Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and visual artist who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses.
The people have the power to redeem the work of fools. Upon the meek the graces shower, it's decreed the people rule.
I understood that in this small space of time we had mutually surrendered our loneliness and replaced it with trust.
People need space to air out their thoughts, to have a sense of themselves - unfettered by anything.
I got my style from a lot of different people, even my style of reading, even Johnny Carson inspired me.
Never let go of that fiery sadness called desire.
Ultimately, we are not seeking others to bow to, but to reinforce our individual natures, to help us suffer our own choices, to guide us on our own particular journeys.
One day we’ll go in together, and the work will be ours.
People say hello to me. I mean, sometimes the sanitation truck goes by and says, hey Patti.
When you do controversial work, you're going to upset a certain amount of people.
The film [Dream of Life] is the way it is because it was the rhythm of my life, and also because the director and the editor are both gifted and both fine human beings.
The whole process of working with Steven [Sebring] and being filmed by him helped me psychologically to get my feet back on the ground.
By the time I was 10 or 11, I was completely demoralized. I thought, "I'm done. I'm never going to be a missionary," because my indiscretion column, whether it was little lies or stealing a Chunky bar, kept me from sainthood.
If someone didn't want to be filmed, or my children said, "Don't film me anymore," [Steven Sebring] didn't try to sneak a shot or cajole them; he just respected their wishes.
I started thinking what could happen with my art and I realized that the biggest thing that could is that it winds up in a museum. It's like finding a rare animal and putting it in the zoo.
We were as Hansel and Gretel and we ventured out into the black forest of the world.
I've never felt grounded because of my ancestry or my gender. I think until women get away from that they're not going to be great writers.
I started resenting how much art robs from life. I'd go to a party and I couldn't enjoy myself, even sexually. All I could think was how I was going to reinvent the experience into a piece of art.
I don't think the average American understands what patriotism truthfully is. That's why when I attack our country or attack the government, it's sometimes looked at as unpatriotic. It's not.
There are so many great 19th-century photographers, and it's really my favorite period, but the amateurs did such beautiful work.
Finally, by the sea, where God is everywhere, I gradually calmed.