Some artists hold unique power when it comes to seeing us through dark times. For me, one of those artists is Patti Smith. Thanks to Maria Browning and Chapter 16 for running this piece of mine, despite the cancellation of this year’s Big Ears Festival, where Smith was slated to appear. In the piece, I get to write about the particular space Smith occupies in our culture (and in my life), as well as some thoughts on Smith’s most recent book, Year of the Monkey. My essay is up today at Chapter 16.