Leonard Cohen is one of the great writers, performers, and most consistently daring artists of our time. Book of Longing is Cohen’s eagerly awaited new collection of poems, following his highly acclaimed 1984 title, Book of Mercy, and his hugely successful 1993 publication, Stranger Music, a Globe and Mail national bestseller. Book of Longing contains erotic, playful, and provocative line drawings and artwork on every page, by the author, which interact in exciting and unexpected ways on the page with poetry that is timeless, meditative, and at times darkly humorous. The book brings together all the elements that have brought Leonard Cohen’s artistry with language worldwide recognition.
IRVING AND ME AT THE HOSPITAL
He stood up for Nietzsche I stood up for Christ He stood up for victory I stood up for less
I loved to read his verses He loved to hear my song We never had much interest In who was right or wrong
His boxer’s hands were shaking He struggled with his pipe Imperial Tobacco Which I helped him light
KITCHEN TABLE
The same useless thoughts arise but no one claims them — Loneliness seizes the frame and shakes away hope but no one is hopeless no one is lonely — The intricate preparations for the next moment direct you to read this now — Surrendered to the One who placed me here I sit at the very table where these songs began some forty years ago — busy as a bee in the solitude
“[Book of Longing] is not so much an illustrated collection of poems as it is a shaped autobiography.” —Globe and Mail
“It reaffirms Cohen’s mastery in the domain of desire, and devotees will not be disappointed.” —Austin Chronicle
“Tenderness may have replaced passion, but Cohen’s ability to capture this shift makes it poignant and meaningful. . . . Cohen has taken what his friend Irving Layton called ‘the inescapable lousiness of growing old’ and has given it, in its waning days, a profound romantic dignity.” —Gazette (Montreal)
“He’s shown an uncanny knack for expressing the changing Zeitgeist.” —Toronto Star
Leonard Cohen’s artistic career began in 1956 with the publication of his first book of poetry, Let Us Compare Mythologies. He published two novels, The Favourite Game and Beautiful Losers, and ten books of poetry, most recently Stranger Music: Selected Poems and Songs and Book of Longing. During a recording career that spanned almost fifty years, he released fourteen studio albums, the last of which, You Want It Darker,was released in 2016. Cohen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008, received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010, and was awarded the Glenn Gould Prize in 2011. He died on November 7, 2016. View titles by Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen is one of the great writers, performers, and most consistently daring artists of our time. Book of Longing is Cohen’s eagerly awaited new collection of poems, following his highly acclaimed 1984 title, Book of Mercy, and his hugely successful 1993 publication, Stranger Music, a Globe and Mail national bestseller. Book of Longing contains erotic, playful, and provocative line drawings and artwork on every page, by the author, which interact in exciting and unexpected ways on the page with poetry that is timeless, meditative, and at times darkly humorous. The book brings together all the elements that have brought Leonard Cohen’s artistry with language worldwide recognition.
Excerpt
IRVING AND ME AT THE HOSPITAL
He stood up for Nietzsche I stood up for Christ He stood up for victory I stood up for less
I loved to read his verses He loved to hear my song We never had much interest In who was right or wrong
His boxer’s hands were shaking He struggled with his pipe Imperial Tobacco Which I helped him light
KITCHEN TABLE
The same useless thoughts arise but no one claims them — Loneliness seizes the frame and shakes away hope but no one is hopeless no one is lonely — The intricate preparations for the next moment direct you to read this now — Surrendered to the One who placed me here I sit at the very table where these songs began some forty years ago — busy as a bee in the solitude
“[Book of Longing] is not so much an illustrated collection of poems as it is a shaped autobiography.” —Globe and Mail
“It reaffirms Cohen’s mastery in the domain of desire, and devotees will not be disappointed.” —Austin Chronicle
“Tenderness may have replaced passion, but Cohen’s ability to capture this shift makes it poignant and meaningful. . . . Cohen has taken what his friend Irving Layton called ‘the inescapable lousiness of growing old’ and has given it, in its waning days, a profound romantic dignity.” —Gazette (Montreal)
“He’s shown an uncanny knack for expressing the changing Zeitgeist.” —Toronto Star
Leonard Cohen’s artistic career began in 1956 with the publication of his first book of poetry, Let Us Compare Mythologies. He published two novels, The Favourite Game and Beautiful Losers, and ten books of poetry, most recently Stranger Music: Selected Poems and Songs and Book of Longing. During a recording career that spanned almost fifty years, he released fourteen studio albums, the last of which, You Want It Darker,was released in 2016. Cohen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008, received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010, and was awarded the Glenn Gould Prize in 2011. He died on November 7, 2016. View titles by Leonard Cohen
