Most people know Leonard Cohen as the singer behind iconic songs such as Suzanne and Hallelujah. Yet the melancholic singer-songwriter was a far more multifaceted artist than his public image might suggest, and much of his wider body of work remains surprisingly unknown in Europe. Researcher Francis Mus, who has studied Cohen’s work for more than fifteen years, challenges the familiar image: “He was a poet, novelist, filmmaker, visual artist and … provocateur.”
Leonard Cohen in a nutshell
- Leonard Cohen was much more than a singer-songwriter. He published poetry and novels and became a major cultural figure in Canada.
- His work remains relevant today because it addresses questions of power, identity, memory and social polarisation, while also prompting critical discussions about gender and colonial representation.
- This autumn, Cohen will take centre stage in Ghent, with an international academic conference, a special exhibition at the Boekentoren and a tribute evening at Ha Concerts.
Much more than the man behind Hallelujah
Most people know Leonard Cohen as a singer-songwriter. What are they missing?
Francis Mus: “A large part of his artistry, actually. In Europe, we mainly know him as the man with the warm voice, the black fedora and the guitar. The image of the wise and gentle bard. But that picture is incomplete.
Cohen had many faces. He was a poet, provocateur, novelist, musician, visual artist, filmmaker and intellectual. In Canada, these different facets of his work are much better known.
Long before his musical breakthrough, Cohen was already an established figure in Canadian literature. He published poetry collections, wrote novels and, during the 1960s, gained a reputation as a provocateur and controversial author. His 1966 novel Beautiful Losers is widely regarded as the first postmodern Canadian novel and a landmark of Canadian literature.”
Why is this side of Cohen less well known here?
“His musical success has overshadowed everything else. And it is fair to say that his poetry and novels are not always easy to read. Yet anyone who takes the time to explore them discovers an extraordinarily rich and multifaceted body of work.”
From fan to researcher
How did you first become interested in Leonard Cohen?
“Like many people, through his music. I knew some of his songs, but I only became a true fan after seeing him perform live in Bruges in 2008. It was an unforgettable evening.
Later, during a stay at the Université de Montréal, I discovered another side of Cohen. I attended seminars led by professors who had themselves studied under Cohen’s mentors. It was remarkable to be in the city where Cohen had studied, lived and written.
That experience also sparked my academic interest in him. After completing my PhD, I wanted to explore a new field of research. What struck me was how little academic attention Cohen had received in Europe as a multidisciplinary artist. Most books focused on his life rather than his work. Today, my research mainly examines how Cohen’s work is received around the world.”
Why does Leonard Cohen still matter ten years after his death?
“Because many of the questions that preoccupied him are questions we still grapple with today. His work explores faith, desire, power, identity, loss and the search for meaning.
Some of his literary works also feel remarkably contemporary. Take Flowers for Hitler (1964), for example. In this poetry collection, Cohen explores how societies deal with violence, collective memory and authoritarianism. Today, we are once again seeing authoritarian tendencies emerge around the world.
Cohen embraces complexity. His work keeps asking difficult questions, sometimes very directly. In the opening poem of Flowers for Hitler, he even challenges the reader: ‘I’m waiting for you to confess.’”
Francis Mus: "Many of the questions that preoccupied him are questions we still grapple with today."
A body of work that also raises difficult questions
Are there aspects of his work that are controversial today?
“Absolutely, and those aspects should not be ignored. Some of his texts contain sexist or misogynistic elements. Female characters are sometimes romanticised, idealised or reduced to roles within a male protagonist’s story.
In the novel Beautiful Losers, now part of the Canadian literary canon, Cohen criticises colonialism, but he does so through an ironic narrator who speaks from the perspective of the coloniser. Some critics find this problematic because it still gives that perspective a platform.
I am not arguing for censorship, but works like these do require critical contextualisation. That is very different from banning them.”
What is the biggest misconception about Leonard Cohen?
(laughs) “That he was nothing more than a gloomy, depressed artist. Anyone who watches his interviews or reads his lesser-known texts quickly discovers how witty and genuinely funny he could be.”
A first in the Low Countries
You are organising an academic conference on Cohen in Ghent this autumn. What can people expect?
“This will be the first international academic conference in the Low Countries dedicated entirely to Leonard Cohen. From 6 to 8 October, fifty researchers will present new insights into his work.
Together with my Canadian co-organisers, Kait Pinder and Joel Deshaye, we will welcome specialists in literature, theology, cultural studies, musicology, translation studies and other disciplines. The conference is primarily a forum for critical academic discussion. The public event at Ha Concerts, meanwhile, will pay tribute to Cohen.”
The general public will also have a chance to discover another side of Cohen at the Book Tower. What will be on display?
“It will be a small but unique exhibition featuring reproductions of documents that have never before been shown to the public: manuscripts, personal letters, sketches, early drafts and rare publications.
We will also present some exceptional items, including a rare poetry LP, censored versions of his work and early Dutch translations of his poetry by Remco Campert. I do not want it to become an exhibition of fan memorabilia, although I secretly hope we might be able to bring his famous fedora to Ghent.” (laughs)
Curious to discover a different side of Leonard Cohen?
Those interested in exploring the many faces of Leonard Cohen can visit the Boekentoren from 6 to 8 October for a unique exhibition devoted to his lesser-known work.
On 7 October, Ha Concerts will host a tribute evening featuring live performances by Lara Chedraoui and Floris De Decker, conversations with experts and others who have closely followed Cohen’s legacy, a screening of the first documentary ever made about him, and even a culinary nod to 1960s Montreal.
Francis Mus is Professor of French Culture, Literature and Translation at Ghent University. For more than fifteen years, he has studied Leonard Cohen’s work, with a particular focus on its international reception. He is the author of the award-winning monograph The Demons of Leonard Cohen and is widely regarded as one of the leading Cohen scholars in the Dutch-speaking world. His favourite Cohen song? Coming Back to You
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