Here are some nifty words you don’t get to say every day: “The king of Sweden recognized my brilliance and gave me a big, fat cheque for one million kronor (or about $150,000 Canadian).”
That is, unless you answer to the name of Patti Smith… or are a member of American classical ensemble Kronos Quartet. Last night in Stockholm, the legendary punk poet and author (see “Dancing Barefoot,” “Because the Night”) won Sweden’s distinguished Polar Prize which recognizes artists who advance the creation of music.
According to Clash Music, Smith and Kronos shared the prize. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden presented both artists with their one million kronor prize at a special ceremony in the country's capital. Yee-haw.
And really, it couldn’t happen to a more deserving artist - Smith anticipated punk rock in the mid-1970s and her 1976 debut Horses remains an absolute classic. Among other things, she went on to marry the late MC5 guitarist Fred “Sonic’ Smith and her novel Just Kids received huge acclaim on its release last year; the singer is said to be working on a screenplay for a proposed film.
Trivia alert: Smith is the mother-in-law of White Stripes drummer Meg White who married Smith’s son Jackson in 2009.
Smith recently assisted the construction of a new career-spanning retrospective. Outside Society collects her work on Arista and Columbia, with the CD containing personal reflections on each song written by Smith herself. Look for it this fall.
She had a dream about the
King of Sweden. He gave her things that she was needin'. - Cab Calloway
Posted by: Vineland | 09/01/2011 at 09:42 AM