For the past two weekends, New Orleans has been consumed by Jazz Fest, and Patti Smith, musician, poet, visual artist and author, was one of this year's major headliners.
Among the myriad performances and events, the festival features a book tent that is usually run, on a volunteer basis, by employees of local bookstores. Smith was scheduled to stop by the tent and sign copies of her memoir Just Kids, which documents her relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.
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| Patti Smith with Garden District Book Shop owner Britton Trice | |
"We were delighted to find out that she would sit in the book tent and sign books for an hour or so before her performance," said Susie Penman of the Garden District Book Shop in New Orleans. "We ordered several cases of Just Kids and prepared to deal with a deluge of her fans."
Unfortunately, Jazz Fest was beset this year by unusually cold and rainy weather, and Smith's signing was cancelled (although her performance would go ahead as scheduled). Having already ordered many copies of Just Kids in addition to widely publicizing the signing, the Garden District Book Shop asked Smith if she could do a short-notice signing at the store, which was across town from the festival location.
"We were absolutely thrilled when she agreed," said Penman. With less than 24 hours until Smith's visit, employees of the Garden District Book Shop scrambled to get news of the signing out via Facebook, Twitter and an e-mail blast. The next day, the store was inundated with fans.
"It was a wonderfully efficient signing," Penman related. After inscribing books for a multitude of fans, Smith signed the rest of the store's inventory of Just Kids, about 70 copies. "She left right on time, and when she performed two hours later, the sun came out for the first time all weekend."