simply leonard

Canada's poet and songwriter par excellence has apparently had his life savings more than decimated and is now sueing, and being sued by, his former financial managers. I hate stories like this, where hardworking people find they've been taken to the cleaners by the very people they've hired to protect themselves. Willie Nelson had his Grammys, and everything else, taken by the IRS because his financial managers forgot to pay his taxes. Even though Cohen appears to be pretty stoic and zen-like, it would be nice if he can retire as he deserves.

I was first introduced to Cohen in Grade 7 or 8, by a zealous, eager student teacher. You know, one of the kind who would come in for their week or two and try, and sometimes succeed, in overturning the whole curriculum and educational process with their revolutionary fervour. We were handed mimeographed copies (it was 1967) of these wicked verses of poetry that were as good as Dylan, were Canadian, and belonged to our time instead of to Dickens. And I love Dickens. But, oh, how I loved this Leonard Cohen.

I can't remember this young male student's name or what he looked like, only that he seemed to bound through the class with his enthusiasm. We began with "like a bird on the wire, like a drunk in an old midnight choir, I have tried in my way to be free." And then "Suzanne".

Years later, Nancy White, in coffeehouses, hilariously sang how "Leonard Cohen's never gonna bring my groceries in!", a housewife's lament of being cut off from the mysterious bohemian lifestyle Cohen seemed to represent.

Songwriter, singer, ladies' man, Jewish Buddhist monk and poet.

"Everybody knows that the dice are loaded. Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed. Everybody knows the war is over. Everybody knows the good guys lost. Everybody knows the fight was fixed: the poor stay poor, the rich get rich. That's how it goes. Everybody knows."