Flowers for Hitler

by Leonard Cohen

What I'm Doing Here
To a Man Who Thinks
He Is Making an Angel
I Had It for a Moment
The Hearth
On the Sickness of My Love
Island Bulletin
Portrait of the City Hall
Cruel Baby
Independence
Congratulations
For Marianne
The House
The Drawer's Condition on November 28, 1961
The Failure of a Secular Life
Order
The Suit
My Mentors
Destiny
Business as Usual
Hydra 1960
Queen Victoria and Me
Indictment of the Blue Hole
Leviathan
The Pure List and the Commentary
Nothing I Can Lose
Heirloom
The New Step (A Ballet-Drama in One Act)
Police Gazette
Promise
The Paper
No Partners
Sky
Nursery Rhyme
On the Death of an Uncharted Planet
Waiting for Marianne
Old Dialogue
I Wanted to Be a Doctor
Why I Happen to Be Free
Winter Bulletin
On Hearing a Name
Long Unspoken
The True Desire
Why Did You Give My Name to the Police?
Finally I Called
The Way Back
Governments Make Me Lonely
Style
The Project
The Lists
Goebbels Abandons His Novel and Joins the Party
Hydra 1963
To the Indian Pilgrims
Why Commands Are Obeyed
All There Is to Know about Adolph Eichmann
The Music Crept By Us
It Uses Us!
The New Leader
The Telephone
The First Murder
How It Happened in the Middle of the Day
Disguises
My Teacher Is Dying
For E.J.P.
Lot
Montreal 1964
The Glass Dog
One of the Nights I Didn't Kill Myself
Why Experience Is No Teacher
A Migrating Dialogue
The Big World
For My Old Layton
The Bus
Narcissus
The Only Tourist in Havana Turns His Thoughts Homeward Laundry
Cherry Orchards
The Invisible Trouble
The Rest Is Dross
Streetcars
Sick Alone
How the Winter Gets In
Bullets
Millennium
Propaganda
Hitler
Hitler the Brain-Mole
Opium and Hitler
Front Lawn
Death of a Leader
For Anyone Dressed in Marble
Kerensky
Alexander Trocchi, Public Junkie
Priez Pour Nous
Wheels, Fireclouds
Another Night with Telescope
Three Good Nights
Folk

Genres: Poetry, Canada, Art, Fiction, Classics

154 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

Leonard Norman Cohen was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963.

Cohen's earliest songs (many of which appeared on the 1968 album Songs of Leonard Cohen) were rooted in European folk music melodies and instrumentation, sung in a high baritone. The 1970s were a musically restless period in which his influences broadened to encompass pop, cabaret, and world music. Since the 1980s he has typically sung in lower registers (bass baritone, sometimes bass), with accompaniment from electronic synthesizers and female backing singers.

His work often explores the themes of religion, isolation, sexuality, and complex interpersonal relationships.

Cohen's songs and poetry have influenced many other singer-songwriters, and more than a thousand renditions of his work have been recorded. He has been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and is also a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest civilian honour. Cohen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 10, 2008 for his status among the "highest and most influential echelon of songwriters".

Reviews

[Dani Dányi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Azt hiszem, Leonard Cohen maradandóbbat alkotott dalszerzőként, mint költőként. És ettől függetlenítve a szövegeket, a második verses kötete 1964-ből egy egész izgalmas gyűjtemény. Jónéhány fonál szövődik össze, hol tisztán egyik-másik motívum hol pedig mindenféle hibridizált darab: némi beat-befolyás, spontán asszociatív írás, biblikus és (ahogy a cím is erre rímel) poszt-holokauszt témák, kanadai és amerikai realitás és szürrealitás, humor, intenzív és lappangó szexualitás, abszurd és groteszk. Mindez nekem néha simán zagyva, máskor erős és titokzatos, és hol érthető, hol pedig kevéssé. Nyilván szeretem az érthetőséget is, de hajlandó vagyok egész sok engedményt tenni a másik irányba is, mert Cohen jól játszik a szavakkal, képekkel. Nem tudom, mennyire unikálisan eredeti amit csinál, gyanítom nem nagyon - de sokszor elkap a sodrása. Legjobban azt szeretem, amikor nem szónokol, nem mond nagyokat, csak szépen egymás mellé tesz amúgy másképp össze alig függő dolgokat, amiket megragad néhány figyelemreméltó sorban, vagy félsorban. Költészet, na.

