In the second episode of this four-part series, coeditors of The Contemporary Leonard Cohen: Response, Reappraisal, and Rediscovery Kait Pinder and Joel Deshaye dig into their respective chapters. First, Kait provides an overview of Cohen’s controversial book of poetry Flowers for Hitler, published in 1964. She explains why the book is less well-known than his novel Beautiful Losers (1966), and how, in her chapter, she connects philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s ideas on critical history to Cohen’s criticism of Canada’s appropriation of the world wars for nationalistic purposes.

Next, Joel explains the use of gossip and rumor in Cohen’s songwriting, highlighting the famous opening lines from “Hallelujah”: “Now I’ve heard there was a secret chord / That David played and it pleased the Lord / But you don’t really care for music, do ya?” Further, Joel links the discourse of gossip to the relationship between Cohen and renowned singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, exploring each artist’s use of gossip in their writing, and how rumor challenges the prevailing perception of Cohen as a singular genius—gossip, interdisciplinarity, and collaboration all play a role in the creative process.

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