4 T. S. Eliot, “Tradition and the Individual Talent,” in Frank Kermode, ed., Selected Prose of T. S. Eliot (New York: Mariner, 1975), 43.
5 Lissauer interview.
6 Quoted in Paul Zollo, Songwriters on Songwriting (New York: Da Capo Press, 2003), 344.
7 Cited in Artur Jarosinski, “Warsaw 1985,” http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/warsaw-85-2.html (accessed July 18, 2013).
8 Ibid.
9 Quoted in Pearson, “Growing Old Disgracefully,” 78.
10 Quoted in Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man, directed by Lian Lunson, Lionsgate Films, 2006.
11 Walt Whitman, “Song of Myself,” in Leaves of Grass, collected in Whitman: Poetry and Prose (New York: Library of America, 1996), 42.
12 Marcus, The Doors, 51.
13 Pump Up the Volume, directed by Allan Moyle, New Line Cinema, 1990.
14 Quoted in Lunson, Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man.
15 Quoted in Joe Jackson, “Songs of Longing,” Irish Times, November 3, 1995.
16 I’m indebted to Sarah Gallo for pointing out Bono’s complex relationship to “Hallelujah,” and for helping me see past my own irrational dislike of U2 in understanding the influence Cohen has had on the band.
17 Cohen expressed his admiration for the writer in a 1995 telephone interview with journalist Joe Jackson, http://1heckofaguy.com/2012/06/24/hear-leonard-cohen-talk-about-james-joyces-influence-bonos-cover-of-hallelujah/ (accessed July 18, 2013). “Breathe,” a song Bono wrote for U2’s 2009 album No Line on the Horizon, takes place on June 16, Bloomsday.
18 Quoted in Sheldon Teitelbaum, “Leonard Cohen, Pain Free,” Los Angeles Times, April 5, 1992. http://articles.latimes.com/1992-04-05/magazine/tm-1040_1_leonard-cohen (accessed July 18, 2013).
19 Ibid.
20 The event is recounted in Pearson, “Growing Old Disgracefully,” 77.
21 Quoted in Zollo, Songwriters on Songwriting, 333.
22 Ibid. Emphasis in original.
23 Roch Parisien, “Tower of Song: The Songs of Leonard Cohen,” AllMusic, http://www.allmusic.com/album/tower-of-song-the-songs-of-leonard-cohen-mw0000179432.
24 Quoted in an interview with Barbara Gowdy in Leanna Crouch, ed., One on One: The Imprint Interviews (Toronto: Somerville House Publishing, 1994), 17.
25 Ted Ekering, “Naturally Born of Cohen,” 1997, http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/killers.html (accessed July 18, 2013).
26 Quoted in Simmons, I’m Your Man, 404.
27 Quoted in Armelle Brusq, Leonard Cohen: Portrait, Spring 96 (video documentary, produced by Armelle Brusq and Lieurac Productions, released in 1997).
28 Ibid.
29 Quoted in Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man.
30 James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (New York: Penguin Classics, 1993), 233.
31 Gilles Tordjman, Les Inrockuptibles magazine, March 15, 1995, quoted in Simmons, I’m Your Man, 407.
32 Agreta Wirberg and Stina Dabrowski, Stina Möter Leonard Cohen, Swedish TV documentary, 1997, quoted in Simmons, I’m Your Man, 413.
33 Leonard Cohen, “Early Morning at Mt. Baldy,” in Book of Longing (New York: Ecco, 2006), 21.
34 Frank DiGiacomo, New York Observer, October 15, 2001, http://observer.com/2001/10/look-whos-back-at-67-gentle-leonard-cohen/ (accessed July 18, 2013).
35 Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady (New York: Penguin Classics, 2003), 61.
36 Robert Christgau, http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Leonard+Cohen (accessed July 18, 2013).
37 Hailey Branson-Potts, “Leonard Cohen Testifies in Ex-Business Manager’s Harassment Trial,” Los Angeles Times, April 7, 2012, http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/07/local/la-me-cohen-20120407 (accessed July 18, 2013).
38 Hailey Branson-Potts, “Leonard Cohen’s Former Business Manager Jailed for Harassment,” Los Angeles Times, April 18, 2012, http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/18/local/la-me-cohen-20120418 (accessed July 18, 2013).
39 Ibid.
40 David Frank, “He Was Fredericton’s Man,” Globe and Mail, May 13, 2008, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/he-was-frederictonsman/article719715/ (accessed July 18, 2013).
EPILOGUE: “A MANUAL FOR LIVING WITH DEFEAT”
1 Simon Sweetman, “Gig Review: Leonard Cohen in Wellington,” Dominion Post, January 21, 2009, http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/gig-reviews/804015/Gig-review-i-Leonard-Cohen-in-Wellington-i (accessed July 18, 2013).
