The Art of the Straight Line: My Tai Chi


Price: $39.99 - $18.15
(as of Aug 05, 2025 02:02:51 UTC – Details)

The Art of the Straight Line captures the energy of Lou Reed’s worlds of Tai Chi, music, and meditation. It was edited by his wife, the artist Laurie Anderson, with Stephan Berwick, Bob Currie, and Scott Richman.

Lou Reed was a musician, singer, songwriter, poet, and founding member of the legendary rock band the Velvet Underground. He collaborated with many artists, from Andy Warhol and John Cale to Robert Wilson and Metallica. Reed had a groundbreaking solo career that spanned five decades until his death in 2013.

Reed was also an accomplished martial artist whose practice began in the 1980s. He studied with Chen Tai Chi pioneer Master Ren GuangYi. This book is a comprehensive collection of Reed’s writings on Tai Chi. It includes conversations with Reed’s fellow musicians, artists, friends, and Tai Chi practitioners, including Julian Schnabel, A. M. Homes, Hal Willner, Mingyur Rinpoche, Eddie Stern, Tony Visconti, and Iggy Pop.

Including over 150 photos, ephemera, and a color photo insert, The Art of the Straight Line features Reed’s unpublished writings on the technique, practice, and purpose of martial arts, as well as essays, observations, and riffs on meditation and life.


From the Publisher

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Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperOne
Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 14, 2023
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0063093537
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0063093539
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 0.75 x 8.75 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #199,533 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #90 in Tai Chi & Qi Gong #107 in Martial Arts (Books) #257 in Energy Healing (Books)
Customer Reviews: 4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 70 ratings var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });

Customers say

Customers find the book well worth the read and appreciate its content about tai chi practice. One customer mentions how it explores the connection between taijiquan and healing.