The Flame

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The Flame

By: Leonard Cohen, Robert Faggen - editor, Alexandra Pleshoyano - editor, Adam Cohen - introduction

Narrated by: Ari Fliakos, Jim Fletcher, John Doe, Maggie Hoffman, Margaret Atwood, Michael Shannon, Neela Vaswani, Rodney Crowell, Ross Marquand, Seth Rogen, Will Patton

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THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
WINNER OF THE BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARD FOR POETRY

The Flame is a stunning collection of Leonard Cohen’s last poems and writings, selected and ordered by Cohen in the final months of his life. The book contains an extensive selection from Cohen’s notebooks, featuring lyrics, prose pieces and illustrations, which he kept in poetic form throughout his life, and offers an unprecedentedly intimate look inside the life and mind of a singular artist and thinker.

An enormously powerful final chapter in Cohen’s storied literary career, The Flame showcases the full range of Leonard Cohen’s lyricism, from the exquisitely transcendent to the darkly funny. By turns devastatingly sad and winningly strange, these are the works of a poet and lyricist who has plumbed the depths of our darkest questions and come up wanting, yearning for more.

Leonard CohenRobert Faggen - editorAlexandra Pleshoyano - editorAdam Cohen - introductionAri FliakosJim FletcherJohn DoeMaggie HoffmanMargaret AtwoodMichael ShannonNeela VaswaniRodney CrowellRoss MarquandSeth RogenWill PattonCanongate Books

Entertainment & Celebrities

Poetry

Celebrity

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Critic reviews

"A selection of poems and lyrics from the great Canadian songwriter is full of simple beauty and romance . . . Elegantly and posthumously published . . . Leonard Cohen does not use language to pose, startle or reinvent. Words are his old comrades, and see him through to the end" (Kate Kellaway)

"We’ll be listening to Cohen – still smirking and smiling – for decades to come, with this collection as our companion"

"

Cohen's final volume shows his poetic soul. If you know the man only because of “Hallelujah” or “Suzanne,” pick up The Flame and warm yourself within its pages

"

If you felt Leonard Cohen’s death in 2016 as a personal assault, this book is a posthumous balm . . . All of Cohen’s work has a raw, straight-to-the-heart intensity – reach for this the next time you need inspiration for a wedding toast that will leave them gutted, or any other moment you need a little sustenance for the soul

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"The Flame is a gift . . . These poems and lyrics are as startling and stirring, as clever, funny and sorrowful as we came to expect from a poet/singer/songwriter . . . [A] treasure trove"

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It’s clear that Cohen remained sharp until the very end, and the book, a kind of farewell tribute by the poet-prophet, offers ample evidence of his abiding sense of humor . . . What Cohen offered his many fans and followers was the opportunity to partake of the kind of spiritual experience that makes it possible for us to feel, if only for a moment, that we are not alone

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"For his final publication, he left almost nothing to chance . . . The Flame shows the emphasis that Cohen put on distillation . . . Included in various proportions are love, sex, death, regret, exaltation, piety and gentle fondness. The blending of the earthy with the spiritual would give John Donne and Marvin Gaye a run for their money"

"A gorgeous collection of the late, great Leonard Cohen's last poems and writings, it's an essential read for any fan"

"Cohen's enduring, beautiful bleakness is the draw here. His gift for understated melancholia is on each blackening page"

"Plenty of small gems . . . A worthy brick in his tower of song"

Most relevant

Cohen is present in this. Every admirer of him will find something special. Although we know his songs and poetry, listening activates our thoughts. Very special and a joy.