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"Poetry has
traditionally been the locus for those The great argument: is a poem inherently political? Or does a poem with political intent cease to be poem? become rhetoric? In "The American Dream," language becomes a weapon, a stiletto of meaning to pierce the nonsensical rhetoric of politics, to unmask the cynical grab of advertising. Here, naked but knowing, words demand. Poetry has traditionally been the locus for those who have not been heard to speak, but who's been listening? But what if the poem could be heard, what if the single voice were suddenly powerful, not as a literary conceit, but as an actual tool for building a new society, a tool for a new patriotism? Not as a speaker's corner for the powerless loyal opposition, but as creator and visionary. And if the poem becomes such a tool, wouldn't this obviate its imaginative power, its anti-utilitarian purpose as the site where one can go to to get away from the world's madness? Can we live in a poem? Can a poem change the world? Now comes the redefinition of our nation. Because the poets will not answer the questions, but ask them, and it is us, the readers, who are charged, not with the passivity that TV has seemed to engender, but with a new activism. Welcome to the land where words not only say what they mean, but where the poets mean what they say. |
LISTEN TO THE SONG
Source: http://home.datacomm.ch/fchris/seiten/mp3.html
Pride & Joy SRV solo
acoustic from MTV's "Unplugged" 1990
24.09.01 03:08:24 (MEZ) 19.09.01 19:05:41 (MEZ) What are your ideas about the meaning of those lines? =============================================================== THE LYRICS of Leonard Cohen's song is great
because contained various But in principle had crystal clear
summarized that "Politics is a dirty The song indicates that there is danger in
politics if opposition come from It showed that when people are not given
chance to express their views could The song emphasised the importance of
"dialogue" in problem solving and As the song indicated, "revenge"
is paid by "revenge", hence as a result, if
"FIRST WE TAKE MANHATTAN" writer
is a great thinker, teacher, analyst and =============================================================== How do you explain the roots for the hate
which were caught in the cry =============================================================== He meant a mission that must be done at all
cost, even if it meant to A vital revenge believed to originate from
God, which could not be forgotten Briefly "Revenge" is the root. ============================================================= Almost 15 years later, what are your
reflections when you watch the Leonard Cohen's is a scientific politician
and linguist who proved to the Other reflections include the truth that
terrorism is very dangerous, hence Terrorism must be condemned worldwide,
because it claims lives of the The reflections also indicated that
military power have failed to stop Hence according to the song my reflections
on this issue, I think Leonard Reflections end by calling upon all the
world community regardless of =============================================================== What would be your message today as sort of
advice for both sides of ============================================================== For peaceful world, big powers and small
nations must respect each The habit of boasting with military/economic
power will not create a friendly Last but not least people in a given
community with different views in a The world should carry a research to know
why America is much followed by ================================================================ ... and there are more questions with
regard to the great argument: is a A poem is inherently political. Because it
talks about human life. While Thats why "Poem is inherently political" ================================================================ Or does a poem with political intent cease to be poem? The answer is a big NO. =============================================================== become rhetoric? The answer is again NO - poem is not
rhetoric as Leonard has =============================================================== Briefly these are my Observations or response to the Leonard Cohen's song. Lets continue net-working. Best Wishes Hamza K. 17.09.01 11:30:45 (MEZ) see the lyrics of "The Future" the title of the album "First we takeManhattan" is from... I've seen the future baby, it is murder!! Paul Francis Black 15.09.01 23:37:34 (MEZ) Perhaps you might send a copy of the lyric you are referring to with your request. I am not familiar with it. In any event, my message to people on the "frontlines" is likely to be the same: disarm and go back to your homes in peace. Rage is what got us to this point. More rage will simply make matters worse. Charlie 16.09.01 18:46:29 (MEZ) Yes, it sounds like the lyric is very high in coincidental "hits," but really... Too bad the last verse says "Father's Day" instead of "the anniversary of Camp David." It seems to me that the possible keys to what L. Cohen was thinking about are two: the sister, who appears to have had a bad New York experience, and the line of people in the station. Has anyone had any thoughts about those? And why Berlin, for pity's sake? (Answer: because it's poetry. ??) Your pal, Charlie Nostradamus
A further thought Hi, there. It also occurs to me that there
is a song, older than Quelle / Source: http://www.f25.parsimony.net/forum62399/
Als Antwort auf: Anschlag auf das World
Trade Center in New York City, 11.09.2001 I´ve seen the future brother, it is murder...... Cohen ist mein Begleiter in dieser
finsteren Zeit, wo die Doppelmoral regiert. Hass auf die Gier der Menschen das lebendige Leben zu vernichten.... Ich habe große Angst, Euer SilentObserver Quelle / Source: http://www.f25.parsimony.net/forum62399/
Hi, Grusz, Quelle / Source: http://www.f25.parsimony.net/forum62399/
eine dritte storyline wird die fassungslosigkeit sein, die mit dem heutigen tag, immer mit der Tragödie von Manhattan in Verbindung gebracht werden wird... sorry, dass ich nicht auf deine statements eingehe, aber auch ich bin angesichts dieser schrecklichen tragödie fassungslos. Quelle / Source: http://www.f25.parsimony.net/forum62399/
Hallo, Harald! Der Künstler hat jedenfalls Einflüsse,
die ich nicht kenne und nicht beurteilen kann. Also kann
das, was er erschafft, als Gefäß für fremde Gedanken
dienen.
