"He started it, we wanted to finish it," American artist and musician Laurie Anderson, who was his partner and third wife for 20 years and stayed by his side until his death in 2019, told AFP. 2013, at age 71.

"The Art of the Straight Line" compiles thoughts, conversations and meditations by the former leader of the New York band Velvet Underground - known for his raw and poetic rock - -, which recounts his three decades of practicing tai chi, often described as a slow gymnastics that alleviates stress and anxiety, according to his masters and disciples.

The book sheds light on the luminous face of the musician, born in March 1942 in Brooklyn, who burned life at both ends and died in October 2013 following complications from a liver transplant.

"Mature Like a Fighter"

With the Velvet, Lou Reed had thrown rock into the world of contemporary graphic art and drew his lyrics from a reality experienced through drugs and sex.

"The Velvet Underground and Nico", released in 1967 and produced by Andy Warhol, combined pop art -- with the famous banana on the cover of the disc -- and a sour and avant-garde sound.

Illustration photo showing the cover of Lou Reed's posthumous book "The art of the straight line, my Tai Chi" © OLIVIER DOULIERY / AFP

From 1970, Reed went solo with a number of hits, such as "Walk on the Wild Side" (1972), produced by David Bowie.

"I want more than a life made up of glory and gold records (...) I want to mature like a fighter", wrote thus from 2009 the rocker calmed down.

"Invisible Force of the Universe"

"I want the power and the grace that I never had the chance to learn. Tai chi connects you with the invisible force, yes, of the universe. It changes your energy and your spirit", continues this follower of meditation.

Artist and musician Laurie Anderson, pictured with Lou Reed, has been keen since the rocker's death in 2013 to publish his writings on the practice of tai chi © Astrid Stawiarz / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/Archives

The rocker worked with master Ren Guang Yi for a long time, studying and practicing for several hours a day when he wasn't playing.

According to Laurie Anderson, 75 today, Lou Reed started tai chi in the 1980s as a drug addict, including a heroin addict, which he candidly describes in his song by the same name ("Heroin").

"It wasn't the best time to start, but is there ever a bad time to start?" Laurie Anderson breathes with gentle irony, referring to a "very determined" man in his practice of tai-chi.

Reed wasn't the only rock star to practice this age-old art.

His widow remembers seeing members of the Metallica group doing tai chi with Lou Reed and coming out "fascinated" during their collaboration on the album "Lulu" in 2011.

Then 20 years older than Californian hard-rock musicians, "Lou was like their grandmaster" and "kind of a wise old man," says Laurie Anderson.

Lou Reed photographed on April 4, 1983 in Stockholm © STRINGER, STR / PRESSENS BILD/AFP/Archives

Publishing the writings of Lou Reed is a continuation of the actions of his widow, guardian of the temple who said, in March 2017, "dream of making Lou's work accessible to the general public in its entirety".

At the time, the New York Public Library had acquired the archives of the legendary artist to make available 3,600 audio recordings, 1,300 videos and the equivalent of 90 meters of writings and photos.

In March 2018, publisher Anthology released "Do Angels Need Haircuts", a collection of unpublished poems by Lou Reed from 1970-1971, and a sound recording of the author reading his poetry in an East Village church, in Manhattan.

The musician was 28 at the time and had returned to live with his parents in Long Island, east of New York, to work as a typist in his father's accounting business.

"He really wanted a better life. It was really an inspiration", concludes Laurie Anderson.

© 2023 AFP