Longing for a younger Leonard Cohen
Whilst finishing up with the belated spring cleaning of our garage, I discovered the June 22 copy of Le Devoir that my beau had put aside for me. This version of Montreal’s popular French language paper was a homage to a man that I’ve had a crush on for over 20 years. Three sections of paper paid tribute to Mr. Leonard Cohen.
Finding the paper yellowing in the garage was my first pleasant discovery, noting that it was a French language paper that produced this tribute was the second. I haven’t seen a Quebec francophone paper lauding Leonard Cohen with this much enthusiasm since, well since never. Generally when I mention Cohen to a Quebecer who doesn’t love Anglo poetry, Anglo folk songs, or CanLit, I receive a blank stare.
“Lé-o-nard Co – h’en” I reiterate trying his name out in French. Nothing. And yet here in Le Devoir three sections were dedicated to the man. I’m somehow relieved. It could have been on account of the homage to Cohen played out at Montreal’s International Jazz Festival in June. Similarly it could have been on
account of the ongoing reviews of Cohen’s Book of Longing.
I read it last December, in one sitting, with a glass of port. It didn’t disappointment me – but it saddened me. It was after all pure Cohen and by the very nature of being pure Cohen I should have adored it, melancholy as it was. But I didn’t. And I didn’t understand why I hadn’t enjoyed it at the time, until I read the June homage in Le Devoir.
The man that I have had a literary crush on for over 20 years is getting old. And he knows it. So it is told in Book of Longing.
After having read Book of Longing I was sad about Cohen’s longing for youth and at the same time, a little creped out because one of the youthful longings that comes across clearly … is his longing to pleasure a woman in the way that a younger man can.
Poem after poem we are reminded of the sexual Cohen, or rather, memories of the sexual Cohen. We are introduced to Cohen’s cunnilingus capers.
Sylvain Cormier identifies this longing in his article in the June 22 edition of Le Devoir. He speaks of the difficulty in translation Cohen’s work. He notes that the Quebec translators and France’s translators are constantly at odds when selecting the words to capture Cohen’s images, particularly that of cunnilingus.
He identified this conundrum by taking the following lines from the poem Collapse of Zen:
When I can wedge my face /into the place
Cormier goes on to tease the translators about their offerings. The Quebecer suggested:
<< Quand je reussir à glisser mon visage / à la bonne place >>“When I succeed at sliding my face in the right spot…”
The French translator prepared:
<< Quand je peux enfoncer mon visage /dans le lieu des lieux >>
“When I can plunge my face in the place of all places…”
Cormier offers a bit of advice for francophones longing to appreciate Leonard Cohen:
<< Pour parler le Cohen, lire le Cohen, comprendre le Cohen, il faut non seulement bien posséder l’anglais, mais connaitre Cohen…avoir mis sa face dedans… >>
“To speak of Cohen, read Cohen, understand Cohen, it isn’t good enough to understand English, … to know Cohen, you have to dive in face first.”
I’ve finished rereading Book of Longing for the Canadian Book Challenge. What can I say? I still love Cohen, and I wish him all the best in his quest to capture his youth, but this collection still leaves a bad taste.