One of the delights of my days is watching
’s videos on Substack. The iconic singer, writer, artist, and musician sits in a dark bedroom, often with her cat on her lap, reading Uncle Wiggily stories and talking about random things. Sometimes she shares photos from A Book of Days, her wonderful collection of images and notations.Today is the anniversary of Smith’s marriage to Fred Sonic Smith (they wed on March 1, 1980, in the Mariners Church of Detroit). This morning, before heading off to Paris for work, she shared a video in which she talks about writing the song “Frederick” on the beach in Staten Island.
“It’s one of the few songs that I wrote both the music and the words to,” she says. When Smith explains how the phrase “my sleepyhead” came to be, the tenderness is palpable in her voice. It’s a beautiful story about long-distance love, devotion, and the strange magic of the creative process.
I mention this song in my latest novel, The Wonder Test. Frederick was the name of the narrator, Lina’s, late husband. Now raising their teenaged son Rory alone and grieving Fred’s sudden death, Lina is reminded of Fred any time Patti Smith comes up. In one scene, Lina sees a picture of Patti Smith on a T-shirt worn by Rory’s girlfriend, and she is undone.
“If there is any substitute for love, it is memory,” Joseph Brodsky said. I think of Brodsky because in the video, Smith mentions that she is carrying a collection of his poems with her to Paris. Oh, to be on the way to Paris, carrying a collection of poems! (Of course, I have done Paris in a far less romantic way…and yet, the idea of reading a beautiful book in Paris never gets old, even if you’ve had a peak behind all that deceptively beautiful Lutecian limestone).
Hearing Smith talk about the song is a blessing, as are all of her videos. After playing a clip from the song, the artist promises to “send you messages from Paris” and finishes by reminding her viewers to drink water, sharing some advice her doctor once gave her: “Remember that coffee is not water.”
You can watch the video and listen to the song Frederick here.
Novella is Michelle Richmond’s author newsletter. After a long silence, it was recently revamped. I share an audio story once a month, occasional posts on inspiring people and books, and a brand new serial novella.