Death of a Lady's Man: A Collection of Poetry and Prose

by Leonard Cohen

A collection of poetry and prose interspersed with lyrics, discursive passages, and diary extracts from the legendary Canadian songwriter-poet First published in 1978, the theme of this insightful and moving poetry collection is love with all its dilemmas. It is largely autobiographical in tone, offering the reader insights into Cohen's private world. From the 1950s and 1960s onward, Cohen's mournful, thought-provoking lyrics and poems have formed the backdrop to the musings of generations; this reissue, following on the huge success of his 2009 concerts, extends the experience to yet more new readers.

Genres: Poetry, Canada, Music, Art, Canadian Literature, 20th Century

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

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

[Ulysse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ottanta

There was a man called Leonard Cohen
A mystical lover well-known
As a high priest of gloom
Occupying each room
Like an echo of rain in zen koans

A sinistra... / A destra...


.

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bought this at a festival before I became institutionalised.

[Eva · Rating 2 out of 5]

Either it wasn't very good or I didn't get it. Probably a combination of both. Either way, I didn't like it much. It was okay. There was a bit too much sex for sex's sake. Just vulgar mentions of it for no apparent reason. But that's just my opinion.

[Heval · Rating 2 out of 5]

Albumet är bra i alla fall…

[Paula Dembeck · Rating 2 out of 5]

First, let me admit to one thing: I am a Cohen fan although I admire his prose/poetry set to music more than his written word.
This largely autobiographical volume was first written in 1978, published in 1979, but reissued in 2010. Like much of his work it has the recurring themes of love, sex, religion and depression. In these pieces we see Cohen in his many guises: pop star, failed artist, revolutionary, husband and seeker of religion. Its main thrust is the failed relationship with his wife and the demise of his marriage which he characterizes as one that heals itself from petty arguments and constant bickering. Like any marriage it is in constant evolution as it is pummeled by Cohen’s constant womanizing, his self-absorption, his perception of personal failure, and his search for spiritual calm.

Initially I found this volume confusing and difficult to understand. What was going on here? These were prose poems, almost all followed by a commentary written several years later. In these follow up notes he criticizes, judges and evaluates the previous work with the same title, all from the perspective of a later self with the simple gift of time which provides a lens through which he sees things differently.
The commentaries frequently refer to notebooks and a finished but unpublished manuscript titled “Life in Art” from which many of the pieces appear to have been excerpted. Often the commentaries lead you to reread the poem with a different perspective and this is where the book for me was the most interesting and enjoyable.

Like much of Cohen’s work, these pieces can be provocative, perplexing and at times vulgar. This is not a quiet contented read. You must tolerate angry tirades and some obscenity. But if you push on, he does pull you in as you move from page to page, and as you get more settled with it, you become engaged with its questions, comments and challenges.

A different literary experience. Cohen is Cohen. You don’t always understand all of it, but if you get at least some of it, it gives you something to think about from this mournful introverted artist.

[David Hartzheim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wonder if the reason Leonard Cohen isn't taken more seriously in literary circles is because he's a musician or because he's a Canadian? Seriously, he is much better than he's given credit for by academia.

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's no one else like him. This collection of poems, prose poems and lyrics is an odd book in his oeuvre, but his unique sensibility is alive on every page. I was happy to find a couple of his books that I had not read. I was in the middle of this when he died recently.

[Pau · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t know what was the worst between the misogynistic I-hate-my-wife-I-cheat-on-my-wife I-have-to-use-the-word-cunt-as-many-times-as-possible poems or the annoying comments on said poems. rolled my eyes & sighed throughout most of this. men should not be allowed to write

[Jacob Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a beautiful, vulgar, haunting, and interesting 'conversation' to sit down and read. Cohen's poetry here isn't my usual cup of tea, but he did it very well. Enjoyed my time with this book.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Bring your heart back to its place. Here you are again, little priest. I touch you with a recollection of your grief. I give you the knowledge to distinguish between what is holy and what is common. This is your moment now."(p.15)

"I did not quarrel with my voices. I took it down out of the air. This is called work by those who know and should not be confused with an Eastern trance."(p.21)

"Puffed up with their power and secure in their deceit. They speak for us! They dare! They dare to speak for us! One day this will be over. The war against the poor. Our fury will unfurl. Our fury will uncoil."(p.24)

"I'll live to see a decent society built around this page."(p.24)

"if you are unskilled in the subtle transformative process of language, it is best not to write down your ugly thoughts."(p.37)

"It is to be a collection of energies, a ganglion of light and loving-kindness. It will be invisible but it will exist in the world."(p.57)

"I was never strong, I was merely frozen with my sunlight in the ice."(p.60)

"Without the Name the wind is a babble, the flowers are a jargon of longing."(p.63)

"A wave bends me over the blue table, and a dream of the mountain rolling down over the roofs and the daisies."(p.98)

