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Alberto Manzano - Leonard Cohen's words, poems and memories

Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 9:30 pm
by ForYourSmile
In the middle of a heap of information about Leonard Cohen for his concert in Cap Roig, we see this Sunday, joined with the newspaper "La Vanguardia" come the supplement "Magazine" with a publishing advance of the Alberto Manzano's book "Palabras, poemas y recuerdos de Leonard Cohen" (Leonard Cohen's words, poems and memories) that Editorial Alfabia will release. It is an interview of 2007. Absolutely indispensable! Direct questions and sincere answers. For example, he tells us that the distress that always had been with him, from the youth, dissolved and disappeared now. Something of this already we had read though here it is more clear.

In my opinion a part of the Cohen's work is in his interviews, always very interesting, but this one of Manzano is special.

We want to invite Alberto Manzano to the celebrations in Barcelona on the 20th and 21st of September. As part of the acts, we would like to recognise his effort of diffusion of the Cohen's work in Spain. I hope that he signs this book for me, it would be a great honour.

On the other hand, the fans of not Spanish language have to accede to this interview, there is not valid my clumsy translation or that of Google. We will try to convince to Manzano in order that he releases it in English.

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Thanks to Valentín of http://inmysecretlife.superforos.com/ for the link.

Re: Alberto Manzano - Leonard Cohen's words, poems and memories

Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 10:05 pm
by ForYourSmile
Alberto Manzano (Barcelona, 1955), great musical journalist and manager. Biographer and friend of Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan or Jackson Browne. Translator of Tom Waits, Jim Morrison or Lou Reed, too.

Another indispensable interview with Cohen was in Christmas of 1980 in Hydra, after the tour.

For me his major contribution was the tribute concerts of 2006:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6321&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

And 2007:
viewtopic.php?t=7768
http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/acordes.html
http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/acordes2.html

Books published:

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Leonard Cohen ; Alberto Manzano ; interviews of Hervé Muller, Jacques Vassal, André de Bruyn, Rainer Blome y Jordi Sierra i Fabra ; Editorial Unilibro Colección Testimonio, Barcelona 1978. 160p. Paperback. ISBN: 84-85380-05-3.

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Canciones ; Lyrics, Songs of Leonard Cohen (1968) to Death of a Ladies' Man (1977) ; translation of Alberto Manzano ; Editorial Fundamentos. Colección Espiral #46, Madrid.1979 ENG-SPA. 163p. Paperback. 21x12cm. ISBN: 84-245-0262-0.

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El libro de los salmos - Book Of Mercy (1984) ; translation of Alberto Manzano ; Editorial Fundamentos. Colección Espiral, Madrid 1986 SPA. 109p. Paperback. 20x11cm. ISBN: 84-245-0441-0.

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Canciones y nuevos poemas vol. 1 ; Alberto Manzano ; biography to 1973 SPA - lyrics of some Rare Songs - New Poems ENG-SPA ; Editorial Edicomunicaciones, SA Colección Musica de nuestro tiempo, Barcelona 1986. 227p. Paperback. 20x14cm. ISBN: 84-7672-007-8.

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Canciones y nuevos poemas vol. 2 ; Alberto Manzano ; biography from 1974 to 1985 (Hydra 1981) SPA - lyrics of Recent Songs, Various Positions & some Rare Songs ENG-SPA - work & concerts to information ; Editorial Edicomunicaciones, SA Colección Musica de nuestro tiempo, Barcelona 1986. 264p. Paperback. 20x14cm. ISBN: 84-7672-007-6.

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Canciones II ; Lyrics, Recent Songs (1979) to The Future (1992) (with Night Magic & Other songs) ; translation of Alberto Manzano ; Editorial Fundamentos. Colección Espiral, Madrid.1989 (¿?) ENG-SPA. 198p. Paperback. 20x11cm. ISBN: 84-245-0538-7.

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Un acorde secreto - Stranger music (1993) ; poetical anthology, translation of Alberto Manzano ; Celeste Ediciones SA., Madrid 1996. ENG-SPA. 431p. Paperback. ISBN: 84-8211-078-0.

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La caja de especias de la tierra - The Spice-Box Of Earth (1961) ; translation of Alberto Manzano ; Visor Libros Volumen XCII (# 92) de la Colección Visor de Poesía, Madrid.1999 (3th ed) ENG-SPA. 195p. Paperback. 20x13cm. ISBN: 84-7522-092-4.

