leonardcohenforum.com

Hi all, in this section I'd like us to discuss the center topic of Love and Longing in Leonard Cohens poetry. For now, I just start the topic to have it right opened.
Just to name a song that will be good to look at closely: Suzanne, naturally. But we might as well find out something in Beautyful Losers.
See you tomorrow.
M.M.

Hi MM ~

No one's responded yet to any of your three threads . That's given me a couple thoughts. I know I felt overwhelmed seeing three, major areas of examination appear at once. So, I'm wondering, just wondering, if it might help to shelve the other two for now... copy-pasting your thread titles and initial intro into Word or an email to yourself, for accessing later... and just delete the other two for now. We're still trying to complete our study of Book of Longing and that's lagging a bit... so, hopefully, we'll continue on with that, as well.

Of course, going through Leonard's work will bring examples and thoughts on the other two categories, but to really look closely at them, it feels to me that it might not feel so overwhelming if we begin with just one. What do you think? [Guess which one my preference would be ... uhm, might there be a clue or two?]

My other thought is that since you've initiated the idea, it might be good if you also offered some of your own input first vs. putting it out there for others to begin.

Just some thoughts for consideration... .


~ Lizzy

Thanks for your reply, Lizzy,
well, I also had thought about starting one topic after another. But, I had the Idea, if I'd start about any of them, it might be no problem if the topic remains for a while on the site even if no one has anything to say right now. If there are ideas which could be fitting in one of the three, why not leaving them in the opened topic for a while, I will regularly be with you.
No Problem, I am not in a hurry to "sort things out" and have a fast result. This is to be like a slow discussion, remaining for any time needed. Thoughts never come to you on command - nor do they come to me like that .
Also I have got to read through all you in the forum have contributed, and this might take quite a time, and I am thinking of concntrating all the opinions I find, do some summary or so, add my own thoughts (which will surely come when doing what I intend to do), and then thing will go on.
Bye for now, I shall come back soon.
Mad Musicologist

Okay, MM, that's fine, then. Good approach. Didn't want you/others to get discouraged with the lack of response. Your plan sounds like a good one... gathering past info and condensing it into one spot [these threads] for these purposes .


~ Lizzy

Hello dear friends,
as an old proverb says, the beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, and so it is with a lot of things that is essential for our life. It might be good if I try to express my thoughts about the words „love“, and „longing“.
Please allow me to expound on that by referring to another great poets thoughts about love – and friendship. I am recalling a thought of Bertold Brecht, who once stated he would like to argue against the common feeling that estimates love higher than friendship. He makes the point as such: What happens to loving people, when the desire will be finished, if their love is not based on a true friendship, wherein everybody can rely on the partner.
So, if we talk about love, we should not simply think about erotic feelings, but of people who have more in common: Love based on friendship. And even the longing must not necessarily be an erotic one. (It has taken me a long time to come to understand that, but at my age I should slowly start to sort thing out.) You can imagine the longing to be with a person and to share the thoughts and moods with her or him, free of any physical desire. Yes, that’s the other word: desire and longing are different.
Well, after those thoughts you are as well welcome to comment on them, as to refer on any piece of Leonard Cohens poetry.
Maybe, my first suggestion, to examine Suzanne here again (I shall read, of course, the other topics in this forum and the L.C.files/analysis, in the meantime), might make some sense.
And Beautyful Losers does have quite some passages which deal with this topic, too.
So please ...
Mad Musicologist