1) How has been able to maintain his Jewish faith while not only delving in to other religions and their impact and meanings but also following buddhism to a huge degree as well? Has music, poetry and literature helped him do you think?
2) I learned that he suffered from depression for many, many years. Do you think, after reading here about the things he writes about, his feelings towards life, love, politics etc., that being able to expresss himself so well eventually cured him of his depression (I mention that it has lessened in recent years) or if it was the reason he became so depressed in the first place?
3) How do you think it is possible that someone who has been working for 55 years, and who is in his late 70's, can still write create literature, songs, poetry and prose, that is still relevant today? Does that mean that peopl eare always inherently the same within?
Wednesday, 13 July 2011
Pictures and Quotes-extras you might be interested in seeing
"My writing process is like a bear stumbling into a beehive or a honey cache: I'm stumbling right into it and getting stuck, and it's delicious and it's horrible and I'm in it and it's not very graceful and it's very awkward and it's very painful and yet there's something inevitable about it.”- Leonard Cohen to an Interviewer, 1998
Young Leonard
"He is extremely well regarded by critics for his literary accomplishments, for the richness of his lyrics, and for producing an output of work of high artistic quality over a five-decade career"-unknown
Leonard Recently
Where did I find my information?
"Cohen's "you have the lovers"." leonardcohenforum.com. speaking cohen. n.d web. July 2011
"The 2010 Songwriters Hall of Fame" http://www.leonardcohenhallsoffame.com/. The Leonard Cohen Hall of Fame. web. July 2011
Grant, Judith. "Leonard Cohen's Poems-Songs". Studies in Canadian Literature. 2.1 (1977). n. pag. Web. July 2011
http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/SUZANNE-lyrics-Leonard-Cohen/35368C7934C68C3748256AF0002649BC
Verdal, Suzanne. Personal Interview. "You probably think this song is about you" By Kate Saunders, BBC Radio 4 FM, June 1998.
"Leonard Cohen Bio". http://www.leonardcohen.com/bio.html. Leonard Cohen Official Website. web. July 2011
"Leonard Cohen". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Cohen#Poetry_and_novels. Wikipedia. July 2011
"The 2010 Songwriters Hall of Fame" http://www.leonardcohenhallsoffame.com/. The Leonard Cohen Hall of Fame. web. July 2011
Grant, Judith. "Leonard Cohen's Poems-Songs". Studies in Canadian Literature. 2.1 (1977). n. pag. Web. July 2011
http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/SUZANNE-lyrics-Leonard-Cohen/35368C7934C68C3748256AF0002649BC
Verdal, Suzanne. Personal Interview. "You probably think this song is about you" By Kate Saunders, BBC Radio 4 FM, June 1998.
"Leonard Cohen Bio". http://www.leonardcohen.com/bio.html. Leonard Cohen Official Website. web. July 2011
"Leonard Cohen". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Cohen#Poetry_and_novels. Wikipedia. July 2011
How do his works aid in the study of Canadian Literature?
There are many reasons i believe Leonard Cohen would be an important artist to study. He not only made a huge impact on Canadian literature, which can obviously be seen through his countless awards, songs, poems and other works, but he is an artist who, almost 60 years later can evoke emotion in his writing to someone of my age and world appreciaiton. This to me is so impressive, and by him doing this, i believe he tested the boundaries of normalcy in literature, especially in the 60's. This is something that is often encouraged in a university setting, and especially in this class.
It also makes sense to study Cohen because of his breadth of talent. He wasnt just a poet, but a songwriter, performer, musician and novelist. Even his genres of music are widespread, from spoken word, to folk to rock. He is definetly someone who portrays that mosaic of Canadian identity we have discussed so much, being from a multi-background family, following both Judaism and Buddhism. But, he still identifies as a Canadian, which is something so powerful and i think really serves to encourage our pride in our country that someone who has many connections to sother places can still be so self-declaringly Canadian.
It also makes sense to study Cohen because of his breadth of talent. He wasnt just a poet, but a songwriter, performer, musician and novelist. Even his genres of music are widespread, from spoken word, to folk to rock. He is definetly someone who portrays that mosaic of Canadian identity we have discussed so much, being from a multi-background family, following both Judaism and Buddhism. But, he still identifies as a Canadian, which is something so powerful and i think really serves to encourage our pride in our country that someone who has many connections to sother places can still be so self-declaringly Canadian.