2 The Bhagavad-Gita (Fremont, CA: American Gita Society, 1995), 30.
3 Ruth 1:16 (KJV).
4 Gautam Malkani, “Bow Down Before the Sage from Mt Baldy,” Financial Times, January 27, 2012, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b9bbf310-47ca-11e1-b646-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2b1tbUaE9 (accessed July 18, 2013).
5 Ibid.
6 The phrase is from Jon Pareles, “Final Reckonings, a Tuneful Fedora and Forgiveness,” New York Times, January 29, 2012, AR22.
Acknowledgments
* * *
I had never intended to write a book about Leonard Cohen. My admiration for him, I thought, was as private as it was immense, a kind of big and shy beast that wouldn’t last a moment if dragged out into the light. My first debt of gratitude, then, goes to Jonathan Rosen, who, wisely, knew better, and without whose encouragement and efforts I would never have embarked on this journey.
Once I’d committed myself to think and write about my man, I was blessed, as ever, to have the angels by my side: At W. W. Norton, my editor, Amy Cherry, was brilliant and tough, skillfully and joyfully helping my wildest inclinations settle down and take shape. Her assistant, Anna Mageras, patiently helped shepherd me through the thickets of the production process, for which I am thankful. And Anne Edelstein, my inimitable agent and dear friend, lent me her wisdom and her grace, without which I doubt much would have come of this endeavor.
Kezban Ozcan, whom I only just met but whom I feel I’ve known and cherished for decades, had shown me more extraordinary kindness than this brief acknowledgment can detail, not the least of which entailed facilitating my access to Cohen’s personal papers in the University of Toronto’s Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library. There Jennifer Toews, Albert Masters, Natalya Rattan, and the rest of the staff proved to be invaluable sources, making the daunting task of archival research much more manageable. Further thanks are also due the helpful staff of the Jewish Public Library in Montreal; to Sydney Warshaw, who diligently assisted me with archival research; to Zev Moses, tireless custodian of Montreal’s Jewish heritage, for guiding me around town and educating me about its rich and intricate past; and to Robert Kory, who kindly helped me navigate the necessary permissions required for this book.
Any attempt at writing is, to a large extent, an exercise in standing on the shoulders of others, and the shelves dedicated to Leonard Cohen, though not nearly as populated as they ought to be, feature a host of talented and astute writers. I am grateful to Ira Nadel, Cohen’s pioneering biographer; to Sylvie Simmons, whose meticulous research and exquisite spirit delighted and informed me on the page and on the stage I was fortunate to share with her one evening in Manhattan; and to Allan Showalter, known to us Cohen fanatics as the proprietor of the unsurpassable Web site www.1heckofaguy.com, who took the time to read my manuscript and share with me his encyclopedic knowledge of and uncommon insight into all things Cohen.
More insight yet arrived courtesy of those whose lives intersected with Cohen’s and who were generous enough to share their recollections with me. Morton Rosengarten told me stories of a Montreal youth; Ruth Wisse gave a portrait of the artist as a young poet; Murray Lerner shared his recollections and his footage from the Isle of Wight festival; and John Lissauer and John Simon talked of the challenges and pleasures of making Cohen’s records. I am indebted to them all.
And as writing this book meant, for long stretches of time, occupying Cohen’s life far more fully than I did my own, I am deeply grateful to my friends for their advice, their patience, and their support. Todd Gitlin and Laurel Cook have graciously tolerated more than a few
progress reports conveyed a touch too enthusiastically over dinner, and Todd took the time to read several early drafts of the manuscript and scrutinize it with all of his rabbinic might; I am grateful to him for his friendship and his wisdom. Tamar Hermesh deserves my gratitude as well, as do Shira Elhanani and Ori Licht, whose love was kindled by Cohen’s words. Alana Newhouse and David Samuels brought their incomparable editorial sensibilities, their brilliance, and their humor to a project often in need of all three; their support, and the support of my friends and colleagues at Tablet Magazine, means the world to me. I can think of no other publication that would have indulged my obsession with Leonard Cohen as lovingly as Tablet, and am very proud to be of it.
Finally, to Lily and Lisa, my hallelujahs, may I be forever worthy of your love.
Index
* * *
Entries correspond to the print edition of this book. You can use your device’s search function to locate particular terms in the text.
