A Book of Days: The New York Times Bestseller Hardcover – Illustrated, 15 November 2022

A deeply moving and brilliantly idiosyncratic visual book of days by the National Book Award-winning creator of Just Kids and M Train. More than 365 images chart Smith’s singular aesthetic – inspired by her wildly popular Instagram

In 2018, without any plan or agenda for what might happen next, Patti Smith posted her first Instagram photo- her hand with the simple message “Hello Everybody!” Known for shooting with her beloved Land Camera 250, Smith began posting images from her phone including portraits of her kids, her radiator, her boots, and her Abyssinian cat, Cairo. Followers felt a right away affinity with these miniature windows into Smith’s world, photographs of her day-to-day coffee, the books she’s reading, the graves of beloved heroes – William Blake, Dylan Thomas, Sylvia Plath, Simone Weil, Albert Camus. Over the years, a coherent story of a life devoted to art took shape, and more than a million followers responded to Smith’s unique aesthetic in images that chart her passions, devotions, obsessions, and whims. Original to this book are vintage photographs- anniversary pearls, a mother’s keychain, and a husband’s Mosrite guitar. Here, too, are never-before-seen photos of life off and on the road, train stations, difficult to understand cafes, a notebook at all times nearby. In wide-ranging yet intimate day-to-day notations, Smith shares dispatches from her travels world wide.
With 365 photographs, taking you through a single year, A Book of Days is a new way to experience the expansive mind of the visionary poet, author, and performer. Hopeful, elegiac, playful – and complete with an introduction by Smith that explores her documentary process – A Book of Days is a timeless offering for deeply uncertain times, an inspirational map of an artist’s life.