The Spice Box Of Earth

To mark the publication of Leonard Cohen's final book, The Flame, McClelland & Stewart is proud to reissue six beautiful editions of Cohen's cherished early works of poetry, many of which are back in print for the first time in decades. A freshly packaged new series for devoted Leonard Cohen fans and those who wish to discover one of the world's most adored and celebrated writers. Originally published by McClelland & Stewart in 1961, The Spice-Box of Earth was Leonard Cohen's breakout book, announcing the arrival of a major talent, and a popular one--the first edition sold out in less than three months, and one reviewer hailed Cohen as "probably the best young poet in English Canada right now." In his second collection, Cohen deepens his engagement with subjects that would define his career; as biographer Sylvie Simmons argues, "the poems dance back and forth across the border between the holy and the worldly, the elevated and the carnal."

" Leiber and Stoller are perhaps the most celebrated (Rock'n'Roll Jews) along with Phil Spector, but there have been others who have contributed greatly. Michael Billig examines that influence through the worl of luminaries like Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Carole King and Lou Reed." Nottingham Evening Post, From the bookjacket.

"From Cohen to Carson provides the first book-length analysis of one of Canada's most distinctive fields of literary production. Ian Rogers argues that Canadian poets have turned to the novel because of the limitations of the lyric, but have used lyric methods - puns, symbolism, repetition, juxtaposition - to create a mode of narrative that contrasts sharply with the descriptive conventions of realist and plot-driven novels." "Detailed case studies of novels by Leonard Cohen, Michael Ondaatje, George Bowering, Daphne Marlatt, and Anne Carson, as well as sections on A. M. Klein and Anne Michaels, reveal how these authors framed their early novels according to formal precedents established in their poetry. In tracking the authors' shift from lyric to long poem to novel, Rae also investigates their experiments with non-literary art forms - photography, painting, and film. He argues convincingly that the authors discussed have combined disparate genres and media to alter notions of narrative coherence in the novel and engage the diverse but fragmented cultural histories of Canadian society." --Résumé de l'éditeur.

A variety of productions and representations of Canadian identities are the central theme that runs through this book. The different contributions explore imagined spaces by considering Canadian music, poetry and novels; they engage with political space by addressing various ways in which the people of Canada have made claims to different regions in the distant and recent past; and they address lived spaces, and their actual and symbolic meanings. It is an unusual book as it encompasses the writings by those studying the arts and literature as well as writings by social scientists, and it includes both English and French-speaking scholars. The richness that can be found in this multitude of perspectives and approaches to exploring Canadian space is characteristic of the way in which Canadian Studies is practiced nowadays. It is therefore an appropriate volume to celebrate 20 years of Canadian Studies in the Netherlands.

Reissued with a new afterword Leonard Cohen is back! With a #1 bestselling poetry collection, The Book of Longing, flying off bookshelves; Lian Lunson’s acclaimed documentary, Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man, in theatres this summer (the DVD will release this fall); and the superb soundtrack in music stores everywhere, Leonard Cohen proves he is Canada’s most enduring icon. Now, in the newly reissued Various Positions, Ira Nadel peels back the many layers to reveal the man and explain the fascinating relationship between Leonard Cohen’s life and his art. This book is a remarkable and rare look at Leonard Cohen, up close and personal. For nearly forty years, Leonard Cohen has endured the ups and downs of an international career that has alternately identified him as the "Prince of Bummers" and Canada's most respected poet and performer. Now, author Ira Nadel brings us closer to understanding these conflicting descriptions and allows us to enter Cohen's private world. He peels back the many layers to reveal the man and explain the fascinating relationship between Cohen's life and his art. This is a remarkable and rare look at Leonard Cohen, up close and personal.

Work discusses poetry of Leonard Cohen.