[Dominick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed. There are some very good poems here, concise nuggets with precisely-filed language and imagery. And there are some that lack discipline, that seem to be trying too hard. Lines like

Now a rooster with a razor
plants the haemophelia gash across
the soft black sky

sound more like the sort of thing that seems ingenious when drunk or stoned than like genuine poetry. Admittedly, such moments are the exception rather than the rule. Still, the overall effect is uneven. And the one-act play about three-quarters of the way through seems like an odd interpolation. Nevertheless, Cohen's bleak humour and his unmistakeable phraseology are frequently evident, as is what I can only describe as his clear-eyed sentiment, a sort of emotional honesty that somehow avoids mawkishness. And yes, Hitler (and the holocaust) frequently appears, or at least lies uneasily beneath the surface of these poems.

[salmA · Rating 2 out of 5]

no soy objetiva porque me lo prestó una chica que me gusta y podría decirme que me leyera su lista de la compra que me parecería lo más interesante que leí en mi vida

[Derrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was in need of serious editing. The short play near the end could have been cut and many of the meandering lesser poems. Some of the best work out of his first three poetry collection are on this one though. You just have to wade through a lot of more meandering stuff.

[fiona · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

strange and much darker than his previous two collections.
a bit more violent, a bit more cruel, and a bit more personal.
did not super enjoy it but if you think i'd give LC anything less than 3/5, you don't know me at all.

———

For E.J.P.

I once believed a single line
in a Chinese poem could change
forever how blossoms fell
and that the moon itself climbed on
the grief of concise weeping men
to journey over cups of wine
I thought invasions were begun for crows
to pick at a skeleton
dynasties sown and spent
to serve the language of a fine lament
I thought governors ended their lives
as sweetly drunken monks
telling time by rain and candles
instructed by an insect's pilgrimage
across the page -- all this
so one might send an exile's perfect letter
to an ancient hometown friend

I chose a lonely country
broke from love
scorned the fraternity of war
I polished my tongue against the pumice moon
floated my soul in cherry wine
a perfumed barge for Lords of Memory
to languish on to drink to whisper out
their store of strength
as if beyond the mist along the shore
their girls their power still obeyed
like clocks wound for a thousand years
I waited until my tongue was sore

Brown petals wind like fire around my poems
I aimed them at the stars but

like rainbows they were bent
before they sawed the world in half
Who can trace the canyoned paths
cattle have carved out of time
wandering from meadowlands to feasts
Layer after layer of autumn leaves
are swept away
Something forgets us perfectly

[Scott Raphael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leonard Cohen always has a way with flow that can carry you to a time period and put you right into its dirty street life. One can’t expect it to completely make sense; there’s a lot that’s more about feel than logic. That said, this collection strays from clarity a little too much and a little too often for my tastes. A lot to like, but too long and too messy in spots. I did enjoy the short play in the middle. Of course, that also leads to the question of why there’s a short play in the middle (that messiness again coming through). Probably a worthwhile read for its cultural value, but not Cohen’s finest or most powerful work.

[Alifib · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first poem in this collection, “What I’m Doing Here”, instantly became one of my favorite poems. I also liked the one act play near the end, “The New Step”. It was pretty funny, though I did not expect its appearance. It made me kind of wish this collection was a mix of poetry and plays instead of just poems and one play.

