Last year, we had Godsmack Day. Back in April, we celebrated Kathleen Hanna Day. And this Saturday, October 10, we’ll have Patti Smith Day around Boston.
The punk icon is scheduled to appear at the Back Bay Events Center on Saturday to discuss, sign, and promote her new memoir, M Train. While she’s in town, the City of Boston has a pretty special distinction in store, according to City Hall.
“I declare October 10 to be Patti Smith Day — grateful for her artistic contribution, leading the way for women in rock,” Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh tweeted.
The proclamation begins: “When Patti Smith emerged on the American art scene in the mid-1970s, she defined and inspired a new breed of artist through her mystical poems and urgent rock and roll. Ms. Smith captivated audiences yearning for intellectual and emotional challenges in popular art, choosing ambiguity and raw emotion over the traditional stereotypes of women in rock music.”
Walsh’s full Patti Smith Day declaration also touches on her decades of performing in town (from shows in the ’70s at the long-gone Paul’s Mall on Boylston Street to a 2013 New Year’s Eve performance at First Night), as well as the endless stream of awards and distinctions she has received along a four-decade-long career.
Read it in full below. More information on Smith’s Saturday appearance, presented by the Harvard Book Store, is available here.