What do I think of Leonard Cohen, and specifically his works studied?
Before beginning my research into Leonard Cohen, i had some sort of idea that he was a well known artist, known hugely for his single "Hallelujah", which has been remade by some of my favourite artists and in some of my favourite TV shows/movies. First of all, I had no idea he was Canadian, and second of all, I had no idea that he had made such a huge impact on Canadian music to this day. To think that he has been writing and performing for over 55 years and still continues to do so to this day , is so impressive and i am amazed that he continues to find words and feelings that are so deep, meaningful and easy to connect with.
Although i have had a much different life than Cohen, in my background, bringing up, and era, he is still discussing things in his poetry and music that are important to me. Love, relationships, politics, sex, isolationism. This all applies to the young life I live today.
Now specifically in relation to the two specific works... At first i was unsure about both poems, as i didnt know the full meaning behind them. "Suzanne" is so personal that i think i would struggle to not like it, as it is something that obviously means so much to him as a poet. The other poem "You have the Lovers", is something entirely different, and different from most things ive ever read. I personally loved it, especially when i heard it being recited by Leonard Cohen himself. I could almost picture the characters in the poem, although the speaker was in fact the man in the account, at least thats how i took it, and there was so much deep, emotional love portrayed through the softness of the touch and sensuality of the characters.
Just studying this one author has dramatically increased my respect and interest in Canadian Literature as a whole.
Although i have had a much different life than Cohen, in my background, bringing up, and era, he is still discussing things in his poetry and music that are important to me. Love, relationships, politics, sex, isolationism. This all applies to the young life I live today.
Now specifically in relation to the two specific works... At first i was unsure about both poems, as i didnt know the full meaning behind them. "Suzanne" is so personal that i think i would struggle to not like it, as it is something that obviously means so much to him as a poet. The other poem "You have the Lovers", is something entirely different, and different from most things ive ever read. I personally loved it, especially when i heard it being recited by Leonard Cohen himself. I could almost picture the characters in the poem, although the speaker was in fact the man in the account, at least thats how i took it, and there was so much deep, emotional love portrayed through the softness of the touch and sensuality of the characters.
Just studying this one author has dramatically increased my respect and interest in Canadian Literature as a whole.
What is the meaning behind "You Have the Lovers"?
History of the poem
"You Have the Lovers" was written in 1961, at the very beginning of Leonard's career, and was published in his first collection of poems. It has been suspected that since the poem deals with such raw passion, that maybe he actually wrote it at around 17 or 18, when he wouldve had insatiable sexual needs, and no actual love.
What is going on?
The poem is written in a third person point of view, which I interpret to be Leonard talking to himself. It is almost like a daydream or flashback that has so much vivid memory but the speaker being disconnected from this experience. The couple in the poem are in such deep romance, and have so much passion between them, that we have to believe this is real. They have an ongoing romance, "Their lips are bruised with new and old bruises". One thing that we may find strange is how the poem goes from almost watching the couple, to being apart of the couple and their act, "You stand beside the bed.../you carefully peel away the sheets/ from the slow-moving bodies.../You climb into bed and recover the flesh./...you wonder how many multitudes are lying beside your body."
"You Have the Lovers" was written in 1961, at the very beginning of Leonard's career, and was published in his first collection of poems. It has been suspected that since the poem deals with such raw passion, that maybe he actually wrote it at around 17 or 18, when he wouldve had insatiable sexual needs, and no actual love.
What is going on?
The poem is written in a third person point of view, which I interpret to be Leonard talking to himself. It is almost like a daydream or flashback that has so much vivid memory but the speaker being disconnected from this experience. The couple in the poem are in such deep romance, and have so much passion between them, that we have to believe this is real. They have an ongoing romance, "Their lips are bruised with new and old bruises". One thing that we may find strange is how the poem goes from almost watching the couple, to being apart of the couple and their act, "You stand beside the bed.../you carefully peel away the sheets/ from the slow-moving bodies.../You climb into bed and recover the flesh./...you wonder how many multitudes are lying beside your body."
