Pop culture icon, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and award-winning author Patti Smith says the pandemic put her on a different track.

When her world tour got canceled due to the pandemic, Smith told NY1 she felt isolated, but still wanted to communicate with her fans.

“I wanted to reach out to the people I could not perform for,” she said. “I found that Instagram was a nice way to stay connected with people."

What You Need To Know

  • Patti Smith had to cancel her world tour during the pandemic

  • She enjoyed connecting with fans through pictures and captions on Instagram, and decided to put her images and messages into a new book called “Book of Days"

  • Though she has traveled all over the world, the book highlights places in New York City that are meaningful to her

Dubbed the "Godmother of Punk," Smith racked up more than a million Instagram followers, and wanted to post positive messages to fans during lockdown, like one of her staying safe at home and one of her getting her COVID-19 vaccine.

“I’ve found in life it really all comes down to love,” she said.

That made her decide to put her images and messages into a new book called “Book of Days.” There is a picture and note for each day of the year, and in this case, a leap year — 366 days.

“It was done in this little room in New York City. Hopefully, it enters the realm of collective memory and it will inspire people to embrace their own memories,” she said.

Though she has traveled all over the world, she says without even trying, the book became a celebration of New York, with images of Washington Square Park, Central Park and the Rockaways.

“New York is the most diverse city I’ve ever seen, open to all types of possibilities,” she said.

The compilation also highlights how her family helped her during the pandemic, since she could not go out as much. She calls her daughter Jesse her secret weapon.

“She rang the bell, and I opened it up, and there was snow everywhere, and she was holding these roses, and she was going to leave them on the doorstep, and it was such a picture,” Smith said.

Some of the images show how New York played a major role in her life and career, including performing at the famed venue CBGB and spending time at Coney Island in her early days as an artist.

“At 76, what more can I contribute creatively that will hopefully be inspiring to others?” she said.

She just held her 76th birthday concert at Brooklyn Steel. As the city comes back from the pandemic, she offered some advice to New Yorkers.

“One small act of kindness reverberates," she said. "If you make one person feel better, that person is going to have the energy to make another person feel better."