This biography provides a chronological account
of Leonard Cohen’s personal and professional lives. It establishes the context
and reception of each one of his books, albums and tours. Simmons, a renowned
music journalist, also provides a critical analysis of his texts and details
how Cohen carefully assembled bands to promote his albums.
The book also incorporates many extended
conversations with Cohen which have been placed in italics. These were mostly
conducted by Simmons in 2011 and therefore allows Cohen to comment in depth on
many important moments in his life from the distance of time.
In this very thick book I was most fascinated
in Cohen’s development as a poet & singer/ songwriter and in the discussion
of many of his poems and songs. It is amazing how Cohen struggled with and
detested the writing process as well as heaving up the spirit to sing material
he wrote years ago. As he elaborates in the chapter ‘The Veins Stand Out Like
Highways’, “I wrote the songs to myself and to women several years ago and it
is a curious thing to be trapped in that original effort, because here I wanted
to tell one person one thing and now I am in a situation where I must repeat
them like some parrot chained to his stand, night after night.” Cohen also
often saw his work as inadequate, as just not good enough for his fans, “Often
one’s best work is at the time considered inadequate or incompetent. I
certainly struggled with those notions, and not just as a writer- but, as any
man or woman locates a large component of their self-respect in their work,
it’s always an issue.”
Less intriguing to me were aspects of his
personal life, such as his bouts with anxiety & depression, his conversion
to Zen Buddhism, how he was swindled out of several millions, and of course,
his numerous relationships with beautiful, young women- even as an old man.
If you like Cohen’s work you will certainly be
impressed by this biography.
Instead of writing an extended review I want to
do something different. I want to test your general knowledge of Leonard Cohen-
that is, if you are interested.
Some questions and answers will be obvious,
others you will find tricky or obscure. You will also find sometimes that more
than one answer will apply to the question. But stuff it- it’s only a quiz! For
each question you will have to choose the BEST answer. In one question all
the answers are correct. In this instance on your answer sheet write “all of
the above.”
Note that all answers are final & are based
on the contents of Sylvie Simmons book I’m
Your Man: The life of Leonard Cohen. No discussion will be entered into any
of the results. Undertake additional research if you are so inclined. The main thing is to have fun and to not take the quiz too seriously.
A LEONARD
COHEN QUIZ
Part A: MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. What did
Leonard Cohen’s mother tell him to do when things got bad?
(a)
to take a
cold shower
(b)
to take a
series of long deep breaths
(c) to shave
(d) to think positive
(e) to get a new girlfriend
(c) to shave
(d) to think positive
(e) to get a new girlfriend
2.
Cohen first began writing poetry in earnest after he read:
(a (a) Neruda
( (b) Steve
McCaffery
( (c) Bukowski
(d) Lorca
(d) Lorca
( (e) Wallace
Stevens
3.
What drew Cohen to poetry?
(a)
the power
and beauty of the condensed form
(b)
it helped
him to find enlightenment
(c) to get women
(c) to get women
(d)
it allowed
him to skip regular school classes
(e)
to make
music out of words
4.
Who does Cohen consider to be Canada’s greatest champion of poetry?
(a)
Louis
Dudek
(b)
Margaret
Atwood
(c) Irving Layton
(c) Irving Layton
(d)
Leonard
Cohen
(e)
Al Purdy
5.
Which of the following Canadian awards did Cohen decline:
(a)
Peterson
Memorial Award
(b) Governor General's Award for Literature
(b) Governor General's Award for Literature
(c)
Officer of
the Order of Canada
(d)
Juno Hall
of Fame
(e)
Canadian
Music Hall of Fame
6.
While studying law at McGill University in Montreal, after what event did LC
realise that an academic life was not for him?
(a)
after he
received his grades in his final year
(b) after looking in a mirror he couldn't see his own reflection
(b) after looking in a mirror he couldn't see his own reflection
(c)
after
working part-time in the uni-bar he found it easier to pick up women
(d)
after a
particularly boring lecture on commercial law
(e)
after
seeing how badly cut the suits were on many of his professors during an end of
year piss-up
7.
What is the name of Cohen’s first collection of poetry in 1956:
((a) Lets Us Compare Mythologies
(b) Beautiful
Losers
(c)
Flowers for Hitler
(d) Songs
From A Room
(e)
Songs of Love and Hate
8.
In which of the following events did Cohen NOT appear:
(a)
when
Kerouac read his stuff accompanied by jazz mussos at the Village Vanguard in
New York in December 1957
(b)
in Havana
on the day of the Bay of Pigs invasion 17 April 1961
(c)
before
their Isle of Wight 1970 concert his band played before patients at Napa State
mental hospital & the actor Dennis Hooper freaked out & fled as he saw
the patients approaching
(d)
Cohen was
a pall-bearer at the funeral of Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s funeral in 2000.
(e)
At the
start of the Yom Kippur War in October 1973 Cohen flew to Tel Aviv to enlist in
the Israeli Army
(f) all of the above
(f) all of the above
9. In the early 1960s Cohen first met the Australian novelist George Johnston (My Brother Jack) in:
(a)
L.A.
(b)
Melbourne
(c)
Wonthaggi
(d)
Montreal
(e) Hydra
(e) Hydra
10.
Which woman was Cohen’s ‘people’s choice’ for best muse?
(a)
Suzanne
Verdal
(b)
Joni
Mitchell
(c) Marianne Ihlen
(c) Marianne Ihlen
(d)
Suzanne
Vaillancourt
(e)
Suzanne
Elrod
11.Early
in his writing career (early 1960s) what was Cohen’s favourite drug of
assistance & companionship?
(a) Maxiton
(b)
weed
(c)
LSD
(d)
Mandrax
(e)
Hashish
12.Which
of the following novel titles was NOT considered for use by Cohen?
