The Leonard Cohen Files Presents:

BLACKENING PAGES



Photo © 2006 Lorca Cohen


Poetry and Art from the scrapbooks
...directly from Leonard Cohen

In Spring 1997 Leonard Cohen, or Jikan - as the other monks at the Zen Center of Mount Baldy near Los Angeles used to call him - started to contribute to The Leonard Cohen Files with colour copies of sketches, paintings, drawings and computer art taken from his numerous scrapbooks. Cohen also gave his permission to show any of these on the pages of this "Blackening Pages" section. Several works of art have never before been seen in public.

He wrote: I want to send, among other things, the first manuscript scratchings for Suzanne and other early songs. I'd like to make the process clear, or at least throw some light on the mysterious activity of writing.

Later we have received more unique contributions from Leonard: a number of previously unpublished poems written on Mt. Baldy, Mumbai, Los Angeles, and Montreal.

Many of these poems were later printed in Book Of Longing, a collection of 167 new poems and more than 40 line drawings and colour art, published in Spring 2006.


New Songs

A Thousand Kisses Deep

New Poems

The year indicates when the poem
was posted on the Blackening Pages


1997:

The party was over then too
Love Itself - for L.W.
Not A Jew
Seisen Is Dancing
To A Young Nun
You Are Right, Sahara
Sorrows Of The Elderly

1998:

The Goal
Never Expected
Book Of Longing
Roshi at 89
From The Book of Blue Coffee: Better
The Drunkard Becomes Gender-Free

1999:

Roshi
S.O.S
Religious Statues
Mt. Baldy Monks
The Best
Not So Friendly
You Have Loved Enough
Alexandra Leaving
Because Of A Few Songs
A Promise

2000:

The Correct Attitude
Mercy Returns Me
The Sweetest Little Song
Good Advice For Someone Like Me
The Moon

2001:

Thousands
A Life Of Errands
Hospitality
The Flood
Looking Away

2002:

This Isn't China
The Road Is Too Long
No Middleman

2003:

It Seemed The Better Way

2005:

Never Mind
When I Went Out
Go Little Book

2006:

Dear Roshi

2007:

If there were no paintings


Drawings and Paintings

Rays of Life
Page 48
Marianne
The Naked
The Easy chair
Woman in red
The Grecian
One Of Those Days
Jikan
The Horse
The Holy Spirit
My Mother's Last Hand
Montreal Woman, Early Eighties
"Lorca's Ear"
The Inner Sweetness
Father Teresa
Inner Peace & Harmony
Too Tough
The Guardian Angel
Leonard's Decision
We Are Not Convinced
Previous Existence
Looking Good
Off Balance
Mysterious Imprecision
Follow Me
My Guitar
Sit Still

Computer Art

Father Cohen loves us all
The Mirror
Perla
Julie
Angry at 11 pm
The Collapse of Zen
Still Life Studio
Self-portrait 1991
Norris danced for the Greek sailors
Happy At Last

Notes and drafts from Old Scrapbooks

Hotel de France, 1968
Suzanne
Joan of Arc
The Old Revolution
The Stranger Song
Hallelujah
A Note to the Reader

Special Features

Self-portrait for Halloween 1994
Alternative covers for Ten New Songs
Album cover for NEeMA

2011:

The Muse of the Laboratory
The Grim Days

2013:

Portrait of Eric Lerner

2014:

Homage to Morente

2015:

Homage to Morten Rosengarten

2016:

Happens to the Heart









All poems, drawings, paintings and computer art in this section:
© 1997-2016 by Leonard Cohen.
Reprinted here with Leonard Cohen's special permission.


Photo © Lorca Cohen. Los Angeles 2006. All rights reserved




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