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Soldado de la vida ; Alberto Manzano ; interviews and articles in 1977-2001 ; Celeste Ediciones SA, Madrid 2002. SPA 223p. Paperback. ISBN: 84-8211-360-7.

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Conversaciones con un superviviente ; Alberto Manzano ; an extension of Soldado de la vida - discography with comments & review - biographic files (130 important persons in Cohen's life) SPA - translated lyrics of Ten New Songs and Dear Heather ENG-SPA ; Lenoir Editores Barcelona 2005. 232p. Paperback. 25x18cm. ISBN 84-934580-4-X.

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El libro del anhelo - The book of longing (2006) ; translation of Alberto Manzano ; Lumen, Barcelona 2006 SPA. 256p. Cartone with dust-jacket. 22x15cm.; ISBN: 84-264-1583-0.

Re: Alberto Manzano - Leonard Cohen's words, poems and memories

Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 1:28 pm
by tomsakic
I wonder is any chance to get that interview in the original English transcript from Mr. Manzano (for my private use and Cohen researches)?

Unfortunately I do not speak Spanish... Only Manzano's book I have is Libro del anhelo (got it with bunch of other Book of Longing translations from Leonard's office, when I was doing http://www.bookoflonging.com), and it has rare and good addition: vocabulary of the places and persons mentioned in the book, written by Mr. Manzano,with Leonard's help.

Re: Alberto Manzano - Leonard Cohen's words, poems and memories

Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 1:46 am
by ForYourSmile
Tom, we will have to wait for the English version, there are editorial rights.

Recently we defined Alberto Manzano as a Spanish biographer of Leonard Cohen. I do not agree, Alberto Manzano is one biographer of Leonard Cohen or probably is THE BIOGRAPHER of Leonard Cohen. Let's see the number of published books (12), his interviews, photos, his work as manager of tours, the links built with musicians, for example Enrique Morente... It's a pity that language limits the knowledge of his work to Cohen's followers of almost the whole world. Alberto Manzano should be translated into English.

This latter interview is certainly a revelation. Leonard tells us how his suffering evolved, until it disappeared. (Though he seems very happy to me, his songs are not happier now, at least not The Darkness). The interview is almost indiscreet, but Cohen wants it this way. Manzano remembers Cohen glancing through the pages of porn magazines in Les Rambles (Barcelona), and Leonard explains why he is interested in the shape of things. He speaks about his wives, about marriage. He has considered himself a married person (though he has never been married) with a sloppy married life. In the interview we see if the ladies' man is still alive, and what his female fans could expect of him. You get a hint of it in his inquisitive gaze. ;-)

Edited by Lluïssa Ortigosa.

Re: Alberto Manzano - Leonard Cohen's words, poems and memories

Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 1:19 pm
by tomsakic
From all you said, I *really* want to read it now. I guess that Manzano speaks to Cohen in English, so maybe I can ask him for the original transcript;)

Re: Alberto Manzano - Leonard Cohen's words, poems and memories

Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 5:11 pm
by merton
Hi Tom,
Tom Sakic wrote:From all you said, I *really* want to read it now. I guess that Manzano speaks to Cohen in English, so maybe I can ask him for the original transcript;)

If you do hear from the author could you, if possible post the interview on this site?

All the best,
Merton

Re: Alberto Manzano - Leonard Cohen's words, poems and memor

Posted: Wed Apr 03, 2013 12:19 am
by mickjaggerscat
Has anyone found a copy of Alberto Manzano's 1980 interview with Leonard?

Also has anyone else noted that both Cohen biographies place him in NYC in December 1980, not Hydra?

Re: Alberto Manzano - Leonard Cohen's words, poems and memor

Posted: Wed Apr 10, 2013 10:52 pm
by lizzytysh
When I met Alberto Manzano in Barcelona, I found him a very lovely, interesting, and accommodating man.

Re: Alberto Manzano - Leonard Cohen's words, poems and memor

Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2013 5:24 pm
by mickjaggerscat
Yes, he is a lovely guy, and I would love to find his 1980 Hydra interview :-)

Re: Alberto Manzano - Leonard Cohen's words, poems and memor

Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2013 6:13 pm
by lizzytysh
Wish I could help on that!

Re: Alberto Manzano - Leonard Cohen's words, poems and memor

Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2014 10:13 am
by mickjaggerscat
lizzytysh wrote:Wish I could help on that!
I managed to acquire a copy from the author. It's a very interesting collection of material, and the photographs are quite haunting.

