Legendary Punk-Poet-Memoirist Patti Smith’s slim book Devotion centers on the question of “Why I Write,” which is the subject of the annual Windham-Campbell lectures at Yale University. Because Smith can’t explain the why without the how she writes, she takes us on a journey to France on book business and ends with her writing the short story “Devotion,” “breathlessly on a Paris train without remorse.” The story appears in the middle of the book followed by a small reflection, closing the book. Through her actions we understand the creative process is to pay homage to your influences, respect the power of myth, observe the world, make connections with the past to the present, and write as if it is a mission God commanded you to take.
