Leonard Cohen, Untold Stories: From This Broken Hill, Volume 2

by Michael Posner

The second volume of the extraordinary life of the great music and literary icon Leonard Cohen, in the words of those who knew him best.Poet, novelist, singer-songwriter, artist, prophet, icon—there has never been a figure like Leonard Cohen. He was a true giant in contemporary western culture, entertaining and inspiring the world with his work. From his groundbreaking and bestselling novels, The Favourite Game and Beautiful Losers, to timeless songs such as “Suzanne,” “Dance Me to the End of Love,” and “Hallelujah,” Cohen is one of the world’s most cherished artists. His death in 2016 was felt around the world by the many fans and followers who would miss his warmth, humour, intellect, and piercing insights. Leonard Cohen, Untold Stories chronicles the full breadth of his extraordinary life. This second of three volumes—From This Broken Hill—follows him from the conclusion of his first international music tour in 1971 as he continued to compose poetry, record music, and search for meaning into the late 1980s. The book explores his decade-long relationships with Suzanne Elrod, with whom he had two children, and various other numerous romantic partners, including the beginning of his long relationship with French photographer Dominique Issermann and, simultaneously, a five-year relationship with a woman never previously identified. It is a challenging time for Cohen. His personal life is in chaos and his career stumbles, so much so that his 1984 album, Various Positions, is rejected by Columbia Records, while other artistic endeavours fail to find an audience. However, this period also marks the start of his forty-year immersion in Zen Buddhism, which would connect him to the legendary Zen master Joshu Sasaki Roshi and inspire some of his most profound and enduring art. In From This Broken Hill, bestselling author and biographer Michael Posner draws on hundreds of interviews to reach beyond the Cohen of myth and reveal the unique, complex, and compelling figure of the real man. Honest and entertaining, this is a must-have book for any Cohen fan.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Music

475 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 2, 2021

Reviews

[Margaret Galbraith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant insight to this brilliant poet, writer and somewhat performer. I’ve seen him perform on stage 3 times in his life time. Once in his early days in Scotland twice much later here in Adelaide. The last concert was his last one here in a winery south of Adelaide. Many of us cried knowing that it would be his last. His power of words are sublime and each song touches your heart and lives on and on in the memories of when we first heard them and who we were with at each time. That for me is a brilliant performer and writer. RIP Leonard Cohen.

[Dennis Kenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

truly one of the most scandalous books i have ever read

[Céline Frenière · Rating 5 out of 5]

The much-anticipated book LEONARD COHEN UNTOLD STORIES: FROM THIS BROKEN HILL, VOLUME 2 by Michael Posner came out at the end of 2021 at the time my dear husband Peter died. Having now buried him and got over the shock of losing my old friend after spending 28-years together, I sat down last night and read Posner’s fascinating 463-page book in one sitting.

Some 45 years had elapsed since I first met Leonard in Los Angeles when Michael Posner approached me to recount my memories of him. My first concern was to find out about Posner to make sure that his book about Cohen would be a serious undertaking. It did not take long to figure out that Posner was an award-winning biographer and respected journalist.

One does not easily forget an involvement with the likes of Cohen. He was by all accounts a remarkable person but would I be able to do him justice by my recollections? Fortunately, just like Leonard, I kept everything. Each version of my novels and screenplays, articles, and copies of correspondence were stored in dusty boxes. The letters in particular were helpful. Some 25 of them I had written to Cohen over a period of one year from September 1977 to 1978 would trigger my memory as accurately as if it were yesterday.

So diligent was Posner in interrogating me that he could have made a brilliant prosecutor. It was, however, an excellent way of waking up the grey cells into remembering the slightest details. I could sense myself reverting back to being 27 years old, about to be made homeless in Los Angeles, financially insecure and ambitious to make it as a screenwriter when Leonard appeared into my life and lifted me above the mediocrity of my everyday existence. Leonard brought joy and laughter and love. All of a sudden, everything seemed possible. He could have been a guardian angel for all I cared.

I trust that each and every person Posner interviewed for this ambitious project of using direct quotes from those who knew Cohen well would have gone through the same treatment. Each statement provoked a question, and another, and then another until the essential truth could be harvested. Cohen was a complex person. It is taking three volumes to arrive at the essence of his character. Leonard was not perfect by any means, but in many ways, he was a blessing to those who would take the best of him and forgive the rest. That is what I did and, consequently, his influence was only positive. So much so, that in my novel Glastontown I created a character (Lee Jaccson) that spoke like him, behaved like him, and enchanted those who would enjoy his lighthearted company without taking him too seriously. Leonard would have been amused that Jaccson was a hardened, rebellious black youth with an IQ of 152.

Leonard Cohen untold stories would make necessary reading to those who admire his work as a poet and singer and those who are just curious about this strange, magnetic personality that few men or women could resist.

