Leonard Cohen, Untold Stories

August 15, 2020
An exhaustive oral history of the Canadian icon, focusing on his sexual escapades. Many of the stories in Canadian journalist Posner's lengthy book appeared in Sylvie Simmons' acclaimed 2012 biography of Leonard Cohen (1934-2016), I'm Your Man. But Posner certainly turned over a lot of stones in his quest to come up with fresh stories about the great songwriter and poet. Drawing from more than 500 firsthand sources, the author chronicles Cohen's privileged boyhood in Montreal, his literary life at McGill University, and his career-making meeting with "Suzanne" interpreter Judy Collins. Though Posner touches on Cohen's love-hate relationship with his mother, his insecurities as a singer, and his brushes with LSD, Scientology, Bob Dylan, depression, and guns, the author seems most interested in keeping score of the number of women this prolific romancer bedded--and then documented in his songs. Though Posner frequently uses the terms "decency," "honesty," and "warmth" to describe Cohen, they don't always apply to his treatment of women. During his epic, on-and-off affair with Marianne Ihlen, which stretched from the Greek island of Hydra to New York, he forced her into having as many as five abortions, according to folk artist Julie Felix. "There were few 18-year-old women that Cohen failed to seduce, including virgins," writes Posner. Adds Carol Zemel, a distinguished art historian who was a friend of Cohen's from the 1960s, "The womanizing was intense. It drove me crazy over the years. And all the men around him were treated to the women, whether they were married men or not." Such revelations could taint the image of the courtly gentleman that Cohen created for himself in his twilight years--and lower expectations for Volume 2 of this long-winded project. A voluminous account of Leonard Cohen as pained artist and superseducer. For die-hard fans only.

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September 11, 2020

Sex, drugs, and poetry permeate this oral history of Leonard Cohen (1934-2016). The first of three projected volumes, this collection takes Cohen from his childhood in Montreal to his emergence as a singer/songwriter in the late 1960s. Posner (The Last Honest Man) talked with friends, acquaintances, "occasional girlfriends," poets, artists, and others who knew Cohen during this period, most of whom are unknown to the general public, though a few famous names appear (e.g., singers Joni Mitchell and Buffy-Sainte Marie). Posner covers Cohen's family life, his involvement in Montreal's intellectual and artistic circles, his desire to become the "Canadian Bob Dylan," his drug use, and his romantic entanglements--though longtime lover Marianne Ihlen figures prominently, so do countless other women with whom he was intimate. Interviewees discuss Cohen's poems, novels, and early songs, and describe him as a reluctant performer who was himself seduced by "celebrity, groupies, and standing-room-only audiences." With so many stories, however, the book is often repetitive as countless interviewees attest to his charm, sexual magnetism, kindness, humility, and moodiness. VERDICT This book offers a seductive blend of sometimes contradictory insights into Cohen but will be sought after only by his most devoted fans.--Thomas Karel, Franklin & Marshall Coll. Lib., Lancaster, PA

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