Do Angels Need Haircuts?: Poems by Lou Reed

by Lou Reed (Author)

New
Illustrated
2018
$22.44

In August of 1970, a 28-year-old Lou Reed quit the Velvet Underground, moved home to Long Island, New York, and embarked on a fascinating alternate creative path: poetry. Spending months in relative isolation, the musician refashioned himself, publicly vowing to never again play rock and roll. Reed wrote verse and contributed his work to journals and small press publications. I'm a poet, he proclaimed from the stage of St. Mark's Church in March 1971. Though his retirement from music wouldn't last-only six months later he began recording his debut solo album-Reed's passionate identification with the written word was solidified, and would last the rest of his life. Gathering poems, photographs and ephemera from this era (including previously unreleased audio of the 1971 St. Mark's Church reading), and featuring a new foreword by Anne Waldman and an afterword by Laurie Anderson, this book provides a window to a little-known chapter in the life of one of the most singular and uncompromising voices in American popular culture.

Synopsis

In August of 1970, a 28-year-old Lou Reed quit the Velvet Underground, moved home to Long Island, New York, and embarked on a fascinating alternate creative path: poetry. Spending months in relative isolation, the musician refashioned himself, publicly vowing to never again play rock and roll. Reed wrote verse and contributed his work to journals and small press publications. I'm a poet, he proclaimed from the stage of St. Mark's Church in March 1971. Though his retirement from music wouldn't last-only six months later he began recording his debut solo album-Reed's passionate identification with the written word was solidified, and would last the rest of his life. Gathering poems, photographs and ephemera from this era (including previously unreleased audio of the 1971 St. Mark's Church reading), and featuring a new foreword by Anne Waldman and an afterword by Laurie Anderson, this book provides a window to a little-known chapter in the life of one of the most singular and uncompromising voices in American popular culture.

$22.44

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More Information

Format: Illustrated
Pages: 80
Edition: Illustrated
Publisher: Anthology Editions
Published: 14 Aug 2018
ISBN 10: 1944860215
ISBN 13: 9781944860219

Media Reviews

Leaping from the quotidian to the profound in the space of a line [Reed's poems often bury their wisdom in deadpan humour] - Dazed Digital
The poems echo many of the qualities of Reed's songs that fans throughout the decades have loved: his sensitive portrayals of society's outsiders... unique approach to gender fluidity, deliciously vicious streak, and an arguably under-celebrated sense of humour- The Times UK
As a poet, he must be counted as a solitary artist. And so, Lou, thank you for brutally and benevolently injecting your poetry into music. -The Guardian
Not just for diehard devotees of Lou Reed. If you like those strange things called books, you'll probably find something interesting here from the man who was an inspiration to Bono and Bowie and The Sex Pistols and a million others -Independent
The book, which also includes photos and other ephemera, is a fascinating glimpse into a tangent that Reed's biographers tend to gloss over. - Pitchfork These Are the Best Lou Reed Books

Author Bio

Lou Reed was a musician, writer and icon of underground culture. The frontman and principal songwriter of the foundationally transcendent rock and roll band the Velvet Underground and a hugely influential solo artist, Reed's career spanned five decades. He died in 2013, leaving behind an unfathomable legacy.