convinced she's descended from a long line of shepherds ! In Woolgathering she revisits vivid memories from her childhood : the death of her dog Bambi. Her sister Kimberley : the babe in her arms as the black barn burns . Entwined with her memories are half-remembered dreams and glimpses into a spiritual world : that other dimension Patti constantly seeks in all of her work. Unlike later work - M Train and Year Of The Monkey - all the journeying in Woolgathering is done in the mind. Patti's location is fixed : the old stone house she shares with her husband - Fred - and their 2 children. Rather than plot, drama and suspense, Patti writes about feelings, moods and emotions. In short about being. About what it means to be human. Never better than in Woolgathering.