Patti Smith in Conversation with Paul Kelly

She's the godmother of punk, and he's everyone’s favorite yarn-spinning uncle of poetic Aussie rock’n’roll. Seeing these two legends sit down in conversation will be a meeting of the minds that'll be hard to better, and the Sydney Writers' Festival is making it happen.

Smith has plenty to draw on, with her multifaceted career reaching back to the ’70s, taking in 13 albums, including the breakthrough
Horses
, three books, and multiple collections of poetry and essays. With Kelly, she’ll be discussing her latest New York Times-bestselling book,
Year of the Monkey
, a genre-redefining blend of memoir and fiction.

Smith, aged 73, was last in Australia for a sell-out national tour in 2017, thought by some to be her final visit Down Under. Lucky us, she’s back this year to play Byron Bay Bluesfest, with sideshows in Melbourne and Sydney (she plays the Enmore Theatre on April 15 and 16). Her in conversation with Kelly – a rare chance to see two icons discussing the magical and vital power of stories – is one of the headline happenings of the
2020 Sydney Writers' Festival
, which this year runs from April 27 to May 3. The full program is due to be announced in mid-March.