You Have the Lovers
You have the lovers,
they are nameless, their histories only for each other,
and you have the room, the bed, and the windows.
Pretend it is a ritual.
Unfurl the bed, bury the lovers, blacken the windows,
let them live in that house for a generation or two.
No one dares disturb them.
Visitors in the corridor tip-toe past the long closed door,
they listen for sounds, for a moan, for a song:
nothing is heard, not even breathing.
You know they are not dead,
you can feel the presence of their intense love.
Your children grow up, they leave you,
they have become soldiers and riders.
Your mate dies after a life of service.
Who knows you? Who remembers you?
But in your house a ritual is in progress:
It is not finished: it needs more people.
One day the door is opened to the lover's chamber.
The room has become a dense garden,
full of colours, smells, sounds you have never known.
The bed is smooth as a wafer of sunlight,
in the midst of the garden it stands alone.
In the bed the lovers, slowly and deliberately and silently,
perform the act of love.
Their eyes are closed,
as tightly as if heavy coins of flesh lay on them.
Their lips are bruised with new and old bruises.
Her hair and his beard are hopelessly tangled.
When he puts his mouth against her shoulder
she is uncertain whether her shoulder
has given or received the kiss.
All her flesh is like a mouth.
He carries his fingers along her waist
and feels his own waist caressed.
She holds him closer and his own arms tighten around her.
She kisses the hand besider her mouth.
It is his hand or her hand, it hardly matters,
there are so many more kisses.
You stand beside the bed, weeping with happiness,
you carefully peel away the sheets
from the slow-moving bodies.
Your eyes filled with tears, you barely make out the lovers,
As you undress you sing out, and your voice is magnificent
because now you believe it is the first human voice
heard in that room.
The garments you let fall grow into vines.
You climb into bed and recover the flesh.
You close your eyes and allow them to be sewn shut.
You create an embrace and fall into it.
There is only one moment of pain or doubt
as you wonder how many multitudes are lying beside your body,
but a mouth kisses and a hand soothes the moment away.
If you have time, this poem is much more touching and easy to understand when Cohen himself recites it. Take a listen.
they are nameless, their histories only for each other,
and you have the room, the bed, and the windows.
Pretend it is a ritual.
Unfurl the bed, bury the lovers, blacken the windows,
let them live in that house for a generation or two.
No one dares disturb them.
Visitors in the corridor tip-toe past the long closed door,
they listen for sounds, for a moan, for a song:
nothing is heard, not even breathing.
You know they are not dead,
you can feel the presence of their intense love.
Your children grow up, they leave you,
they have become soldiers and riders.
Your mate dies after a life of service.
Who knows you? Who remembers you?
But in your house a ritual is in progress:
It is not finished: it needs more people.
One day the door is opened to the lover's chamber.
The room has become a dense garden,
full of colours, smells, sounds you have never known.
The bed is smooth as a wafer of sunlight,
in the midst of the garden it stands alone.
In the bed the lovers, slowly and deliberately and silently,
perform the act of love.
Their eyes are closed,
as tightly as if heavy coins of flesh lay on them.
Their lips are bruised with new and old bruises.
Her hair and his beard are hopelessly tangled.
When he puts his mouth against her shoulder
she is uncertain whether her shoulder
has given or received the kiss.
All her flesh is like a mouth.
He carries his fingers along her waist
and feels his own waist caressed.
She holds him closer and his own arms tighten around her.
She kisses the hand besider her mouth.
It is his hand or her hand, it hardly matters,
there are so many more kisses.
You stand beside the bed, weeping with happiness,
you carefully peel away the sheets
from the slow-moving bodies.
Your eyes filled with tears, you barely make out the lovers,
As you undress you sing out, and your voice is magnificent
because now you believe it is the first human voice
heard in that room.
The garments you let fall grow into vines.
You climb into bed and recover the flesh.
You close your eyes and allow them to be sewn shut.
You create an embrace and fall into it.
There is only one moment of pain or doubt
as you wonder how many multitudes are lying beside your body,
but a mouth kisses and a hand soothes the moment away.
If you have time, this poem is much more touching and easy to understand when Cohen himself recites it. Take a listen.
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