By Zooey B, age 13
KidScoop Media Correspondent
I was so excited to interview the iconic Patti Smith while she was in Los Angeles promoting the paperback release of her memoir Bread of Angels. My KidScoop Media interview team, Celia and Michelle, and I met her on the rooftop of a West Hollywood hotel, overlooking a tremendous view of the infamous Hollywood Hills and the soft blue sky. Patti sat in between me and Celia on a couch, while Michelle sat on a chair right next to us. It was hard to believe I was about to interview such a huge, influential, and iconic person—if I’m gonna be brutally honest, I was VERY nervous. At the very beginning, she had mentioned that she didn’t really do interviews. But she thought what we were doing with Kidscoop Media was very cool, so she agreed. She was decked out in casual but stylish clothes: a mustard yellow jacket and plaid pants—almost capri-like; she looked great.
During the interview, Patti was both very sociable and patient with us. We expected the interview to last 30 minutes at most, but she was kind enough to give us more time to ask her about her life and overall get to know her more than we’d already researched. She said something along the lines of, “You guys think you have 30 minutes but I know we have more… you didn’t though, I did.”
Before we could even get our questions in, she pointed out the skirt I was wearing on top of my jeans. She’d asked if I made the skirt and then complimented me on how I had paired it on top of the jeans. Feeling more comfortable, I told her how my dad didn’t like the combo and thought it was tacky. She rolled her eyes and smiled, telling me she knew better than him and that she herself had even worn something similar before. It made me feel like I had known her forever—her demeanor was very inviting and friendly. A great way to break the ice.
One of my first questions I had asked her was
“Do you have certain rituals when you start writing? Are you particular about using certain pens and journals, and what gets you in the creative mood?”
Her response was interesting and unique as expected. She said she likes using specific Japanese-style notebooks for writing and just in general. If not a Japanese-style notebook, she also likes graph paper and blank paper. Additionally, people gift her notebooks, which she says she almost always loves and uses. One thing she expresses that she doesn’t like is lined paper, which she said is because she
Doesn’t like being told where to write.
As for writing materials, she likes using ballpoint pens, but generally just uses whatever is accessible to her. She also mentioned fountain pens but says she’s “Too messy with them.”
Similarly, she said she always carries around a notebook, especially when ideas come to her at the randomest of times. The second question I had asked her was
“In Bread of Angels you include stories about your dogs Bambi and Ballo—clearly they meant something to you to appear in your memoir. What do dogs mean to you? Are they companions or protectors, or both? How did losing them change you? And do you have any pets now?”
After asking this question, it turned out that Ballo was actually a cat! Following up on my remark about her putting them in her memoir, she said she hasn’t forgotten Bambi as well as her memory of losing her that day on the field. Her way of describing that memory was very poetic, mentioning how she could
“Still feel the blades of grass against her skin.” I should’ve known that asking questions like these would be met with deep, symbolic answers.
One of the last few questions I had asked her was-
“You mention in your book that reading provided an escape—another world as you say. How have all these books shaped your writing? You mention reading Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Peter Pan as a child, did any elements from those books seep into your own work? And what are you reading right now?”
To me, her response to this question was the highlight of the interview. One of the best responses she’d given..
She mentioned how poetry played a big role during her childhood and was inspired by the book ‘Little Women’ to write a book too, considering the fact that a woman wrote that book, which told her she could too. She also said she loved poetry as a form.
Wrapping up the questions we asked her, I just want to focus on what this interview meant to me. Not only will this remain a memory I can never forget, but a placeholder for advice and something to revisit when I’m in need of suggestions in writing or how to get by in daily life. I’d also like to bring up this experience whenever I can get the chance— Overall, thank you to Patti Smith and KidScoop Media for the interview.
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