A series of unreleased poems by Lou Reed have been collected for a new book called Do Angels Need Haircuts? It's due out this April via Anthology Editions.
The poems were penned by a 28-year-old Reed after he quit the Velvet Underground and moved to Long Island in August of 1970.
In addition to the poetry, the upcoming release also features photographs and ephemera from the era, including previously unreleased audio recordings from a reading at St. Mark's Church in 1971.
The book also includes a foreword written by poet Anne Waldman and an afterword by Reed's wife and artistic collaborator Laurie Anderson.
Get a sample of the upcoming collection by reading the text of "We Are the People" below. You can also stream a reading of the same poem down below [via The Guardian].
We Are the People:
We are the people without land. We are the people without tradition. We are the people who do not know how to die peacefully and at ease. We are the thoughts of sorrows. Endings of tomorrows. We are the wisps of rulers and the jokers of kings.
We are the people without right. We are the people who have known only lies and desperation. We are the people without a country, a voice or a mirror. We are the crystal gaze returned through the density and immensity of a berserk nation. We are the victims of the untold manifesto of the lack of depth of full and heavy emptiness.
We are the people without sorrow who have moved beyond national pride and indifference to a parody of instinct. We are the people who are desperate beyond emotion because it defies thought. We are the people who conceive our destruction and carry it out lawfully. We are the insects of someone else's thought. A casualty of daytime, nighttime, space and god without race, nationality or religion. We are the people. The people. The people.
The poems were penned by a 28-year-old Reed after he quit the Velvet Underground and moved to Long Island in August of 1970.
In addition to the poetry, the upcoming release also features photographs and ephemera from the era, including previously unreleased audio recordings from a reading at St. Mark's Church in 1971.
The book also includes a foreword written by poet Anne Waldman and an afterword by Reed's wife and artistic collaborator Laurie Anderson.
Get a sample of the upcoming collection by reading the text of "We Are the People" below. You can also stream a reading of the same poem down below [via The Guardian].
We Are the People:
We are the people without land. We are the people without tradition. We are the people who do not know how to die peacefully and at ease. We are the thoughts of sorrows. Endings of tomorrows. We are the wisps of rulers and the jokers of kings.
We are the people without right. We are the people who have known only lies and desperation. We are the people without a country, a voice or a mirror. We are the crystal gaze returned through the density and immensity of a berserk nation. We are the victims of the untold manifesto of the lack of depth of full and heavy emptiness.
We are the people without sorrow who have moved beyond national pride and indifference to a parody of instinct. We are the people who are desperate beyond emotion because it defies thought. We are the people who conceive our destruction and carry it out lawfully. We are the insects of someone else's thought. A casualty of daytime, nighttime, space and god without race, nationality or religion. We are the people. The people. The people.