"You have no form, you move among, yet do not move, the relics of exhausted thought of which you are not made, but which give world to you, who are of nothing made, nothing wrought. (p.100)
We have all appeared here together. Creation and menstruation, birth and the birth from which nothing appears, these are the awesome limits of our existence here. Also, nothing happens when you fuck yourself."(p.115)

"Body is holy
Mind is a toy"(p.135)

"I found one thing in you to praise and on this pebble I built my fortress of love."(p.146)

"But I need it to keep my different lives apart. Otherwise I will be crushed when they join, and I will end my life in art, which a terror will not let me do."(p.168)

"and look, dear heart, how the virgin
she takes him into her gown
and see how the stranger’s armour
dissolves like a star falling down"(p.195)

[Max Nemtsov · Rating 5 out of 5]

у этого человека прямая линия с господом богом - это становится предельно ясно по этой, едва ли не лучшей его книге, которая, говоря технически, не есть роман, но по сути - он. сложные отношения между я ("поэтом"), ею (не одной) и богом (а может, и нет). антифоном к текстам - голос "комментатора", который тоже я, и он добавляет лишнее измерение (не одно - и не лишнее) к собственно высказываниям. шедевр.

[Melting Uncle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to this book having listened to I think all of Leonard Cohen’s music but not having read barely any of his poetry or novels.

Browsing through Stranger Songs, a compendium of his lyrics and writing, I was struck by an except from this book: “Death to this book or fuck this book and fuck this marriage. Fuck the twenty-six letters of my cowardice.” etc. I was struck by the blend of hostility and humor not to mention the liberal use of the word “fuck” which I don’t think appears in any of Leonards’s songs. The fact that the book’s title alludes to the crazy Phil Spector-produced Cohen album that appeared around the same time further enticed me.

Death of a Lady’s Man keeps with the mood of the Ladies Man album and the previous one, New Skin For the Old Ceremony. It’s the 70’s Cohen spirit in literary form. At times it was laugh-out-loud crazy, other times enchanting and poetic, other times mundane.

Many styles contained in here, from prose poetry to carefully metered verse. Also, there’s an interesting conceit where each poem has a companion “commentary” piece which is often elliptical and sometimes vague in its relation to its companion piece. There are some entertaining anecdotes of Cohen’s time with Roshi at Mt. Baldy, which I previously associated more with Cohen’s 90’s retirement period.

I recommend Death of a Lady’s Man as a complement to Leonard Cohen’s music, especially if you like the 70’s albums.

A few favorite excerpts-

Your adventure is the glass bricks of sociology. (p.26)

I asked him if he had any news of Henrietta, an English inn-keeper of mutual acquaintance who had a sad reputation for biting into cocks. (p.88)

The room is below street level and I have just fouled my trousers for some odd nervous reason. (p.201)

I want to go back to bed and get inside her. That’s the only time there’s anything approaching peace. And when she sits on my face. When she lowers herself onto my mouth. This feels like doom. This is a pyramid on my chest. (p.192)

[🌶 peppersocks 🧦 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reflections and lessons learned:
“Needless to add, he hears a different drum”

This very much feels like an earlier piece of work, not quite as honed as the other two poetry books read before, but lots of common themes - mostly the feeling of adoration for intimacy and connections with friends and lovers. Plenty of rewrites/remoulded reflections, intriguingly one with the commentary that he was ‘weakened by zen meditation and a faultless woman’ - an odd considering the loving and living in most, but there are definitely the acerbic but true lines along the way that makes it the familiar yellow fingers with pencil and notebook reflecting on art

“Paragraphs that create the bonfire should also create the piss”

[Gaia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probabilmente sapendo di essere prevedibile, ha fatto di tutto per non esserlo e per non annoiare sé stesso e gli altri. E' contraddittoriamente stufo di sé stesso. Talvolta annoia, più spesso la sua stessa noia mette a disagio. Non sono sicura che sapesse quel che stava facendo, però lo fa bene. Vale la pena di arrivare alla fine, una liberazione inaspettata!

[Ava Jast · Rating 3 out of 5]

i read some of the poems in here was like “wow this is beautiful i love leonard cohen” and then i read others and was like “…him loving bukowski really adds up”

do with that what you will

[James Schlichter · Rating 5 out of 5]

As ever, not only is it how Cohen puts the words together or how the words he finds surprise, delight and engage, it is his struggles as artist, lover and family man that most appeal to me. Where he is brash, he is most fragile. Where tender, he is most brazen. This book is a battle between the worlds Cohen was always most divided between. In it, he wants to love honestly, legitimately as defined by a middle-class sensibility. But the artist in him reacts violently against anything which interferes with his carnal pursuit of the truth. It feels as though domesticity is a burden which distorts truth (as is the lust he so often at once heralds and then recoils). Death of a Lady's Man is a great chapter in the life of an artist whom never stopped trying to find that sweet spot where the wife (not lover) and kids, the home can live with the sensuality which is Cohen's true devotion: the words.

