• Forest for the Trees
  • THE FOREST FOR THE TREES is about writing, publishing and what makes writers tick. This blog is dedicated to the self loathing that afflicts most writers. A community of like-minded malcontents gather here. I post less frequently now, but hopefully with as much vitriol. Please join in! Gluttons for punishment can scroll through the archives.

    If I’ve learned one thing about writers, it’s this: we really are all alone. Thanks for reading. Love, Betsy

I Was Looking for You Are You Gone Gone

Monday was publication day for Patti Smith’s new book, A BOOK OF DAYS. She did a reading and performance at the Great Hall in Cooper Union, the line went around the block on a crisp New York night. Felt really good to be alive. I’ve worked with Patti for 25 years and it’s a privilege to be her Sancho, sidekick, Plus One. A Book of Days is 365 illustrations (plus one for leap year) and captions that capture her idiosyncratic aesthetic, her passions and obsessions. The graves of writers and guitars of rock stars, journal pages and beloved poets. Pinocchio and Kurt Cobain. RayBans and coffee cups. Her Abyssinian runt Cairo. It’s a beauty.

What picture would you use for your day?

6 Responses

  1. Big fan. Off to order her book!

  2. “What picture would you use for your day?”

    Picture? I can’t even get my avatar to work around here.

    Picture? Picture this: An old man sits at his computer, his morning cup of tea steaming on the coaster by the monitor. Let the day begin.

  3. golden haired lass,Gorbals 1964 by Oscar Mazoli

  4. It’s cold here and snowy, so I’m thinking Tahitian Women by Paul Gauguin to add color and warmth to a black and white day.

    And I’m glad to hear Patti Smith is not slowing down.

  5. The graffiti from the window of the train.

  6. A picture of my neighbor across the road. She’s ninety. Today is the first time I got to visit her since covid reared its ugly head. I got to hug her and everything.

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