Strange radio interview with Cohen biographer

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Hartmut
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Strange radio interview with Cohen biographer

Post by Hartmut »

I just heard a very strange radio interview with Cohen biographer Christof Graf. He blithely says that the song 'Suzanne' was written about Suzanne Elrod. And that Judy Collins wrote the tune for that song.

I don't want to quibble about details. And I know that it's always easy to make fun of other people's mistakes. But these two claims kind of threw me.

Graf also mentioned that Cohen had met Marianne Jensen for the first time at the Chelsea Hotel. I didn't know that. Is that a well known fact for everybody but me?

Hartmut


Here you can listen to the interview (in German language):
http://www.ardmediathek.de/ard/servlet/ ... Id=3958628
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LisaLCFan
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Re: Strange radio interview with Cohen biographer

Post by LisaLCFan »

Hartmut wrote:I don't want to quibble about details.
I think that you have very reasonable grounds to quibble! Leonard Cohen has repeatedly said that "Suzanne" was NOT about Ms. Elrod, but rather, about the wife of a friend of his. And, I do not think that there is any doubt that LC wrote the tune (which he sang over the phone to Judy Collins! This has been well-documented.).

I am also very certain that Leonard first met Marianne in Hydra, based on everything that I have ever heard/read about them.

Mr. Graf seems to have got some very basic facts wrong (which makes one wonder what else he may have got wrong!). Has he actually written a biography of LC? :roll:

Lisa
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Hartmut
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Re: Strange radio interview with Cohen biographer

Post by Hartmut »

Hi Lisa,

Thank you for confirming the facts as I knew them. :-) Listening to the interview, I felt as if trapped in an alternate reality.
Has he actually written a biography of LC?
Yes, several, apparently. Maybe he just had a bad day when he gave that radio interview. Has anybody read his books and can comment on whether they are less ... confused about elementary facts?

Hartmut
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leonardmtl
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Re: Strange radio interview with Cohen biographer

Post by leonardmtl »

Sometimes it is just too much "grape from the vine"

Leonard from Montreal
We're all on one road....we're only passing through....

1967 Montreal / 2008 Toronto/ 2009 New York Beacon /Boston 2x /New York MSG / Chelsea Hotel Plaque Celebration /San Jose / 2010 Las Vegas 2x / 2012 Montreal 2x /Boston 2x
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jarkko
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Re: Strange radio interview with Cohen biographer

Post by jarkko »

Has he actually written a biography of LC?
Christof Graf has written no less than four biographies of/books about Leonard:

So long Leonard, 1990, www.leonardcohenfiles.com/book2.html
Partisan der Liebe, 1996, www.leonardcohenfiles.com/book17.html
Songs of a Life, 2002, www.leonardcohenfiles.com/graf-02.html
Titan der Liebe, 2008, www.leonardcohenfiles.com/titan.html
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denise knowles
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Re: Strange radio interview with Cohen biographer

Post by denise knowles »

Leonard, himself said, he first saw Marrianne walking arm in arm with her husband, along the harbour front, on Hydra.

Denise
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jarkko
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Re: Strange radio interview with Cohen biographer

Post by jarkko »

There is no doubt that Leonard met Marianne on Hydra!
http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/marianne2006.html
Marianne tells the complete story in her book
http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/ihlen.html


Image
The same with Suzanne - Suzanne of the song is Suzanne Verdal,
not Suzanne Elrod who is the mother of Adam and Lorca.
Read http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/verdal.html

Christof -- who has written FIVE, not four, books about Leonard
(the 5th is Eine Hommage, http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/book18.html )
if anybody should know these basic facts!
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Hartmut
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Re: Strange radio interview with Cohen biographer

Post by Hartmut »

Christof -- who has written FIVE, not four, books about Leonard
if anybody should know these basic facts!
One should think so, yes. - Maybe he was pulling a prank on the interviewer.
Christiane
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Re: Strange radio interview with Cohen biographer

Post by Christiane »

Hi Hartmut,

I've just listened to the radio interview with Christof Graf and nearly all the facts or stories
Graf talks about are wrong or at least not quite correct.
He says, for example, that Cohen wrote "6 or 7 books", and he describes "Beautiful Losers"
as a book of poetry!
Every single fan knows more about LC than Mr. Graf.
I've read three of Graf's books - always in the vain hope to learn something new about LC:
1. "So long, Leonard" from 1990:
A very thin book, consisting of a short biography, some song texts and poems, two
interviews and a lot of photos.
2. "Songs of a Life" from 2002:
This book starts with an interview in 2001 when LC was on a promotion tour for his
"Ten New Songs"; then 270 pages follow with LC's lyrics (English + German) from
all his albums.
3. "LC - Titan der Worte" from 2010 (by the way - a titan is not a positive figure):
This book starts with an "interview that never took place".
The main part contains a lot of stories you can find in other books or articles in the
files. I looked up the story about Suzanne and in the book he got the names right.
Has Mr. Graf forgotten what he wrote in his own book, although the radio interview
was just one week after the publication ?
"Titan der Worte" is an absolutely superficial book where, as a very old fan, I couldn't
find any new information let alone an approach to LC's fascinating personality.
Mr. Graf gives himself the image of being a friend of LC's, but for the biography
he didn't get an interview with LC or any of the people who are really close to him.
Even the Anthony Reynolds biography (full of mistakes as it is) contains more new
facts about LC than Graf's.
If LC could read Graf's books I'm convinced he would not have sent him a signed drawing.

So, Hartmut, do not buy "Titan der Worte". The 33 euros I paid were far too
much for this completely uninteresting book.
The best biography by far still is Ira Nadel's.

Greetings,
Christiane
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Hartmut
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Re: Strange radio interview with Cohen biographer

Post by Hartmut »

Hi Christiane,

Thank you for confirming my impressions of that interview.

And thank you even more for your summary of the books. I was really curious to hear from someone who has actually read them. It's a shame that they apparently are not as good as one would hope them to be.

Still, we should not be too hard on Mr. Graf. He seems to be a good guy with lots of real enthusiasm for Leonard's work. And I certainly can understand if one gets a little bit nervous during a radio interview and in the heat of the moment confuses some things.

Bye,
Hartmut
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