We’ve lost an honest and lovely soul
Re Montreal seeks Cohen tribute, Nov. 12
Congratulations to the Star for all the beautifully written columns lamenting the death of poet and singer Leonard Cohen.
Each of your journalists touched on a different aspect of Cohen’s life and each was written extremely well, with some wonderfully evocative prose. Cohen was a man of words and he would be happy with these superb journalistic tributes. Michael Cole, Toronto
Re The Lost Poets, Nov. 12
Canada is a country rich in poets. Many of our finest novelists, like Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, Anne Michaels, Jane Urquhart and Stephen Heighton, began their literary careers as poets and continue to write fine poems.
If we Canadians need our dreamers, there are many modern poets whose works we can turn to, from Al Purdy to Dorothy Livesay to Irving Layton and, more contemporarily, Don McKay, Don Coles and Don Domanski, and those are just the ones named Don! Ron Charach, Toronto I was so saddened by Leonard Cohen’s death. Reading the front page of the Star, I started to weep, catalyzed by the poetry of Vinay Menon. This thoughtful ode to Leonard reminded us of why we loved the man, for him and for his mighty, beautiful words. Kathy Graham, Mississauga A photo caption on an article about Leonard Cohen refers to him as a “renowned seducer.” How do we know that he was not actually a renowned seducee or perhaps equally both? I suspect we may never know the precise balance. Bruce Couchman, Ottawa When history looks back on the events of last week, I have no doubt that Leonard Cohen’s passing will be seen as the greater tragedy.
He was a fine poet, a musician of the highest order and one of the few contemporary voices that could honestly be described as prophetic.
That said, it is utterly misleading to characterize him as the “godfather of gloom,” “poet laureate of pessimism,” etc. The man who wrote such songs as, “Fingerprints,” “Don’t Go Home With Your Hard On,” “Closing Time,” or “Hallelujah” showed such a sly wit that to hear them without smiling may indicate a seriously deficient sense of humour. Nigel Russell, Toronto In a week marked by the choice of a false and profoundly ugly man for high office, I want to save my thoughts for an honest and lovely soul who we’ve lost.
Leonard Cohen searched for the truth in us while the other milked the pool of poison in our natures. We need his message to help us cope with the flood of attention given to the other. Preston Merrill, Port Hope, Ont.
“(Cohen) was a fine poet, a musician of the highest order and one of the few contemporary voices that could honestly be described as prophetic.” NIGEL RUSSELL TORONTO