Patti Smith, The Godmother of Punk, Is Now Putting Her Pictures on Instagram

This is my Land 250 Polaroid camera. These days many images are lost as the film is often expired, being obsolete, but I had a good run. Its the end of the day but not too late to salute JM Barrie on his birthday.Barrie was a sickly child and only grew to 5 foot 3, and yet produced a monumental work in Peter Pan. Pictured is a polaroid of the wonderful statue in Kensington Gardens where I have spent many hours daydreaming, a pastime that is never lost, never obsolete.

A post shared by This is Patti Smith (@thisispattismith) on May 9, 2018 at 3:24pm PDT

As evidenced by her Instagram feed the Godmother is just like you and me. She posts pictures of her kids.

This is my daughter Jesse with the great Eric Burdon. Saturday we attended his 77th birthday concert at the City Winery. It was a spectral performance from the emotional Leadbelly song In the Pines, to Spill the Wine, to the Animals greatest songs. I found myself in tears even when dancing. His was the voice of disenfranchised youth, transition and the desire for a better world. As he sang I closed my eyes, transported to another time when we were of the tribe of the misunderstood searching for universal love.

A post shared by This is Patti Smith (@thisispattismith) on May 12, 2018 at 3:22pm PDT

She gives her mom a Mothers Day shout out…

This is my mother. She gave me life. And I can only give her a lifetime of gratitude.

A post shared by This is Patti Smith (@thisispattismith) on May 13, 2018 at 7:48am PDT

She celebrates her friends’ birthdays, posts selfies, travel shots, and pet pics…

This is a Ken Regan shot from 1975. Just reliving one of the thousand things to thank Bob Dylan for. The poetry, the social awareness, the electric energy, the best dark glasses, and here a moment of shared laughter. One of life’s greatest pleasures. So happy birthday Bob Dylan, I am certain people all over the world are listening to you tonight.

A post shared by This is Patti Smith (@thisispattismith) on May 24, 2018 at 12:55pm PDT

She’s not above self-promotion if the situation warrants.

But the accompanying captions set punk’s poet laureate apart. No LOLs here.  It’s clear that the award-winning author of Just Kids  and M Train thinks about her content, carefully crafting each post before she publishes. Each is a bite-sized reflection, a page-a-day meditation on what it means to be alive:

This is day two of my Venice report.

I bummed around thinking of 

Venice in the seventies. It had

a strong Rasta vibe with Reggae

music drifting from the head shops

and boom boxes on the beach. 

Burning Spear and Jimmy Cliff

and Bob Marley. Venice has an 

ever changing atmosphere but 

I always like walking around, 

anonymous, just another freak. 

On Pacific next to the Cafe Collage

I had steamed dumplings and 

ginger tea at Mao’s Kitchen. 

The food is great and reasonable.

Because it was early it was 

nearly empty. Since I was awake

since 4am i was nearly hypnotized 

by the turning of their overhead 

fan. Before I left they gave me a

fortune cookie. It was a true one.

Reflecting my past and certainly 

my future. A very good day.

Follow Patti Smith on Instagram here.

via W Magazine

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Ayun Halliday is an author, illustrator, theater maker and Chief Primatologist of the East Village Inky zine.  Her solo show Nurse!, in which one of Shakespeare’s best loved female characters hits the lecture circuit to set the record straight premieres in June at The Tank in New York City. Follow her @AyunHalliday.