Great Regulars: [Patti] Smith, however, has not burned out

but thrived. The key is that she is a poet first; she has always approached rock with a poet's eye. Her first collection, "Seventh Heaven," came out in 1972, and throughout her career she has relied on verse to ground her, even during the extended period of nearly total silence (1980-96) when she lived in Michigan and raised two kids.

from David L. Ulin: Los Angeles Times: 'Auguries of Innocence' by Patti Smith

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