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Patti Smith to kick off Brooklyn Book Festival – Metro US

Patti Smith to kick off Brooklyn Book Festival

Patti Smith to kick off Brooklyn Book Festival

We should all try reading more. Like, actual books; Tweets, texts, Slack messages, Facebook statuses don’t count. If you’re in need of some literary inspiration, the Brooklyn Book Festival is happening in a few weeks, and today we’ve learned that Patti Smith, multihyphenate, Renaissance woman, creative genius, is kicking things off on the first day of the week-long fest with a reading from her new book, “Devotion.”

Out September 12, “Devotion” is an exploration of Smith’s creative process as a writer, artist, singer-songwriter. It’s the third after her most recent works, the memoirs “Just Kids,” about her relationship with artist Robert Mapplethorpe and their experiences in late ‘60s and early ‘70s New York City art scene, and “M Train,” an ode to the creative life, captured through the cafes she’s worked in around the world.  

Smith will present the book, followed by a Q&A, at St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn Heights on Monday, September 11 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets, which include entry and a copy of the book, are now on sale for $25.

The official lineup for the rest of the fest has yet to be released, but you can expect nightly ticketed “bookend” events that Monday through Friday, September 15. Children’s Day will be held at the MetroTech Commons on Saturday, September 16, followed by the main event, Festival Day, on Sunday, Sept. 17, a free, day-long slate of readings, performances and panels by 300 authors, held on 14 stages at Borough Hall. We do know the participating authors: of note, novelists Jami Attenberg and Jonathan Lethem, poets Meghan O’Rourke and Morgan Parker, and non-fiction writers, essayist Philip Lopate and journalist Chris Hayes. Check back at brooklynbookfestival.org for more announcements.