[kdburton]

Leonard Cohen once said: "There's a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in." And I am not an old man having an existential crisis at a Buddhist monastery, writing horny poetry, but I agree. - boygenius

—

From the Peacocke’s collection

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flowers for Hitler is one of Cohen's darkest books, only seconded to Death of a Ladies Man. It is interesting to see a younger Cohen's mind at work and more specifically to see such consistency in theme running from the beginning of his career to its end. Cohen's earlier works focus on undermining the upper-class lifestyle of Westmount but also on experimentation with new-age religious ideals and the Far East. Cohen's darker side, his urge to commit suicide, his inability to stay satisfied with the same type of women, and his mood swings, all make appearances in this collection of poems - although they do not bear the same kind of weight as his later poems do. Flowers for Hitler stands out for exposing a darker side of Cohen, but it also stands out as a work of art in revolt: in revolt of the hypocrisy of the ruling classes; in revolt of the mundane, and in revolt to the massacres of Nazi Germany and near destruction of Jewish history and culture.
There are many exceptional poems in this collection, such as "For E.J. Pratt" and "Disguises", but the collection is not perfect. That being said, I find it hard to give this book four stars as it - regardless of its flaws - stands out as exceptional.

[Vaquita lectora]

Me dices que el silencio
está más cerca de la paz que los poemas
pero si como regalo
te trajera el silencio
(porque yo conozco el silencio)
Me dirías
Esto no es silencio
esto es otro poema
y me lo devolverías.

[kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

good introduction to leonard cohen's poetic voice. my first and still my favourite. though the reasons are perhaps sentimental.

[Lance · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite of his poetry books.

[caleb · Rating 3 out of 5]

disguises, the bus, and alexander trocchi, public junkie, priez pour nous were my favourites

[Esteban Galarza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leonard Cohen es uno de los artistas de mi vida. No hay que ser un iniciado para saber que antes de dedicarse a la música él era ya poeta e inclusive con libros publicados. Tal vez su fama de cantante / trovador a nivel internacional hizo que se conociese su poesía más rápida y se la examinara con otra rigurosidad. Leonard Cohen, a diferencia de Bob Dylan, sí se mantiene fresco en el tiempo, tanto como músico como poeta, porque de algún modo tuvo verdadera conciencia de su legado. ¡De qué legado hablamos? Revisionar viejos temas y obsesiones personales con una mirada llena de humanidad y poética melancolía (no exenta de humor, claro). La soledad, el amor, la vida urbana, los viejos terrores de la religión y de los genocidas del siglo se dan cita en tit estrofas, en su voz y en su escritura. No es casual que haya ganado el Premio Príncipe de Asturias a las letras.
Flores para Hitler ya tiene todo eso tópicos suyos, publicado aún antes que Songs of Leonard Cohen, su primer LP. Una obra preciosa y juvenil, tiene todos esos elementos que mencioné anteriormente y que acompañaron su música hasta la última grabación. El haber accedido a los dos extremos de una obra da una perspectiva rara y debo decir que lo amo, con todo lo que implique el amor: amistad, alegría, compromiso, complicidad, tristeza por su partida de este mundo.

[Reem · Rating 1 out of 5]

Something about this felt very off. It was promising at first, but then there was not much else. This is my first encounter with Cohen's writings, I am only familiar with his music and not even much of it. The take seemed interesting at first, but it got quite repetitive and bland for me. When it comes to poetry I am willing to take a lot with a grain of salt in consideration of different styles and perspectives, but oh dear could I not push myself to keep reading this. At some point it felt like an offence to my inner voice to have it keep echoing these words into my brain. I'm sorry if this is too harsh, I'm sure many people are fans of this book and if you like it there's nothing wrong with you or your tastes, but if you're more into structured poetry, or poetry with many visual, lyrical, philosophical and sentimental elements like myself I doubt you'd enjoy this. Something about it falls very flat and is almost suffocating in its emptiness and refusal to be more. I found myself grasping at straws; a single metaphor, a play on words a n y t h i n g just to have a reason to keep reading. Reading poetry has been and always should be, in my opinion, a seamless experience that intrigues the mind and touches the heart and that book sadly fails to do either.

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve spent pretty much my whole life reading Cohen, but until recently some of the books had been harder to find. This one dates from 1964 and seems the beginning of a schism between the earlier, flowery poetry of Mythologies and Spice-Box and a later, sparer style dealing with uglier images and ideas.

