Bookshelf

Two Times Intro: On the Road With Patti Smith 

One icon documents another in Two Times Intro (Akashic, $23.95), featuring photos taken by gay
R.E.M. front man Michael Stipe as he followed punk-rock legend Patti Smith for
two weeks on tour in 1995, when she resumed performing after the death of her
husband. First published in 1998, it’s being reissued with a new preface by
Smith and a new introduction by Stipe, who praises not only Smith’s music but
also her acclaimed memoir Just Kids,
about her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe. While Two Times
Intro is primarily arresting
black-and-white photographs, it includes an appreciation of Smith written by
William S. Burroughs and text from several other observers, including Smith’s
band members Lenny Kaye, Tom Verlaine, and Oliver Ray, and rock journalist Paul
Williams, who recounts his last meeting with Allen Ginsberg, backstage after a
Smith concert in Boston. Overall, the book is a fitting tribute from one
musician to another and a testament to the enduring talent and appeal of the
straight-but-never-narrow godmother of punk. Akashic is also offering a premium
deal for the book accompanied by an exclusive limited-edition photo of Smith in
New Orleans in 2010, signed by Stipe. —Trudy Ring