The Flame

A gathering of late work by the poet, singer, and chronicler of life's more difficult moments.Leonard Cohen (1934-2016) wrote hundreds of songs, all of which began as poems, as well as the novel Beautiful Losers (1966). If his fame dropped nearly to the point of disappearance in the 1980s, it was no accident: He withdrew from the world to become a Zen monk, and he remained so even during the years when, bilked by a manager, he returned to the stage to sing his way back to solvency. This gathering of poems, lyrics from his last four albums, sketches, and notebook jottings is emphatically for the Cohen completist, who will be fascinated by the process of how those random notes morphed into poems and then into such memorable songs as "You Want It Darker": "A million candles burning / For the love that never came / You want it darker / We kill the flame." In some instances, Cohen reiterates a Jewish piety that never quite left him; in others, as his editors note, he works themes and symbols that remained present in his work throughout his career, notably the fire that gives this volume its name. The volume, peppered with sketches and notes in the author's distinctive hand, closes with a speech given on the occasion of receiving a prize from the Spanish government, in which he connects his work to that nation by means of his early devotion to flamenco guitar and in which he protests that the award may be misplaced to some extent, since "poetry comes from a place that no one commands and no one conquers....In other words, if I knew where the good songs came from, I'd go there more often." That he managed to find that place so often, though, is abundantly clear in these pages.Cohen's fans will be delighted, and students of poetic and lyrical composition have much to learn here as well.

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Starred review from September 15, 2018
Leonard Cohen had a final wish: he wanted enough time to put his affairs in order and assemble a final collection of his last works. Thus, The Flame contains lyrics from his last three albums, including the critically acclaimed You Want It Darker?released several weeks before his death, at age 82, on November 7, 2016?as well as poems, excerpts from his notebooks, and drawings. Among his last song lyrics is the poignant Happens to the Heart. Cohen writes, I was working steady, but I never called it art. His topics will be familiar to anyone who knows Cohen's work: loneliness, faith (Cohen was a self-proclaimed observant Jew who had a long association with Buddhism), gratitude, the essential brokenness of the human spirit, and, of course, love?always love and its numerous manifestations. As the days become shorter, Cohen prays for courage to greet the sickness / And the cold and, ultimately, to see death as a friend. Poignant and brave, lit up with flashes of anger, this is a luminous collection and classic Cohen.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

Starred review from October 15, 2018

Renowned singer/songwriter Cohen (1934-2016) shares a deeply personal take on the wonders and challenges of life and love in this collection that will appeal not only to his fans but also anyone who loves beautiful lyrics that parse life's meaning. Cohen devotees, in particular, will be entranced by the many line drawings--mostly self-portraits--that extend the words in a kind of visual diary. (One caveat with the drawings--the words reproduced often appear too small for easy reading.) Cohen, who struggled to finish this work before his death, also included a dialog with a former teacher. Sometimes, the poet's language is ordinary and the line breaks arbitrary ("Vanessa called/ all the way from Toronto/ She said that I/ could count on her/ if ever I was/ down and out"), but even this poem is transformed by the title, "G-D Wants His Song." Far more eloquent and frequent are lines that examine life from the inside out: "The Heart beneath is teaching/ To the broken Heart above" and "If the sea were sand alone/ And the flowers made of stone." VERDICT An excellent addition for all poetry collections. [See Prepub Alert, 4/9/18.]--Doris Lynch, Monroe Cty. P.L., Bloomington, IN

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2018

In his last days, iconic poet/songwriter Cohen put all his energies into finishing his final collection of poetry. Packed into this valedictory volume are also lyrics of his last three albums and revealing excerpts from his notebooks.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.