Abraham, 106
Aegean Sea, 79, 90, 170
Aeneid (Virgil), 57–58
Aix-en-Provence music festival, 158–61, 172
Alessandrini, Paul, 160
Algonquian Mohawks, 108
“All There Is to Know About Adolph Eichmann” (Cohen), 92–93, 99
All Things Must Pass (Harrison), 195
“Alone Again” (O’Sullivan), 172
Altamont music festival, 22, 158
Altman, Robert, 227
Amidah prayer, 147
Amnesty International, 241–42
Anderson, Jon, 172
“Anthem” (Cohen), 227
anti-Semitism, 43, 46, 80, 81
Apology (Plato), 103
“Aquarius” (5th Dimension), 172
Arendt, Hannah, 93–95
banality of evil theory of, 93–94
Aristotle, 48
Army (band), 31–33, 36–37, 157–63, 165, 168, 176–81
Arnon, Pupik, 184
Ars Longa Vita Brevis (Nice), 173–74
Athens, 90, 91, 101, 185
Attali, Jacques, 119–20
Atwood, Margaret, 55–56
Augustine, Saint, 124–25
“Avalanche” (Cohen), 165–66
Babitz, Eve, 149–50
Baez, Joan, 33, 35–36, 144
Balfour Declaration, 48
“Ballad of Hollis Brown, The” (Dylan), 136
Ballet of Lepers (Cohen), 68–69, 104
Band, 32, 144
Bard, David, 121
Bard, Stanley, 121
Barrett, Syd, 15
“Bartleby, the Scrivener” (Melville), 68
Batista, Fulgencio, 96
Beach Boys, 123, 128, 172, 222
Beatles, 121–24, 126, 128, 135, 154, 172, 189–90, 210
Beats, 61, 108
Beautiful Losers (Cohen), 108–9
Beauty at Close Quarters (Cohen), 104–5
Beethoven, Ludwig van, 151
Berlin, 31, 168–69, 239
Berry, Chuck, 122, 153
Berton, Pierre, 71–72
Bible, 67, 85, 218–19
Book of Exodus in, 116
Book of Psalms in, 118
Book of Ruth in, 243–44
Paul’s Epistle to the Romans in, 125, 150
Billboard, 158
Billboard top ten charts, 132, 172, 245
Birdland, 69
“Bird on the Wire” (Cohen), 147–48, 161, 163, 211, 213
Blake, William, 42, 61, 89
“Blind Willie McTell” (Dylan), 211
Blondie, 194
blues, 138, 144, 154, 193
Bono, 222–23, 240
Book of Longing (Cohen), 102
Book of Mercy (Cohen), 102, 203
Boston Globe, 109
Bowie, David, 15, 144, 194, 210
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 (Bach), 173
Brébeuf and His Brethren (Pratt), 56
Brel, Jacques, 138
Bronfman, Samuel, 80, 84, 85
Buckley, Jeff, 214
Buckskin Boys, 117, 132
Buddha, 205
Buñuel, Luis, 55
Byron, George Gordon, Lord, 42, 89
Cactus, 25
California, University of, at Los Angeles (UCLA), 149
Cameron, Kenneth N., 108
Canada, 56–87, 202–3
Jews in, 39–44, 47–51, 57–87
literature of, 55–73, 75–87, 114
proposed U.S. acquisition of, 77, 86
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), 13, 109
Canadian Engineers Fourth Field Company, 39
Canadian Jewish Chronicle, 85
Canadian Jewish Congress, 47–48
Canadian Music Hall of Fame, 223–24
“Canadien Errant, Un” (Cohen), 202, 233
capitalism, 61, 120
Cash, Johnny, 31, 162
Caspi, Mati, 184
Castro, Fidel, 98–99
Catholics, 41, 79, 81, 108
censorship, 99, 110
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), 97
Charles, Ray, 14, 138
Cheap Trick, 194
“Chelsea Hotel No. 1” (Cohen), 134–35, 189
“Chelsea Hotel No. 2” (Cohen), 134
Chicago (band), 22
Chopin, Frédéric, 69
Christgau, Robert, 153, 233–34
Christianity, 124, 126, 204
Clarkson, Adrienne, 109–11, 114
Clarkson, Lana, 235
Cleave, Maureen, 124
Clément, Claude, 159–60
“Closing Time” (Cohen), 224–25
Coachella music festival, 240
Cohen, Adam (son), 185, 188, 193, 201
Cohen, Esther (sister), 39, 51, 77, 99–100
Cohen, Hirsch (great-uncle), 75–76
Cohen, Lazarus (great-grandfather), 43, 47
Cohen, Leonard Norman:
on artists as priests or prophets, 83–86, 100, 203
audience response to, 33–37, 70–71, 86–87, 130–31, 163, 175–81, 185–86, 236, 240–41
