To learn more about L. Cohen is always
gratifying. In this biography, Liel Leibovitz does a very good job at
introducing Leonard as the artist he was, as the man, but also as the mind.
Cohen was part of several important moments in the history of the world, as an
observer, or participating through his music, giving concerts to the troops in
Israel, talking about the issues of the times he lived in. He defied the status
quo of the music industry, of the rock and roll as known in America. There were
too many famous musicians then (Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Kris Kristofferson,
Judy Collins, Toni Mitchel), and Cohen was starting his career late, after
being essentially a writer, mostly a poet. And then he decided to move into
that other world that looked more attractive to him, even when he didn't know
more than three chords (he used to say five). But he had what Federico García
Lorca described as "duende", a power and not a behaviour… a struggle
and not a concept that lives within the poet, and later on, in the
singer-songwriter.
He carved his way through that abyss and
finally got all the experiences, the satisfactions, the highs and lows, the
depression, the women and all the learnings during a long and robust career.
He had the will, the persistence and the
resilience to get exactly where he wanted to be. He didn't care about the
apparent obstacles, he used a bit of the Canadian naiveté, his bold vision of
the world and a pinch of cynicism to break the "I can not's" and turn them into a fruitful production.
Leibovitz made me think of him in a
different way and helped me understand my favourite writer and musician from
another perspective, more political in a way, that I haven't fully understood
before.
That's why I love biographies. They situate
the reader in the time and context of those who we admire.
You can complete the reading of this book
by listening to Cohen's albums, from the first one to the last. You will
understand a lot more of what's detailed in the book. The music gives the words
an ambience. You will almost feel his presence while you dive into his mystical
universe.
