Selection Of The Month
Leonard Cohen on Leonard Cohen by
Leonard Cohen, one of the most admired performers of the last half century, has had a stranger-than-fiction, roller-coaster ride of a life. Now, for the first time, he tells his story in his own words, via more than 50 interviews conducted worldwide between 1966 and 2012. In Leonard Cohen on Leonard Cohen--which includes a foreword by singer Suzanne Vega and eight pages of rarely seen photos--the artist talks about "Bird on the Wire," "Hallelujah," and his other classic songs. He candidly discusses his famous romances, his years in a Zen monastery, his ill-fated collaboration with producer Phil Spector, his long battle with depression, and much more. You'll find interviews that first appeared in the New York Times and Rolling Stone, but also material that has not previously been printed in English. A few have not been available until now in any format, including many illuminating reminiscences that contributors supplied specifically for this definitive anthology.
ISBN: 9781613747599Publication Date: 2014-04-01
Discussion Points
The following conversation points will be used as basic prompts for discussion, food for thought, etc.
- What did you like about this book?
- What did you like least about this book?
- Share a favorite quote from the book. Why did this quote stand out?
- What surprised you to learn/find out about Leonard Cohen?
- What about this book drew you in and kept you reading?
- If you had the opportunity to ask Leonard Cohen one question, what would it be?
Zoom Meeting Information
Zoom information will be provided closer to the planned meeting: 12:00pm-1:00pm, July 19th, 2023.
Further Reading And Materials
- Leonard Cohen's Lonesome Heroes [Video] Although it can be difficult to detect the influences in the work of Leonard Cohen, he was informed by a far-reaching list of musicians, writers, poets, and philosophies. In "Leonard Cohen's Lonesome Heroes," the scope and detail of his artistic inspirations are put under the microscope. Cohen's first love was poetry, and in the works of fellow Canadian Irving Layton and the Spanish bard Federico Garcia Lorca, he found the words that moved him to create his own verse. The beat writers’ work has also lived with him throughout his career. While it may come as no surprise to find Bob Dylan and Judy Collins included in this film, Cohen’s love of country music is explored through such performers as Hank Williams and Hank Snow. Religion and spirituality have also contributed enormously to Leonard's life and music, particularly Judaism, and his more recent study of Buddhism. (118 minutes)
The wordless Leonard Cohen songbook : a biography in eighty wood engravings by
Provides a perspective on a man whose words have captivated generations. This book presents images of Leonard Cohen's iconic public persona alongside vivid interpretations of his ever-evolving work.
ISBN: 9780889843752
Leonard Cohen by
A captivating, revealing biography of the legendary musician and poet Leonard Cohen opens in Los Angeles on the last night of the man's life in 2016. Alone in his final hours, the beloved writer and musician ponders his existence in a series of flashbacks that reveal the ups and downs of a storied career. A young Cohen traded in the promise of steady employment in his family's Montreal garment business for the unlikely path of a literary poet. His life took another sharp turn when, already in his thirties, he recorded his first album to widespread international acclaim. Along the way he encountered a who's who of musical luminaries, including Lou Reed, Nico, Janis Joplin, and Joni Mitchell. And then there's Phil Spector, the notorious music impresario who held a gun to Cohen's head during a coke-fueled, all-night recording session. Later in Cohen's life, there's the story of "Hallelujah," one of his most famous songs, and its slow rise from relative obscurity when first recorded in the 1980s to its iconic status a decade later with covers by John Cale and Jeff Buckley. And the period when Cohen went broke after his manager embezzled his lifetime savings, which ironically sparked an unlikely career resurgence and several worldwide tours in the 2000s. Written with careful attention to detail and drawn with a palette of warm, lush colors by the Quebec-based cartoonist Philippe Girard, Leonard Cohen is an engaging portrait of a cultural icon.
Call Number: ARCHER ; ML 410 C734 G5213 2021ISBN: 1770464891Publication Date: 2021-11-16
