Brings to life a passionate poet-turned-musician and what compels him
and his work
Why is it that Leonard Cohen receives the sort of reverence we reserve
for a precious few living artists? Why are his songs, three or four
decades after their original release, suddenly gracing the charts,
blockbuster movie sound tracks, and television singing competitions? And
why is it that while most of his contemporaries are either long dead or
engaged in uninspired nostalgia tours, Cohen is at the peak of his
powers and popularity?
These are the questions at the heart of A Broken Hallelujah, a
meditation on the singer, his music, and the ideas and beliefs at its
core. Granted extraordinary access to Cohen's personal papers, Liel
Leibovitz examines the intricacies of the man whose performing career
began with a crippling bout of stage fright, yet who, only a few years
later, tamed a rowdy crowd on the Isle of Wight, preventing further
violence; the artist who had gone from a successful world tour and a
movie star girlfriend to a long residency in a remote Zen retreat; and
the rare spiritual seeker for whom the principles of traditional
Judaism, the tenets of Zen Buddhism, and the iconography of Christianity
all align. The portrait that emerges is that of an artist attuned to
notions of justice, lust, longing, loneliness, and redemption, and
possessing the sort of voice and vision commonly reserved only for the
prophets.
More than just an account of Cohen's life, A Broken Hallelujah is an
intimate look at the artist that is as emotionally astute as it is
philosophically observant. Delving into the sources and meaning of
Cohen's work, Leibovitz beautifully illuminates what Cohen is telling us
and why we listen so intensely.
