William Blake is one of England s most fascinating writers;he was not only a groundbreaking poet, but also a painter, engraver, radical, and mystic. Although Blake was dismissed as an eccentric by his contemporaries, his powerful and richly symbolic poetry has been a fertile source of inspiration to the many writers and artists who have followed in his footsteps. In this collection Patti Smith brings togetherher personal favorites of Blake s poems, including the complete "Songs of Innocence" and" Songs of Experience," to give a singular picture of this unique genius, whom she calls in her moving introduction the spiritual ancestor of generations of poets."