I found it a difficult book at first. Like a lot of poetry, one has to take the time to become accustomed to the language and give space to the themes as they unfold. His writing is so poetic, that I didn't gain a lot of insight into the background of a poem found opposite the poem itself. For, even those insights were in typical Cohen speak! He loves to play games with his readers and his idea of truth is often layers of riddles in which the revelation is distorted. He is almost incapable of a straightforward sentence or phrase. But that is not important. Once one is able to give themselves over to the game, it's a lot of fun to try and figure out where the truth might lie in his words.

[Dane Cobain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Death of a Lady's Man, which shouldn't be confused with Cohen's similarly-titled album 'Death of a Ladies Man', is an intriguing collection of the poet and musician's poetry and prose. But first, let's look at the naming - I was always wanted to read the book because I liked the album, even though I know that the two don't necessarily correlate. I find it interesting how the two phrases have such different meanings, but then I am a language geek. Make of it what you will.

Cohen's wit is as clear cut as ever, but the collection somehow seems to lack the finesse of some of his later work - perhaps that's because of my own high expectations, but I found it to be put-downable, at least occasionally. Still, any work from Cohen is a good thing, and I'd be all for reading it again, if I ever read my books again.

If you're a newcomer to the work of Leonard Cohen, then try Book of Longing instead - otherwise, proceed and enjoy, and get reacquainted with the legendary Leonard Cohen that we all know and love so well. Just try and enjoy yourself.

[Bradley Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 1978, this volume is a collection of poems and musings written from the late 60s through 1978. He includes poems, stream of consciousness writings, and additional poet notes or comments that add additional lines or context to the original piece. If you know Cohen, you know he only writes about two things: sex and religion or the combination of the combination of the too. That’s a very simplistic way to ignores the nuance that Cohen applies to his writings, but it is true. Other than his novel, this is the earliest publication of Cohen’s that I have read. I’m a huge fan of “Book of Longing” from 2006, but that has a much older and calmer feel. This collection had a lot of angst, anger, and anxiety and often contained really explicit and violent terms. Still, it was a nice read as I sipped my evening tea.

[Nikki Norell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jag ger upp i förtid. Det krävs nog en särskild sorts Cohen-fan för att uppskatta boken. Först en dikt eller text, därefter vad som verkar vara någon oberoendes analys (fast egentligen LC själv?) och ibland en tredje analys på köpet. För att sammanfatta det hela väldigt kort: olyckliga äktenskap, en massa kvinnor, en miserabel tillvaro och en väldig massa hat mot kvinnor. Språket är bra och gripande men det känns som självplågeri. Bättre att lyssna på musiken.

[Ben Moore · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the seventh book I've read of Leonard Cohen's poetry, and it is, by far, the least enjoyable. I love the man's music and poetry, but this was an absolute slog. The only thing that kept me going was the fascination with the fact that he could have written such uninteresting poetry.

It's dull, fairly impenetrable, and rampantly sexist throughout in the nastiest, grimiest way. Very disappointing.

[Rosalía · Rating 4 out of 5]

“O sir, you were so beautiful as a woman. You were so beautiful as a song. You are so
ugly as a god.” (p18-19, THE CHANGE)

I love how he sings the women’s part concurrently “So your head upon my breast/so my hand upon your hair” in the album version. Every poem has another that argues with each other. “you continue to manifest as her absence” (p152). Love as creation and dissolution. Maybe i just loved the music more. True love leaves no traces if you and I are one.

[Ian Carpenter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Anyone else and I'd probably have abandoned it. The construct of it (paired pieces commenting on the poems they follow) was pleasingly inventive. But, I just didn't connect to much of any of it. There were a few gems, one that was just fantastic, but it's a rare Cohen read that didn't speak to me deeply.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating collection of poems and other writing, most of which are then commented on in a voice of antagonistic analysis. There are many echoes of Cohen's life and other work, and some of the pieces stride confidently over the border into the pretentious. Bitter humour, sex and G_d are the keynotes.

[petra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leonard Cohen was an ever-evolving thinker, and his unapologetically authentic, abrasive, and at times vulgar compilation of poems is a true reflection of this. Enjoy this book as a glimpse into his life at the time and the thoughts swirling inside his mind instead of as an accurate representation of his nature.

[I.D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very strange book with poems and mocking commentary about those poems, rants, short stories, limericks, and a general tone of antagonism. Not 100% sure how to feel, some was hilarious, some gross, some beautiful. Overall a very interesting and different read.

[Fionnbharr Rodgers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting collection, and quite different in tone from much of Cohen’s work. There’s a lot of anger and bitterness in some of these journal entries, but then accompanied by a hindsight journal piece which is more apologetic. All very Cohen, however.

[Jayden McComiskie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book.

The reader of this book thought it was a good book because it was a good book.

[Sierra · Rating 3 out of 5]

very sad sometimes, kinda cringe tho

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Maybe a 3.5)

[Astrik Eminian · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book changed how I view Leonard Cohen as a person. Not for the better. Extremely vulgar, sexist, and overall misanthropic. I love his music but his poetry is terrible.