The Marginalian
The Marginalian

Reads tagged with “Leonard Cohen”

The Balancing Monsters of Love: Leonard Cohen on What Makes a Saint
The Balancing Monsters of Love: Leonard Cohen on What Makes a Saint

On loving the world enough to surrender to the laws of gravity and chance.

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The Constitution of the Inner Country: Leonard Cohen on Language and the Poetry of Presence
The Constitution of the Inner Country: Leonard Cohen on Language and the Poetry of Presence

“The poem is nothing but information. It is the Constitution of the inner country.”

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Leonard Cohen on Moonlight, the Mystique of Creativity, His Influences, and Why He Loves It When People Cover His Songs
Leonard Cohen on Moonlight, the Mystique of Creativity, His Influences, and Why He Loves It When People Cover His Songs

“It’s also very difficult to untangle influences because you represent the sum of everything you’ve seen or heard or experienced.”

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Leonard Cohen and the Art of Stillness: Pico Iyer on What the Monastic Musician Taught Him About Presence
Leonard Cohen and the Art of Stillness: Pico Iyer on What the Monastic Musician Taught Him About Presence

“Going nowhere … isn’t about turning your back on the world; it’s about stepping away now and then so that you can see the world more clearly and love it more deeply.”

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Creativity at the End: Leonard Cohen on Preparing for Death
Creativity at the End: Leonard Cohen on Preparing for Death

On that singular moment at the end of life when all creative energy is concentrated and consecrated.

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Democracy: Neil Gaiman’s Transcendent Animated Tribute to Leonard Cohen, with Piano by Amanda Palmer
Democracy: Neil Gaiman’s Transcendent Animated Tribute to Leonard Cohen, with Piano by Amanda Palmer

“…the heart has got to open in a fundamental way.”

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There Is a Crack in Everything, That’s How the Light Gets In: Leonard Cohen on Democracy and Its Redemptions
There Is a Crack in Everything, That’s How the Light Gets In: Leonard Cohen on Democracy and Its Redemptions

A generous reminder that we must aim for “a revelation in the heart rather than a confrontation or a call-to-arms or a defense.”

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Leonard Cohen on Creativity, Work Ethic, and Why You Should Never Quit Before You Know What It Is You’re Quitting
Leonard Cohen on Creativity, Work Ethic, and Why You Should Never Quit Before You Know What It Is You’re Quitting

“The cutting of the gem has to be finished before you can see whether it shines.”

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