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Punk rock poet Patti Smith is coming to Portland on Sept. 15 for “An Evening of Songs and Stories” at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.
The event is timed to the paperback release of her most recent memoir, Bread of Angels. The musician and author’s visit will be hosted by the nonprofit Literary Arts and will include a live performance. Tickets are on sale now and range from $30 to $75; the $75 ticket comes with a copy of the book.
Bread of Angels—which The New York Times called “expansive,” “fresh” and “enlightening” in its 2025 review—covers Smith’s entire life, from childhood to the present.
According to Literary Arts, Bread of Angels “describes her post-World War II childhood in working-class Philadelphia and South Jersey, her teenage years when the first glimmers of art and romance take hold, and her rise as a punk rock icon, then explores her retreat from public life when she meets her one true love and starts a family on the shores of Lake Saint Clair, Mich. As Smith suffers profound losses, she also returns to writing, the one constant on a lifelong path driven by artistic freedom and the power of imagination.”
This is Smith’s fourth memoir in the past 16 years. Just Kids covered her relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and won her the 2010 National Book Award for Nonfiction.
SEE IT: Patti Smith at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 503-227-2583, portland5.evenue.net/events/PSMITH. 7:30 pm Tuesday, Sept. 15. $30-$75.
