I simply don't buy your assertion that Cohen the private individual was somehow significantly different from the public guy such that he held a different and separate set of beliefs and world views from those he presented publicly -- including through his work. And, I think that it is frankly absur...

...You have to realize... Clearly, you believe yourself to be indisputably right, and therefore there is no point in my continuing this futile exchange. Apologies if it came across that way, definitely not my intent. I'm open to other interpretations, this is just my take after reading him for a fe...

...Cohen was a self-professed Jew, but likely only in public image. With how famous he was, and how entrenched he was in the Jewish community, he knew that becoming openly atheist would cause a stir. So God remains a theme in his work, but to me it's an ambiguous, generic God, and only there to pay...

It's interesting that you took the song as a vilification of God. Personally I've never seen it that way. I always viewed the song as a vilification of people themselves. Cohen was a self-professed Jew, but likely only in public image. With how famous he was, and how entrenched he was in the Jewish ...

Thanks for that. Interesting that it dates back to the mid-eighties, as when I analyze the song I can definitely sense a relationship with Hallelujah, thematically.

Hi all, I'm wondering if anyone can help me out. A few years ago when I was reading in depth about Cohen I recall seeing somewhere that the lyrics for the song 'Treaty' were started (maybe) decades before they actually appeared on his final album, You Want it Darker. I've been trying to confirm that...

I've been going through this title again and here's my take after sitting with it for a while.. Around this time in Cohen's life he was going through a major transition in his writing style. In 'Let Us Compare Mythologies' and 'The Spice-Box of Earth' there is major influence from Irving Layton, and...

I believe his entire set of poetry was re-issued around the time of his death - I bought the lot of it this year. But I couldn't speak to availability around the world. https://www.amazon.ca/Flowers-Hitler-Leonard-Cohen/dp/0771024517/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=flowers+for+hitler&qid=160676...

It's really comparing apples and oranges. Cohen was a stronger writer, but Dylan's music resonated with more people. So who was the 'better' writer, and why is someone awarded a Nobel? I love Cohen's writing far more than I do Dylan's, but much of it was very self-involved and esoteric, while Dylan ...

I think that most of us around here can say the same thing! Leonard seemed, at various times and in various ways, to capture every element of life, every experience, every emotion, etc., such that one can almost always find within his body of work parallels to one's own life, and ideas that resonat...

That's excellent that you derived something positive from that thesis -- it seemed thoughtful and well-written. And, definitely, going through an artist's entire body of work provides a more thorough basis on which to appreciate them, as one can follow their evolution as an artist -- and to some de...

Ranking Cohen's albums is a sorry state of affairs, and I suspect Cohen wouldn't look at his own catalogue this way. You can't compare Cohen's albums in the same way you'd compare Beatles albums - because they're more about poetry and philosophy than they are music. Cohen's music is the result of a ...

Thanks for the reply. I agree, I'm usually not too quick to base my opinion of poetry on the reviews of others. Although I did find the paper you posted interesting and it definitely had me look at Cohen's work in a new light. Actually, this year with the pandemic I finally got around to reading the...

Thanks for the paper, I found it with some quick Googling and have gone through the chapter on Parasites of Heaven. Interesting read, I'll have to go through the rest of it at a later time.

I'm hoping to learn a bit more about Parasites of Heaven in this thread. I find this an interesting book as the poetry is distinct from most of his other work. A quick look at reviews and comments online and it seems like most people don't like it / it wasn't well received / and it was considered a ...