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unconventional biography of an artist, LEONARD COHEN, UNTOLD STORIES, involves author Michael Posner opting for direct quotes from myriad contemporaries with modest connective language between them. This book is something less than a biography and closer to an experiential collage. It is difficult to follow and absorb without a prior understanding of Cohen’s life. I had hoped to learn something more concrete about an artist I truly enjoy. I received my copy from the publisher through edelweiss.

[Kiof]

A biography heavily focused on the artist’s interpersonal relationships, with much less discussion of their actual artistic process. Even for the most prurient of readers, the discussion of Cohen’s ladies man act—the reports of its death in the seventies were greatly exaggerated—eventually grows tedious, then troublesome. For all his words about love, Cohen is frequently callous to his many lovers, on a few occasions to a bone chilling degree. (Two women report him, without warning, shoving his hand up their skirt during an initial meeting, and he slept with two fifteen year olds while in his late thirties.)

The lack of hero worship in this biography is a definite strength, especially compared to the biographies that came before it, even if it makes for difficult reading. Out of the many subjects interviewed for the book, those most skeptical of Cohen and his persona usually seem to be the most knowledgeable and trustworthy reporters of events. (Cohen’s close friend Barrie Wexler perhaps being the most perspicacious of Cohen watchers, yet despite his skepticism of the Cohen persona, Wexler still clearly remains fond of Cohen.) Those who met and knew the man briefly, for an afternoon or maybe a few weeks, are usually the most reverential and seem unable to see through the act and the artifice.

Those fans who believe in the myth of Saint Leonard (I think there are many fans who do) will face some serious cognitive dissonance, and, despite its veracity, may dismiss this book as a hatchet job. I for one appreciate the myth busting, yet I do wish Posner would have focused a little more on the art and a little less on the life. Here’s hoping Volume Three does that…

[I.D. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m torn on this book because while there are some interesting tidbits buried inside of the reams of conflicting interviews there are also some real head scratching inclusions of subjects and some glaring omissions. Not sure why anyone needs to hear from one of his stalkers who said a psychic told her they were married and thought Cohen was a CIA agent. (Clearly a reliable source…). Also the manager who stole all his money and had a restraining order against her? Seriously! Then no family, Dominique Isserman, Sharon Robinson, etc
But the biggest issue here beyond the unsubstantiated gossip put forward as fact (sleeping with underage girls) is that the book is way too obsessed with who he slept with when, how many times, in what position, etc. the actual work is barely mentioned but every weekend liaison is.
You could almost call this book a character assassination piece.
It doesn’t add much if you’ve read anything else and might actually make you not like him anymore.
I’ll still read book 3 though.

[Glenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Certainly an amazing period of LC’s life, but the theme felt repetitive and thus this volume was less interesting to read. If you’d like a full account of all the beauties in Leonard’s life - this is the book for you. Highlight was a brief examination of him writing/creating Hallelujah. Overall, love the series and looking forward to more nuance/depth as we enter the latter years of his life in Vol 3.

[Ann Diamond · Rating 2 out of 5]

Leonard Cohen, Fall Guy

doesn't really, and there is plenty of bias and covert editorializing in the margins and gutters.

Some of the people interviewed on Hydra actually shed light on a year in the life that has been omitted from the official biographies. Now I guess we'll have to wait for the full story to come put, piece by piece.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!! Just wow.. so much detail and many untold stories. Cannot wait for number 3!

[Noah M. Dauncey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I annotated this like it was a textbook and I'm a student.
Cohen is the blueprint.

[Bob Binns · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read # 3 first (it was a gift) and so I figured I'd try #2, then #1.
it's an ok way to do it, bit I still found myself wondering WHY do so may people revere this guy who only truly seems interested in people in a a very creepy/sexual way ... Yes he's a poet, a songwriter and a deep thinker - but this 'followes' are almost cultish about it all..He is as unlikable as he is likeable - but people can’t leave him

this volume again is told through many voices - those who were in/out of his various circles.his relationship with Suzanne dominate, along with many other women and the same guy friends - e.g. Wexler; his painful writing/editing processes and the chaos around making albums with him;

Zen Buddhism is becomming a large part of his life(style) with annula retreats and large parties of people atending.. I hope #1 gives me more to work with ! Like the why?

[CJM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exhaustive, fascinating, a must read for Cohen fans. This three volume biography will enhance anyone’s understanding of his oeuvre without setting biographical boundaries on the reader’s own interpretations of his work. On the darker side, it’s tough to hear about his relentless, pathological womanizing and the prevarication and psychological abuse inflicted on several of his paramours. But the work is greater than the man. It outlives him. Ultimately it’s the reader’s decision whether or not to love the art while hating— or at least having second thoughts—about the artist. In the meantime, these three books in my mind replace the fine but limited Sylvie Simmons bio of several years back, and while a more intensive and critical study of Cohen remains to be written, this set will satisfy any but the most cranky Cohenphile.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and utterly unputdownable.