Over time Cohen lost his habit of stacking busy and sometimes metaphor-stretching images on top of one another, and I’m glad for that. Too many of these poems are undone by long, surreal metaphors that begin to seem cliched in their thickly layered surreality. The sparser ones, however, are stunning. It seems like you can read him developing the particular power of restraint. This was obviously an important step in his voice becoming what it would remain. So I certainly didn’t hate it but I’ve become so habituated to the lifetime-Cohen voice that the youthfulness in display here seems composed mostly of bad habits he’s slowly discarding.

[Aaronlisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always try to take my time when reading poetry as I find it's a disservice to race through the book. I like to let the poems sink in and to think about them before I going to the next. That said, I am never quite sure how to rate a collection of poems. On the basis of each individual poem or how I felt about the book overall. I did find in comparison to his first two books of poem, that I liked the overall collection more than the individual poems. That said, there were also more poems that had more of an impact on me.

I will also say that the poems in this book felt more cynical that the poems in the first two books. That's not to say that the first two books were more idealistic or naive. And none of the topics in this book are new to Cohen either. But there is something that's just a shade darker than his first two collections of poems.

[Madison McSweeney · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you know Leonard Cohen for his eloquent, often sparse song lyrics, you may be surprised at some of the content in his 1964 collection. Equal parts profound and glib, the poems in this book are rife with bizarre imagery and surreal, often rambling verse.

Cohen weaves together reflections of love and life, opaque political commentary, and Canadian in-jokes; there's even a very weird one-act play about body image. All in all, it's a fitting showcase for the iconic poet, showcasing not just his lyrical skill but also the underrated strangeness of his artistic vision. A must-read for Cohen fans.Flowers for Hitler

[Mike Futcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flowers for Hitler is not one of Leonard Cohen's strongest poetry collections. An early attempt to develop a thematic through-line of irreverence towards historical horrors such as the Holocaust and Hiroshima seems to be abandoned, and when it is it can be hard to jump from one loose, experimental poem to the next. The book has some good lines in isolation and a few strong poems, but these are the ones regularly plucked for Cohen's later 'greatest hits' selections such as Stranger Music. There's little left behind to make Flowers for Hitler an appealing prospect for anyone other than a Cohen completist.

[Jorge Camacho · Rating 2 out of 5]

He leído unos cuantos poemas pero no me convence... Mejor escuchar sus canciones y olvidarse de este libro publicado en 1964. Eso sí, me quedo con dos recomendaciones de la solapa, la antología de Adonis y la de poetas prostitutas chinas.
Por otra parte...: “At a performance in Tel Aviv in 1980, Cohen said he wrote “Lover Come Back to Me” inspired “by the grace and the bravery of many Israeli soldiers at the front” during the war of Yom Kippur." http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/cu...

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing Cohen wrote was a wasted word, let alone thought. Leonard Cohen can easily be ranked as both a musician and a Beat Poet, because topically, rhythmically, and aesthetically equals the works of Ferlinghetti (who did not consider himself a Beat, but most certainly wrote in the same paradigm as the Beats), Edson, Ginsburg, and Kerouac. This book finds Leonard Cohen at the height of his prowess, if there could be said to actually be a height. He was a reasonably consistently brilliant writer.

[Paul Lindstrom · Rating 2 out of 5]

As much as I love the lyrics in Leonard Cohen's songs, I struggled with this book. There are perhaps 3-4 poems I like, but most of them are completely impossible for me to understand and so difficult to like. Most of the time he seems set on to be completely different to any other poet, no matter the price.

[Gonzalo Oyanedel · Rating 3 out of 5]

La poesía de Leonard Cohen ha sido el motor e su producción. Amor, soledad y política se presentan vez tras vez en otro trabajo que resume muy bien las obsesiones del canadiense.

[Rebecca Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixture of gems and period pieces. I read it to learn more about Cohen's response to Primo Levi's work.

[Wardah Beg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four starts for that play toward the end. I mean, wow.

[Allegria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant but dark

[Merenwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit more approachable than The Energy of Slaves was.

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A selection of poetry by Leonard Cohen. I rather enjoyed some of the poems in this book. He comes up with some interesting dialogues.

[quim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rust rust rust/in the engines of love and time

[Fi]

a lot of it goes over my head but man i love how this dude puts words together