Patti Smith, Morrison & the Art of Rock Poetry

As longtime readers know, my fascination with The Doors extends far beyond the music. It reaches into the books, poets, and writers who shaped Jim Morrison’s inner world. At the center of that influence stands Arthur Rimbaud, the French symbolist poet whose rebellious vision helped define the poetic backbone of rock music. That same devotion to literature also forms a natural bridge between Morrison and another towering figure of rock poetry, Patti Smith.

Patti Smith recently celebrated her 79th birthday, marking the 50th anniversary of her landmark debut album this year. Horses, released on November 10, 1975, remains one of the most important debut records in rock history. Produced by John Cale, the album fused punk urgency with spoken word poetry and literary ambition, firmly establishing Smith as a defining force in the New York City music scene. Songs like “Gloria” reshaped expectations of what rock music could be when art, rebellion, and poetry collided.

Less widely known is that Smith appeared on record a year before Horses altered the musical landscape. In 1974, she made one of her earliest recorded appearances on a solo album by Ray Manzarek, The Doors’ keyboardist. Titled The Whole Thing Started with Rock & Roll Now It’s Out of Control, the album found Manzarek pushing beyond the legacy of The Doors while still honoring its creative spirit.

On the track “I Wake Up Screaming,” Smith is credited as a “poetess,” delivering a spoken word performance that includes her recitation of a Jim Morrison poem titled “Ensenada.” It is a striking and often overlooked intersection of rock history, with Smith, still on the verge of her breakthrough, giving voice to Morrison’s words alongside one of his closest collaborators.

Album details
Album: The Whole Thing Started with Rock & Roll Now It’s Out of Control
Artist: Ray Manzarek
Year: 1974
Song: “I Wake Up Screaming”
Patti Smith’s role: Recitation of the Jim Morrison poem “Ensenada.”

The album features an eclectic roster of contributors, including Joe Walsh and Flo & Eddie, yet Smith’s appearance feels especially meaningful in hindsight. It captures an early glimpse of the Punk Poetess before Horses cemented her legacy and before punk poetry had fully entered the cultural lexicon.

What makes this collaboration feel almost inevitable is the shared reverence Smith and Morrison held for Arthur Rimbaud. Rimbaud stands at the spiritual core of this lineage, embraced by both artists as a revolutionary figure who fused art, rebellion, and spiritual intensity into a single vision. He was not simply an influence, but a model for what a poet could be in the era of amplified rock music.

Smith celebrated this connection throughout her career, performing tributes on Rimbaud’s birthday and aligning her work with his idea of the “derangement of the senses” as a path to truth. For her, Rimbaud offered permission to blur the boundaries between poetry, performance, and music, shaping her identity as an artist who treated the stage as both page and altar.

The Poetry of Rock

Morrison absorbed Rimbaud’s influence through a darker, more mythic lens. He transformed that intensity into the persona of the rock god poet, weaving symbolism, ritual, and excess into his lyrics and performances. He did not merely reference Rimbaud but embodied the idea, pushing until art and life became inseparable.

Together, Smith and Morrison viewed Rimbaud as the archetype of the modern poetic rock star, proof that poetry could be confrontational, mystical, and dangerous. That shared devotion deepens the resonance of Smith reciting Morrison’s words on a Manzarek record, turning a brief studio moment into a powerful convergence of literature and music.

As expected, my admiration does not end there. I am also a longtime Patti Smith fan, and I recently picked up her latest book, which I am fully immersed in. For anyone drawn to the era that shaped punk, poetry, and rock mythology, it is a deeply rewarding read. It reflects Smith’s enduring love for her literary and musical influences and reinforces her standing not only as a cultural icon but as a formidable writer. Her Substack feed is equally worth following, offering the same intimacy and reflection that define her books.

Bread of Angels: A Memoir is Smith’s most personal work to date. It traces her life from a post-World War II working-class childhood through her evolution as an artist, wife, and mother. Rather than a conventional rock memoir, the book reads as a poetic meditation on memory, creativity, and survival.

Throughout Bread of Angels, Smith revisits her formative inspirations, including Arthur Rimbaud and Bob Dylan, and explores how they guided her path from young poet to punk rock pioneer. She writes candidly about stepping away from fame to raise a family in Michigan with her late husband, Fred “Sonic” Smith, and about returning to writing after profound personal loss.

The memoir’s themes echo those that have always shaped her work. It weaves despair with hope, showing how imagination and artistic freedom can transform grief into meaning. One especially compelling element is Smith’s reflection on a surprising discovery about her own lineage later in life, adding yet another layer of depth to an already intimate narrative.

For readers drawn to the intersections of poetry, punk, literature, and lived experience, Bread of Angels feels like a natural extension of the same creative lineage that connects Patti Smith, Jim Morrison, and Arthur Rimbaud. It is a reminder that Smith’s legacy lies not only in the music she made but in her enduring ability to turn life itself into art.