|
Transcript
of BBC Radio 1 programme about Leonard Cohen
broadcast Sunday 7/8/94
Source: http://www.serve.com/cpage/LCohen/BBCshow.html
Leonard
Cohen:
I guess it's legitimate not
to like someone's work, but somehow those descriptions of my work
got into the computer, you know, there was "suicide",
or "bedsit", or "gloom", "depressive",
"melancholy", and every time they'd tap out my name
those descriptions would come up. You know, as though seriousness
had no place in song. The songs we love best are the sad songs.
THE
JEWISH BOOK NEWS INTERVIEW WITH LEONARD COHEN
By Arthur Kurzweil and Pamela
Roth / 1994
Source: http://www.serve.com/cpage/LCohen/interview.html
Kurzweil:
There is a line in one of
your other songs, "I'm the little Jew who wrote the Bible."
Cohen:
Exactly. You know that line
rose spontaneously, and I asked myself whether I wanted to keep
it there. But this is the way I feel.
Kurzweil:
When we thought about
inviting you to have this conversation and we chose your book to
be a selection in the Jewish Book Club, we wondered whether you
would object to being identified as a Jewish poet. perhaps you
would not want to be "the little Jew who wrote the Bible."
But obviously we are hearing something very different.
Cohen:
Oh, I am the little Jew who
wrote the Bible. "You don't know me from the wind/You never
will, you never did." I'm saying this to the nations. I'm
the little Jew who wrote the Bible. I'm that little one. "I've
seen the nations rise and fall/I've heard their stories, heard
them all/But love's the only engine of survival." I know
what a people needs to survive. As I get older I feel less modest
about taking these positions because I realize we are the ones
who wrote the Bible and at our best we inhabit a biblical
landscape, and this is where we should situate ourselves without
apology. The biblical landscape is our urgent invitation and we
have to be there. Otherwise, it's really not worth saving or
manifesting, or redeeming, or anything. Now, what is the biblical
landscape? It's the victory of experience. That's what the Bible
celebrates. So the experience of these things is absolutely
necessary.
DEMOCRACY
Excerpts of a poem read by
Leonard Cohen online
Source: http://www.worldofpoetry.org/usop/dream6.htm
It's coming
through a hole in the air,
from those nights in
Tiananmen Square.
It's coming from the feel
that it ain't exactly real,
or it's real, but it ain't
exactly there.
From the wars against
disorder,
from the sirens night and
day;
from the fires of the
homeless,
from the ashes of the gay:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
... ...
I'm
sentimental, if you know what I mean:
I love the country but I
can't stand the scene.
And I'm neither left or right
I'm just staying home
tonight,
getting lost in that hopeless
little screen.
But I'm stubborn as those
garbage bags
that Time cannot decay,
I'm junk but I'm still
holding up
this little wild bouquet:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
L e o n a r d C o h e n
Link: http://members.aol.com/COHENPoet
Songs & Work Of A Life
Die 1. Webpage über den kanadischen Rock-Poeten Leonard Cohen in deutsch/ englischer Sprache
The 1st webpage about Canadian Rockpoet Leonard Cohen in German/ English language