Leonard Interview on R4

[Calli]

The story of the love affair between poet and singer Leonard Cohen and Marianne Ihlen, the beautiful wife of a Norwegian novelist. The two met on the Greek island of Hydra in 1960. Their romance and eventual separation is immortalised in one of Cohen's earliest and best known songs, So Long, Marianne.

Now 45 years later, Cohen has talked to Norwegian Radio about the song, and earlier this year Marianne spoke for the first time in English about her role as muse.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/pip/fns8i/

[Kit Kat]

That should be good.

Thanks for the link.

[Calli]

It is a brilliant interview and an amazing insight from Marrianne as well

[Rodin]

Mr Cohen has always denied an affair with Suzanne but Marianne reveals she (S) was her replacement.
Interesting.

[Red Poppy]

I thought she was extremely forthcoming and open about the details. I thought he was much more circumspect but it's a lovely vignette. And everytime his ( or Lorca's or the neigbourhood?) dog barked, my dog barked back at the radio.
Communication
She reads beautifully.
"He's quite a poet, hmmm," she says. Nice one!
And her singing is interesting, too.
Well worth a listen.

[AvidCohenFan]

Missed it! Is there going to be a repeat of it any time soon?

[Rodin]

it's on iplayer now but if anyone wants to stick it on a share site ?

[HarryS]

This will get it -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/pip/fns8i/

[Gregor]

Like all interviews by Leonard very personal and yes in this one he really do show that he did fall in love with this as he said himself a beautiful woman . During the inview there are dogs in the background. "thank you Marianne for helping me to write so sad " she takes that as a complement He was with her in the sixties and then he was also a lady's man and they had a good union,he calls her Mar-ie -anne, they met in a grocery store and as they say the rest was history he thought her a lot of living The most beautiful woman he ever met -she had a lack of confidence at 45 she was modest and liked her bare feet and taste of the fruits of Baccuss
The song about her was a showing of his deep love of her he is still The Lady's man follow on from that then come Bird on a wire again for Marianne
He is for Her but she did not really want to give him what he wanted -her decision -to leave him. Parting is such sorrow Now she is comming back ????

G

[Red Poppy]

She's singing with him at the Point on New Year's Eve

[Bela]

I found it very interesting and deeply depressing.

[Rodin]

I found it hilarious.
Len is a love god.

[Bela]

I'm deleting my post. Didn't realize whom I was talking to.

[Rodin]

Don't be such a misery.
Women love men like Len.

[Red Poppy]

Bela,
I'm lost on this one. Thanks for the Serge Reggiani link. Would have PMd you about it but you don't appear to have a PM?