Leonard Cohen on Leonard Cohen: Interviews and Encounters (Musicians in Their Own Words)

If you are a Leonard Cohen lover, this is the DEFINITIVE book on the poet/singer/songwriter: Leonard Cohen. The book is edited skillfully and meticulously by Jeff Burger (who has also edited "Springsteen on Springsteen" and 'Lennon on Lennon"). In "Leonard Cohen by Leonard Cohen," Burger compiles every written and/or spoken word ever made public by the poet/singer/songwriter, and arranges them in chronological order so we can follow Cohen's transformation through the decades. I particularly love the ending to editor Burger's preface: "As I write this, he is 79 years old, and I know he can't go on forever. But as he sings, "You'll be hearing from me baby/long after I'm gone/I'll be speaking to you sweetly, from a window in the Tower of Song."

Oh my God! Leonard Cohen is so poetic and surreal. So philosophical and smooth talking. I will be read this book over and over again. Just love it. Anyone who has listened to his music must buy this book. It gives you a peek inside the man; the artist, singer and poet.

I thought after reading as many books on leonard cohen as I could I knew just about everything about him but after reading this book I realized there was quite a lot more. I really enjoyed the insight this book offered into leonard cohens writing processes and styles and what influences he has and what has made him the writer, poet and song writer that he is today. There are a lot of great interviews here and this book is an absolute must for leonard cohen fans.

How does he know these things?? How did he get this perspective??if you have ears to hear what is being said in these interviews it is as great a living teaching as exists ...so human so giving so humble...it's as if he has none of the filters that everyone else has so he able to answer directly without agenda...sure he opened his heart a little...it's one of the damnest documents I've ever read......repetition??....you missed it...read it again with the insulted self turned off and you will learn what it means to be a human being ...I went and pulled out my old copies of shambala sun and tricycle magazine ...pico Iyer did a great piece...

There's nothing wrong with the book. The subject repeated himself frequently. Since I am roughly his age, I can appreciate how that happens, especially when questions come up about 2 or 3 decades ago as it differs from yesterday or last week. The collection of material is extensive, obviously reflecting a real respect for Cohen's work.

This book is laid out in strict chronological order. This timeline gives the reader a good perspective on the world Cohen lived in. Burger did a good job of choosing interviews by interviewers that let the reader see all of Cohen, the frightened sufferer of depression as well as the adept writer and, after the depression lifts, an emancipated performer. Cohen famous pauses come through in many of these interviews. I found myself considering the fine, yet oh so blurred , line separating the person from the persona that is forced upon people who have public lives. I certainly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in researching Cohen or just wanting a look back at his life.

Gave this gift to my sister who is a big fan of Cohen's. She is enjoying the book and often fills me in on some of his amazing, insightful quotes that he has said over many years. This is a book that gives the most benefit by not reading from front to cover; rather, pick it up and get an occasional "gem" from the master poet himself.

A collection that u can pick up and put down for the next year or more! It's all things leonard, so they say BY the master! I'm on it! When i was down and out he was all I had and his words sooth me and have the power to provide mighty bits of pick me up during a bad day.

I hadn't paid too much attention when asking for this as a Christmas present, but thought a series of interviews could be just as interesting as a biography. From what I've read, he remains charming, thoughtful and interesting throughout. My issue is with some of the interviewers, rather than the great man, and it's in part because he preferred them to have something at stake too - in other words that an interview be more of a conversation than a series of questions.I can understand a degree of the star-struck in conversing with Cohen, but found myself distracted from the book by some of them. A few are desperately earnest and try very hard indeed to show that they are one of the few who genuinely understand our hero. A few are plain irritating. One rather cheaply dismisses the majority of the artists who contributed to 'I'm Your Fan' (Pixies, REM, That Petrol Emotion etc) as 'new wave losers'. Another is so at pains to stress her superiority among a group of interviewers ('she alone' has two Lit. degrees, studied with X, was a published poet herself, starts a paragraph with 'If you know your Plutarch) that I could barely stand to read her words.You may feel differently, as many others seem to, but the book is just a little spoiled by these few for me.

Its a great book for those that like to read short "blocks" at a time. It gives a great insight into the mind of Leonard whose books I read as a student and whose music I have loved for over 40 years.

Please everyone who is a fan of LEONARD,buy this book.Many pages,a long read and worth every penny.DO NOT MISS THE CHANCE TO GET THIS BOOK.

a gorgeous book to revisit over and over for moments of intimate reflection, eloquence, profundity and a lovely map of how a soul evolves over the course of a beautiful life. i treasure this book and have gifted it to many friends.

A must for Mr Cohen fans.