Why was Leonard Cohen trending on Twitter? One click and I had the sad answer to that question. The Montreal-born international icon of poetry and song had passed away at the age of 82.
The news of his passing was greeted with shock and disbelief around the world. We really did think he was going to live forever. He may not have, but his dark and personal poetry and his unforgettable music will certainly be eternal.
Cohen’s appeal certainly spanned the generations. When I was in high school, I remember going downtown to the Paragraphe bookstore to discreetly leaf through his novel Beautiful Losers which was described as both mystical and profane, poetic and obscene.
Years later, I would see him on cold winter nights hanging out with close friends near the fireplace in the couch-filled back room of the Night Magic bar on St. Paul Street in Old Montreal.
Exactly 35 years ago today, I wrote about poet Irving Layton speaking to a standing room crowd at the Segal Centre which was then known as the Saidye Bronfman Centre. While many pushed and shoved to get in, one person stayed discreetly in the lobby. Cohen, a man not given to dressing up, was wearing dark pinstripe pants and a navy blue trenchcoat. He went almost completely unrecognized and tried to conceal a smile as Layton referred to “my best friend the poet Leonard Cohen who is a genius.”
That was in 1981. More recently, in 2012, I went to see him live in concert at the Bell Centre and it was the best concert I had ever attended in my entire life. I am not saying that because he passed away. I am saying that because it is true.
I don’t attend concerts by artists who have a hit or two. When I attend concerts, I will enjoy many of the songs performed but not all of them, Except for that Leonard Cohen concert where I was entranced and transfixed by every song bar none. From the first note to the last, it was a perfect night of music and poetry delivered by an amazing soul who was eloquent and moving whether he spoke of beauty or decay.
When asked last year about his legacy Cohen said, “Legacy, I never thought that it would mean anything to me when I’m dead I’m going to be busy.”
I almost couldn’t make it to that great concert in 2012. I am glad I did.