awards and honors of, 13, 14, 62, 156, 223–24
birth and early life of, 13, 33–34, 39–42, 44, 49–51, 53–55, 75, 84
children of, 156, 185, 188, 193, 201
on composing process, 225–26
contradictory personality of, 12, 32, 37, 51, 131
drug and alcohol use of, 15, 35, 128, 157, 160–61, 163, 218, 228, 245
education of, 50–51, 55, 59, 62, 68, 79–80
European popularity of, 149, 156
fame of, 13, 16–17, 35, 171, 188, 223–24, 245
fans of, 135, 137, 141, 162, 166, 171–72, 176–81, 184–85, 189, 198, 215, 225–27, 232, 239–41
frequently covered songs of, 15, 126, 130, 214, 217–18, 226, 240
girlfriends and love affairs of, 13, 15, 51, 91–92, 134–35, 156, 163, 224, 228, 233, 234
guitar and keyboard playing of, 113, 115, 117–18, 129–30, 133–34, 189, 211, 236
hypnosis interest of, 50, 51, 105
Jewish heritage of, 16, 40–51, 83–86, 116, 176, 178, 191–92, 205–7, 227, 232, 243–45
journal of, 66–68
as “Laughing Len,” 168, 188
letters and notebooks of, 14, 54, 77, 82, 90, 98–101, 103, 106–7, 110
lifelong wandering of, 51, 53, 66–68, 202
loneliness and depression of, 14, 15, 127, 156, 202–3, 218, 229, 231, 245
musical influences on, 138, 146
music videos of, 14, 224–25
mythological interests of, 75, 79
poetry and fiction of, 13, 15–16, 32, 34–36, 53–55, 59–66, 68–69, 71–73, 75, 79–80, 82, 89, 92–96, 98–99, 101–10, 113–14, 128–29, 149, 156, 203, 209, 226, 229, 231, 233
poetry readings of, 69, 97, 131, 233
public speaking of, 82–87, 100, 203, 215–17
reviews of, 106–10, 133, 140, 158, 233–34
sartorial taste and signa
ture fedora of, 78, 91, 96, 98, 225, 236, 241, 244
sexual expression of, 108–9, 190–201
song lyrics of, 61, 102–3, 128, 132, 134–36, 139–40, 148–49, 165–68, 186, 189–91, 193, 209–11, 213–14, 218–19, 226–27, 245–46
spirituality of, 16–17, 44, 50, 60, 86, 118–19, 128, 134, 213–15, 223, 232
stage fright of, 70, 130–31, 157
studio albums of, 15, 102, 103, 130–35, 138–40, 147–49, 165–68, 175, 188–93, 195–202, 226–28, 232–34, 244–25
suicidal talk of, 140–41
themes explored by, 16–17, 79, 135, 148
touring of, 31, 156–63, 165, 168–72, 175–81, 215–17, 228, 236–45
transition from poet to singer-songwriter by, 82–83, 94, 110–11, 113–15, 117–21, 126, 131, 141
vocal quality of, 113, 140, 158, 165, 166–67, 218, 234, 237
youthful jobs of, 42, 50
Cohen, Lorca (daughter), 201, 234
Cohen, Lyon (grandfather), 43–44, 47–48
Cohen, Masha Klinitsky-Klein (mother), 44, 50, 138
death of, 201
relationship of LC and, 51, 66, 97
Cohen, Nathan (father), 33, 44, 50–51, 95, 109
character of, 41–42
death of, 39–42, 50–51, 66
military service of, 39, 41
Cohen, Victor (brother-in-law), 99–101, 103, 110, 187
Cold War, 99
Collins, Judy, 32, 33, 126, 130–31, 237
Columbia Records, 15, 129–31, 156–57, 168
Columbia University, 68
communism, 81, 98
Confessions (Augustine), 124–25
Cooper, Alice, 194
Cornelius, Ron, 179–80
country-and-western music, 117, 138, 224
country music, 14, 28
Cuba, 96–100, 110, 187
Bay of Pigs invasion on, 97–98
Cuban missile crisis of 1962, 99
Cyrkle, 132
Daily Telegraph (London), 106
Dalai Lama, 123
Dalí, Salvador, 55
“Dance Me to the End of Love” (Cohen), 209, 236
Daniel Deronda (Eliot), 46
Dante Alighieri, 36
Dassin, Jules, 90–91
Davis, Miles, 27
“Day in the Life, A” (Beatles), 126
Dear Heather (Cohen), 233–34, 236, 245
Death of a Ladies’ Man (album) (Cohen), 195–201, 209
A Broken Hallelujah: Rock and Roll, Redemption, and the Life of Leonard Cohen Page 22