Lou ReedLou Reed

"The most complete and penetrating biography of the rock master Lou Reed, whose stature grows every year"--
Rock-poet Lou Reed presided over the marriage of Brill Building pop and the European avant-garde, and left American culture transfigured. Hermes dramatizes Reed's long, brilliant, and contentious dialogue with fans, critics, fellow artists, and assorted habitués of the demimonde. We witness Reed’s complex partnerships with David Bowie, Andy Warhol, John Cale, and Laurie Anderson; track the deadpan wit, street-smart edge, and poetic flights that defined his craft as a singer and songwriter with the Velvet Underground; and explore the artistic ambition and gift for self-sabotage he took from his mentor Delmore Schwartz. We see Reed as a pioneer in living and writing about nonbinary sexuality and gender identity, a committed artist who pursued beauty and noise with equal fervor. In telling Reed's life, Hermes also tells the story of New York City as a cultural capital. -- adapted from half-jacket