(a) Fields
of Hair
(b) No
Flesh So Perfect
(c)
A
Ballet of Lepers
(d) Come As You Are
(d) Come As You Are
(e)
Beauty At Close Quarters
13. According to the 1965 National Film Board
of Canada documentary film Ladies and
Gentlemen… Mr Leonard Cohen, Cohen’s first concern when he wakes up in the
morning is?
( a)
to
discover who he has been sleeping with
(b)
to work
out what’s for breakfast
(c)
to work on
his itinerary
(d)
to call
his mother Masha
(e) to discover if he is in a state of grace
(e) to discover if he is in a state of grace
14.Why did LC decide to become a
singer-songwriter in the summer of 1965?
( a)
he liked
country music
(b)
he could
get it off with more women
(c)
he saw it
as an extension of his poetic voice
(d) his books weren't selling and he needed the brass
(d) his books weren't selling and he needed the brass
(e)
he wanted
to become the Canadian Dylan
15. Which celebrity did Cohen NOT meet when he
was living at the Chelsea Hotel in New York?
(a) Andy Warhol
(b) Pierre Elliott Trudeau
(b) Pierre Elliott Trudeau
(c) Jimmi
Hendrix
(d) Lou Reed
(e) Jackson
Browne
16. Cohen immortalised a Janis Joplin blow-job
in this song:
(a) Chelsea Hotel #2
(a) Chelsea Hotel #2
(b) Early Morning Rise
(c) Lady Midnight
(d) Bird On the Wire
(e) A Thousand Kisses Deep
17. By 1970 how many trips of acid has Leonard
Cohen reckoned he has taken?
(a) 0
(b)
3
(c)
30
(d) 300
(d) 300
(e)
3000
18. Which Bukowski book was seen by the author
on Leonard Cohen’s bookshelf?
(a) Women
(b)
The Pleasures of the Damned
(c) Notes of a Dirty Old Man
(d)
Play the Piano Drunk Like a Percussion
Instrument Until the Fingers Begin to Bleed a Bit
(e)
You Get So Alone at Times That It Just
Makes Sense
19. Which of the following quotes is NOT
attributed to Leonard Cohen:
(a)
“War is wonderful. They’ll never stamp it out. It’s one of the few times people
can act their best.”
(b)
“I think marrying is for very, very high-minded people. It is a discipline of
extreme severity. To really turn your back on all other possibilities and all
other experiences of love, of passion, of ecstasy, and to determine to find it
within one embrace is a high and righteous notion.”
(c)
“I think people recognise that the spirit is a component of love. It’s not all
desire, there’s something else.”
(d)
“ Reworking a song before an audience is like being locked in a room with an
old love you once considered beautiful.”
(e)
“I had a special communion with daisies. They would turn their little yellow
faces to me whenever I started singing. They would all turn towards me and
smile.”
20. What is not a published criticism of
Cohen’s art?
(a)
“He has the inspired and fragile air of a nasty cough.”
(b)
“It is like two strangers frantically making love in a shadowy hotel bedroom.”
(c)
“He works hard to achieve that bloodless vocal, that dull, humourless quality
of a voice speaking after death.”
(d)
“It’s music to slit your wrists by.”
(e)“He
sounded like a sad man cashing in on self-pity and adolescent loneliness.”
21. What is NOT the name of a Leonard Cohen
song?
(a) Don’t
Go Home With Your Hard-On
(b) Paper-Thin
Motel
(c)
I Guess It’s Time
(d) Beauty
Salon
(e) New Skin
(e) New Skin
22. Paul Body, the doorman for the famous West
Hollywood folk club had this to say about Cohen in 1975:
(a)
“You’d better check the bathroom for razor blades, because this stuff is real
depressing.”
(b)
“I think he’s getting old. His throat is going.”
(c)
“The only guy I’ve seen who drew better-looking women than him was probably
Charles Bukowski.”
(d)
“He reminded me of the American actor Dustin Hoffman.”
(e)
“The band was incredibly tight but earned only a lukewarm reception at best.”
23. On reflection, which one of his albums does
Cohen like the best?
(a)
Various Positions
(b)
Field Commander Cohen
(c) Recent Songs
(c) Recent Songs
(d)
I’m Your Man
(e)
Death of a Lady’s Man
24. Which of the following statement is NOT
true?
(a)
The song Hallelujah took 5 years to
write.
(b)
Cohen wrote 15 different versions of the last verse of the song.
(c)
The album in which the song first appeared Various
Positions remains Cohen’s best selling album in the United States.
(d)
The song has been covered more than 300 times, including Bob Dylan, Bono, Neil
Diamond and Matt Morris from the Mickey Mouse Club.
(e) The song is about the reasons for the mechanics of songwriting and about wanting sex and about the war of the sexes (It is an opinion).
(e) The song is about the reasons for the mechanics of songwriting and about wanting sex and about the war of the sexes (It is an opinion).
25. Which trusted friend swindled Cohen of
funds estimated between 10-13 million dollars?
(a)
Joni Mitchell
(b)
Joshua Sasaki Roshi
(c) Kelley Lynch
(c) Kelley Lynch
(d)
Dominique Issermann
(e)
Steve Sanfield
ANSWERS TO THE QUIZ
1. c
2. d
3. c
4. c
5. b
6. b
7. a
8. f
9. e
10. c
11. a
12. d
13. e
14. d
15. b
16. a
17. d
18. b
19. d
20. a
21. e
22. c
23. c
24. e
25. c
1. c
2. d
3. c
4. c
5. b
6. b
7. a
8. f
9. e
10. c
11. a
12. d
13. e
14. d
15. b
16. a
17. d
18. b
19. d
20. a
21. e
22. c
23. c
24. e
25. c
