Comments on: On speaking poetry

By: fromaroom

fromaroom — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 18:13:40 +0000

David, that entirely depends on what texts you’re talking about. If you’re talking about, say, Beautiful Losers or parts of Death of a Lady’s Man (the book), I’d agree. But IMO most of his writing, including the text above, is extremely precise.

As far as comparing him to Hitler — c’mon…

By: fromaroom

fromaroom — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:57:16 +0000

Glad you found it of interest DJB.

By: fromaroom

fromaroom — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:55:51 +0000

Vanity is what makes the blogosphere go round.

Thank you GS. It’s an honour. I found yours via that of another fellow Norwich resident, Nathan Hamilton. Nice to meet someone else who’s been ‘crushed like a bug’ under the wheels of Mr Dyer’s Nietzschean competitiveness – tennis in my case. And a fellow blues fan!

By: deanjbaker

deanjbaker — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:51:35 +0000

interesting to see this, thanks

By: George S

George S — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 07:06:10 +0000

I came by your blog via the path of vanity, noticing that it had referred to me.

Put that aside. What a lovely blog this is. Thank you. I shall be a regular reader.

By: David Halliday

David Halliday — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:29:06 +0000

I’ve been a fan of Leonard Cohen for many years. I love the way he uses words. But quite often I don’t think he is saying anything. It’s like foreplay with words. He is always trying to seduce you. Maybe that is why so many women love him. He reminds me of Hitler. I know that sounds odd. I compare Cohen to that madman not because they share any ideas. Or values. It is because both are more concerned with the effect their words have on their audience than on the content of their arguments. Read Mein Kampf. My Struggle. And that’s what it is. A struggle to read. But to the German heart of the 1930s, it was music. Cohen’s words are like scatting. They are jazz. But they are like road signs pointing everywhere.