Why You Should Read Cohen’s “Book of Longing”
Book of Longing
An essential collection of poetry, drawings, and songs which reveal the inner-mind of one of the 20th century’s most interesting artists.
Leonard Cohen’s ‘Book of Longing.’ Written by the famous folk singer and poet, is a unique and artful collection of work.
The Book of Longing is unique in the way that perhaps 10 of the poems are also songs which can be found on Cohen’s later albums. Songs like ‘The Faith’ ‘A Thousand Kisses Deep’ ‘Here it is’ ‘Alexandra leaving’ rank among the best work he has ever done. From the deep, desolate darkness of ‘A Thousand Kisses Deep’ to the elegiac romance of ‘Alexandra Leaving’ these are wide-ranging, skillfully written poems (and songs) which beg to be experienced.
This is a collection which has been huge for me on my poetry journey. The combination of art, song, and poetry— this book reveals that these are arbitrary distinctions—is wonderful, even if Cohen occasionally comes off as sex-obsessed. Perhaps he just had the honesty to write what he was truly thinking about.
Confined to sex, we pressed against
The limits of the sea
I saw there were no oceans left
For scavengers like me
I made it to the forward deck
I blessed our remnant fleet
And then consented to be wrecked
A thousand kisses deep
These lines rank among the best Cohen has ever written, and convey the deep, dark, honesty of a poet coming to his senior years alone, yet still thinking of love, sex, and lust.
Written over many years, including his time at a monastery on Mount Baldy in California, the poems are wide ranging, thoughtful, and occasionally much more sexual than you might expect. Overall this is a great collection which is enhanced by the drawings done by Cohen which fill the margins of the book. There are other collections of poetry I like more, but the expanse of this collection- spanning drawing and music and, of course, poetry, is probably unmatched by any other collection I can think of.
The Book of Longing is worth a read. As with most of Cohen’s work; give the songs a chance to settle in- these are not quick pop hits but instead something to savor and think about.
As a final aside: I would be honored if you gave Lonely Singles, an indie music project I am involved in, a listen on Spotify and Apple Music.