Leonard Cohen: Novelist, poet, singer and, if you are under 25, hero.
I like all the wrong things about “Cohen Becomes Hero” by Sharon Brown, published in the January 14, 1968 Chevron, the official newspaper published by the Federation of Students at the University of Waterloo (Waterloo, Ontario). I like the ardent tone in which pronouncements are made in lieu of factual support, I like the the writer referring to Leonard Cohen as “Leonard,” I like that Leonard Cohen is characterized as being “different from any other hero” because “he’s beautiful, for one thing, and he projects himself in a very intimate way.” Heck, I even like the typo: “his singing … is often simply a momotone.” [emphasis mine]
Regardless, as a Lenny-come-lately who didn’t recognize the qualities of and value afforded by the the Canadian singer-songwriter until I was in my mid-fifties, I found it intriguing to read what someone in my cohort1 who proved a much more accurate prognosticator than I, and I thought others might find it interesting as well. (click the scanned article below to enlarge)
Note: Leonard Cohen’s role i the movie to which the article refers, The Ernie Game, was featured in Leonard Cohen In 1967 Movie – The Ernie Game.
- In 1968, when this article was written, I was a freshman at Oklahoma Christian College, which was, serendipitously, where I first heard “Suzanne” playing on a roommate’s tape deck. I didn’t care for it. [↩]
