Customer Reviews

Stranger Music

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One of my top gift items: Turn people on to this book. It is a terrific, full anthology that includes much out-of-print material. The poetry is stylistically wide in scope (from how-did-he-do that perfect to sparse, intense, free-verse); it has unique, emotionally-driven language choices, rhythm and content. Its tenor is lugubrious, and its subject matter tends toward sex and religion.

This, as opposed to his individual books of poetry: The individual books are typically short and some are wonderful -- each is very different, thus liked by different tastes. If you don't own any Cohen books, buy this first -- it's got great poems (plus clips of prose, as from "Beautiful Losers"). The chapters are laid out by book and album title (lyrics are here, too); therefore, if/when you want another book after, you will know which one. One thing I don't like about it is the change in poem titles from their originals.

This books ends when Cohen is in his 50's, at least in the previously unpublished poems at the end -- so, before the monastery part of his life, though religion is well part of him (he is Orthodox Jewish and views his Buddhism as compatible with his Judaism). I'm not much a fan of his post-monastery work, and if I have one regret it's that I discovered Leonard Cohen within the past ten years, and never got to see him live.

Know, too, that Cohen was a published poet--well-known in Canada--before he recorded music. He began to play guitar while reading poetry -- it went over well!

Even if you aren't familiar with Cohen as a musician, you've probably heard his music -- "Suzanne" (who "takes you down by her place near the river"), "Bird on a Wire," "Famous Blue Raincoat," "Joan of Ark." Rufus Wainright sang a haunting version of "Hallelujah" on the soundtrack of Schreck. John Cale did an earlier cover of "Hallelujah." I listened to Hallelujah over & over again, hitting the move back button on my CD player time after time. Later, I discovered that Hallelujah was penned by Leonard Cohen. Interesting -- I'd never heard of Leonard Cohen. Out of curiosity, I bought a couple of his CDs. I can't stop listening to them.

I bought this book because I wanted to see the lyrics written out (obviously, this is not an endorsement for the rather lame liner notes on the CDS I bought, which do not include lyrics). This treasure trove contains so much more here than the lyrics to the familiar songs. This isn't a feel-good collection; rather, it's a feel-alive collection, piercing and painful and brutal in its honesty. Cohen's poetry is perfect for when you want to crawl into yourself & wallow in introspection. This book contains 401 pages of poetry -- deeply spiritual, often sexual, sometimes funny, usually haunting. Most of the poems dig at your inner core, causing you to think. I am so amazed at the breadth of this man's talent, at his insight and intelligence and honesty. The poems are real rather than pretty, troubled rather than calm.

If you like Bob Dylan/Joan Baez type of music, you'll like Cohen's poetry. If you've read (and enjoyed) the poetry but haven't yet heard the music, do yourself a big favor and check out one of his CDs.

Leonard Cohen is... I cannot find a single word to describe him. He is enigmatic. He is eclectic. He is iconoclastic. He is all of these things, and many, many more. Read this book and you will understand. This book includes a wide variety of his poems throughout the years, including selections from all 8 of his original volumes of poetry (The Energy of Slaves and Death of A Lady's Man are particularly well represented), as well as poems from his first anthology, selections from his novel Beautiful Losers, and 11 previously unpublished poems. Also included are lyrics to songs from all of his wonderful albums, many of them nicely represented, including The Future, his most recent album, which has all of it's Cohen-penned lyrics included here. These are particularly convenient as Cohen's albums, sadly, have been virtually ignored by record companies and during their re-packaging onto CD most of them do not include lyrics. This is a monumental collection, over 400 pages and including several hundred poems, some of which are not available elsewhere, and almost all of which are very hard to find at any rate. This is an absolute must for a Leonard Cohen fan. He is perhaps my favorite poet, his words tug at your heartstrings like so many other poets are claimed to be able to do, but which few can. His writing has always been honest, he's not fooling anybody, and these poems and lyrics touch you deep in your soul. Cohen strikes a chord. This is masterly, masterly writing. If you are a fan of Leonard Cohen's music, then you owe it to yourself to further your experience by buying this book. I cannot give it a higher reccommendation.

