Book of Longing: The First Poetry Collection in Twenty Years―Timeless, Illustrated Verse by Leonard Cohen

Grateful for his body of work.

Leonard Cohen's Book of LongingAside from being a creative genius in a multitude of artistic disciplines, Leonard Cohen is an old man. And with age comes wisdom. Take for example, this stanza from "Better."better than artis repulsive artwhich demonstratesbetter than scripturethe tiny measureof your improvementNo dummy, this guy. But then, you knew that already.Twenty years in the making, Book of Longing [Ecco/HarperCollins]was written on southern California's Mount Baldy and in Los Angeles, Montreal and Mumbai. The author of twelve books and seventeen albums of music, this collection of poems follows his highly acclaimed 1984 publication, Book of Mercy. Containing his own wonderful, playful and provocative line drawings, Book of Longing is a celebration of one of contemporary times' best and truest flesh-and-blood examples of unlimited artistic expression.Leonard Cohen's poetry is loaded with Bukowski's truth and simple statements, but without the ugliness. There are tons of love poems, reflections on drinking and God (oops, I mean "G-d"--he's Jewish, you know), loneliness, philosophy, aging, friendships, food, sober highs, celebrations of the body and sex, sex, sex. But it's all done with manners--a classiness Bukowski never knew-- a masculine sensitivity that's never maudlin, and a ripe, heavy, juice-laden life that few words in print have ever had the strength to carry.There are some moments when Cohen veers into classical meter and rhyme, but he pulls it off with the smart currency of the lyric, and yet somehow, even in the hipness, he can still manage to make the reader tear up:And fragrant is the thought of youThe file on you completeExcept what we forgot to doA thousand kisses deepThere is unresolved anger and hurt:I could not killthe way you killI could not hateI tried, I failedandFare thee well my nightingaleI lived but to be near youThough you are singing somewhere stillI can no longer hear youBut mostly, in all its spiritual, physical and emotional forms, there is truth:This is itI'm not coming after youI'm going to lie down for half an hourThis is itI'm not going downon your memoryI'm not rubbing my face in it anymoreI'm going to yawnI'm going to stretchI'm going to put a knitting needleup my noseand poke out my brainI don't want to love youfor the rest of my lifeI want your skinto fall off my skinI want my clampto release your clampI don't want to livewith this tongue hanging outand another filthy songin the placeof my baseball batThis is itI'm going to sleep now darlingDon't try to stop meI'm going to sleepI'll have a smooth faceand I'm going to droolI'll be asleepwhether you love me or notThis is itThe New World Orderof wrinkles and bad breathIt's not going to belike it was beforeeating youwith my eyes closedhoping you won't get upand go awayIt's going to be something elseSomething worseSomething sillierSomething like thisonly shorterAnd when the reader gets to the last page, they know it can never be it. There is no choice but to turn back to the first page and start again.O my lovedon't you know that we have been killedand that we died together

I've considered myself a Leonard Cohen fan for many years now, but I often wonder why.I don't appreciate or admire the famous "ladies' man" aspect of his career, and don't even enjoy listening to any of his music before the late 80's, when his youthful, boyish voice seemed to have oozed (or cooed) this persona. This is unfair of me--he also wrote some wonderful songs and literature in that time. But I find his early career can't compare with his later--confirming my growing hypothesis that artists generally improve with age (Beethoven with his Ninth Symphony, Bach with his Goldberg Variations and Art of Fugue, T.S. Eliot with his Four Quartets, etc.)--and I'm not really interested in his work published before "THE FUTURE". (And I for one prefer his aged, gravelly bass voice to his earlier, folk-singer treble.)All that I write as a preamble to my review: This present book of poetry is a delight, and seems to get better each time I read it.I recently re-read his "STRANGER MUSIC: SELECTED POEMS AND SONGS", which I remember liking much more some years ago, only to find myself questioning his powers of expression and articulation, in the past. (That collection includes pieces from the beginning of his career but only up to "THE FUTURE" album.) I seldom felt moved by or sympathy with the poems, songs, and prose in that collection; much of it seemed Dadaistic, even, whether Cohen intended such or not. And not in a complimentary way.But "THE BOOK OF LONGING" is "an odd collection of jazz riffs, pop-art jokes, religious kitsch and muffled prayer," as he describes his novel "BEAUTIFUL LOSERS" apparently, in "A Note to the Chinese Reader" (somewhat enigmatically included in this present book). There are Cohen's own drawings (in a variety of mediums) scattered liberally throughout the book, most of them poems in themselves (with script or text accompanying them). But the sheer variety of material is what makes this interesting. There are humor, pathos, romance, tragedy, optimism, pessimism, spirituality, respectful irreverence, clarity, obscurity, prose, poetry, and visual art in this book.Perhaps most importantly: Cohen has developed a very smart sense of humor over the years, and does not spare himself. And these pieces showcase this. Whereas his past material frequently contained an often repugnant self-centeredness and vanity, his more recent works (such as this volume) are lighter (in the best sense of that word); he must've learned well from his Zen training, however much he himself would disagree (and does disagree, in some of these poems!)I think that most of his best work is contained in this book. It is a sort of companion to his "TEN NEW SONGS" album, which features several of these poems set to music. Furthermore, his collaboration with Philip Glass and Glass's singers and musicians on the "BOOK OF LONGING" album of music--featuring many more of these pieces set to music--is also very interesting.

Talk about a searcher with an amazing gift of gap. Leonard Cohen can convey emotions and wisdom with his particular brand of songwriting. A poet at heart, he can not be separated from songwriting and poetry. The written word is his forte, and his searching ways, a true example of a seeker. I find him to be of the world, but also of the spirit, and that is what makes his songs and poems potential gems. Not all his body of work, for who among us can produce 100% exceptional?Knowing and having read his biography, I have a new found respect for this man. Unique in more ways than one, long periods of time when he immersed himself in the rigorous way of convent life. Periods when he joins the active world around us, others when he retreats to gather precious missing parts, I suppose (but what do I know?-can only guess).Leonard Cohen has earned his right to be admired by mere mortals, such as myself, for his immense body of work, and by his clash with the material world. Just recently he basically got ripped off from his life savings, and he had to go on the road (to the delight of many) to fill the coffers again.On that alone I will confess I have not read this particular Book of Longing, for it was a present to a person I have not seen again so I can not ask for an opinion. But knowing how the person I sent the book to loves him, and from knowing about his ways myself, I can safely say that for those who love his works this book will not disappoint. I shy away from poetry outside of song, maybe because of the fact that I find it much easier to appreciate it when accompanied with music. Amazon keeps asking to review this book, so there it has been reviewed. 4 Stars (based on overall likeness of the man?).

Embora a qualidade da capa deixe a desejar, não subtrai a beleza da obra do Leonard. Recomendo

A loved one

Entrega perfecta y él siempre bienvenido, sorprendente y maravilloso.

Ho acquistato il libro perché volevo leggere i testi delle canzoni del CD.I testi ovviamente sono in Inglese, peccato che manchi la traduzione in Italiano.Il libro è fatto di un bel tipo di carta un po' ruvida ma molto gradevole al tatto;contiene i testi delle poesie (canzoni) e disegni in b/n.Per chi è appassionato di Leonard Cohen è un libro da avere assolutamente nella propria libreriae rileggerlo di tanto in tanto.

El libro es excelente solo esperaba una mejor impresión, algo de más calidad? Ya que no hace honor al gran volumen de la literatura que es.