Patti Smith at Readings, Melbourne

from 'autobiography' by Patti Smith [from CREEM, September 1971]

I was born in Illinois...mainline of America...
beat to shit...Chicago tenement
big red eyed rats in the night...dead rats to tease at night
Morning...I waited for the organ grinder
with my nickel for the monkeys tin cup
gingerbread man...cotton candy man
bad girl setting fire to the oil cans
run like hell escape on the icemans truck
I was a limping ugly duck
but I had good luck

The 'godmother of punk' was a guest at this year's Melbourne Festival, where she attracted 220 people to the Readings bookshop. That's a packed house! Alison Croggon did an on-the-spot interview, so Patti Smith then sang a song and dedicated it to her.

More available at Alison's Theatre blog http://theatrenotes.blogspot.com/2008/10/patti-smith-at-readings.html