As a man once said, "James Joyce is not dead. He's living in Montreal under the name of Leonard Cohen."

Stranger Music is an amazing book. I can't stress this enough, it's poetry in action and Cohen's words sing themselves off of the page and into your mind. This is the type of stuff that stays with you. This is the type of stuff that people can live their whole lives and only hope to write.

Stranger Music is an excellent book, even for people whom might otherwise be down on poetry.

Leonard Cohen is one of the best rock poets going. He has received less aclaim than some of the other rock poets like Jim Morrison, Lou Reed and Bob Dylan. That is really a shame because Cohen has produced a pretty extraordinary body of work.

He published his first volume of poetry in 1956. His first album of music came out in 1967. Stranger Music is a selection of poems and lyrics from his entire career. It provides 400 pages of material. One will quickly realize that Cohen has had an amazing career. I especially like the lyrics. "The Future" is a CD that seems to find its way into my player a lot. Even though, the lyrics are on the CD sleeve, it is nice to see them in a book. One will gain an appreciation for how poetic Cohen's lyrics are. (The same is true for Dylan. There is something special about great poetic lyrics getting placed in book form.)

This book also contains generous samplings of his early books like "Beautiful Losers" and "Flowers For Hitler". Cohen manages to straddle the line between emotional intensity and sheer intellectualism. This collection will allow one to examine a great, often time underlooked career. It is some of the best English language poetry of the 20th Century.

I had been introduced to Leonard Cohen in the late '80's through a high school boyfriend, and my roommate in college used to read his poetry when we had gatherings - when she read "Suzanne" aloud I realized for the first time how beautiful the lyrics were and, despite loving Cohen's music, I wanted to see more of his lyrics stripped bare so I could enjoy them on their own. I was in Austin on my birthday in th early 90's and was window-shopping the Tower Records on Guadelupe. Lo and behold, "Stanger Music" was on display. I remember it being expensive ( I was in college, $20.00 was a lot of money!) but heck, it was my birthday so I splurged. It's still one of my favorite gifts to myself and my all-time favorite book of poetry.

Cohen's writing reveals a lot of tenderness and soul while being very masculine. He writes about mundane things and makes them beautiful with his words, he observes everything with appreciation and is able to fully immerse himself in a moment - probably a quality honed during his monastic years. His poetry is very honest and unashamed, there is no fear of vulnerability. Some of it is deeply romantic and some is just downright sexy (but always tastefully so.) "My Room" is the most provocative two lines of poetry I've ever read. Truly amazing stuff, highly recommended.

That's all I can say about this book -- WOW. I'm sure a poet as brilliant as Leonard Cohen could phrase it better, but that's the most concise review I can give.
You're very aware as you read this book that you're discovered something special. And its all here -- the poems, the prose and the lyrics. Reading each poem or lyric is exhausting because it takes you on an emotional journey that stays with you long after you leave. Do youself a favour and discover Canada's best writer -- Leonard Cohen.

leonard cohen is one of canada's most lyric authors. his words are like honey for a sore throat. anyone who is willing to spend a little time with cohen is willing to learn about heartache, love and life. altogether an absolutely delicious read, although not a quick one.

Anyone in love with words will fall in love with this collection. Leonard Cohen has the ability to include the emotions of an entire relationship in an 8 line poem without being trite. He is adept at weaving words into shapes, colors, and black and white photographs that are both haunting and enchanting. This is a must read for any Cohen fan as it includes both classic favorites and unknown treasures.

More than once I've read poetry by favorite musicians and though, "Oh. Without music, this isn't very good." But Cohen was a writer first--the strength of his songs has always been the lyrics. This book is a collection of both poetry and lyrics (and a little poetic prose). It's vintage Cohen--dark and passionate and violent and melodramatic. It's about torrid love affairs and failed marriages and betrayal and war. If you like Cohen's lyrics, you'll like these poems, though you won't find any departures here.