Re: Alberto Manzano - Leonard Cohen's words, poems and memor

Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2014 9:50 pm
by lizzytysh
Wonderful :D !!!

Re: Alberto Manzano - Leonard Cohen's words, poems and memor

Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 11:03 am
by mickjaggerscat
lizzytysh wrote:Wonderful :D !!!
It turns out there was no 1980 interview -- the book is a collection of other interviews, from various sources, translated into Spanish by Alberto Manzano. I'm working through it because my Spanish is pretty limited. However there are a number of photos of Leonard on Hydra, two with his children, one with a donkey between December 25-January 7 1981, some by Manzano, and others by Birgit Reinke although I'm not quite sure which are which.

Re: Alberto Manzano - Leonard Cohen's words, poems and memor

Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 11:31 am
by ForYourSmile
I do not know if Alberto Manzano used tape recorder for interviews or whether there are original transcripts in English, sorry I can’t help you. My closest relationship was when Alberto Manzano presented the book quoted at the beginning of this post in September 2009 and he signed one to me. I'm just another Manzano reader. If you want to contact to him, I suggest you look in http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/acordes.html. The double translations are not the best way to know the exact word chosen for the poet, we know.

I think more than a formal interview, this was a few days living together.

You can find more photos by Manzano in Hydra, Christmas 1980, in the DVD/CD covers “Acordes con Leonard Cohen” and more than are emerging in new books. See the cover of book “Leonard Cohen Lorca, flamenco y el judío errante”.
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Leonard with his daughter Lorca by Alberto Manzano. Who knows how many photos remain unpublished.

These photographs evoke Hydra, the interiors of the house and especially an atmosphere with a special situation. Leonard, a very responsible father, as he has been demonstrated, fought for their children at a difficult time (see the photo). "The singer practiced fasting, had lost weight and looked much exhausted" (AM). Lost the children custody, he moved to the French Roussillon, living in a roulette to be near them. In addition, the tour ends were devastating for him.
mickjaggerscat wrote:Also has anyone else noted that both Cohen biographies place him in NYC in December 1980, not Hydra?
Yes, very interesting. As you say, in other biographies appear in NYC (in the famous Algonquin Hotel) with his children, a place far and somewhat different of Hydra. The stay of Leonard, Adam and Lorca in Hydra is true, well documented and relevant in the Leonard’s biography, but ignored by other biographers. Maybe NYC was before than Hydra, the tour ended in late November.

Again; Alberto Manzano has much to contribute to the Leonard Cohen international community of fans and studious.

Re: Alberto Manzano - Leonard Cohen's words, poems and memor

Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 11:54 am
by ForYourSmile
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Alberto Manzano, September 2009.

Illuminated by Him, he returned from an Aegean island with the mission to evangelize our lands.

If this is a politic party, we know who is our Secretary-General. Another way to see it would be like an army ready to take first Manhattan, then Berlin, Master would like that organization, we would spoke of generals, captains and the entire hierarchy. For an atheist like me, I prefer to imagine a religion, Leonard likes the religions too, in this case Alberto Manzano would be the apostle destined to my parish, as others scattered over the face of the earth. I think I've been lucky.

Since 2009, Alberto Manzano has continued to publish, I updated the catalog:

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Palabras, poemas y recuerdos de Leonard Cohen; Alberto Manzano; interview winter 2007 SPA - translated lyrics and poems ENG-SPA ; Ediciones Alfabia Barcelona 2009. 79p. Paperback. 20x13cm. ISBN 978-84-937348-2-4.

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Leonard Cohen - La Biografia; Alberto Manzano; biography; Libros Cupula, 2010. 310p. ISBN 978-8448068394.

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Leonard Cohen en España; Alberto Manzano; collection of photographs, articles and other; Quarentena Ediciones 2010. 176p 24,5x31,5cm. ISBN 9788493788087.

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Ilustrisimo Sr. Cohen - 24 Canciones de Leonard Cohen ilustradas; Alberto Manzano; Drawings on 24 songs ; prologe: Aute ; SPA ; 451 Editores, Madrid, 2011.
86p. coberta dura 30x30cm. ISBN 9788492891177.

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El libro de la misericordia - Book Of Mercy (1984); translation by Alberto Manzano; Visor Libros 2011 ENG-SPA. 128p. Paperback. ISBN: 9788498957976.

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Leonard Cohen: Lorca, el flamenco y el judio errante; Alberto Manzano; Lorca and flamenco influences in Cohen work; Ediciones Alfabia Barcelona 2012. 356p. ISBN 9788475883175.

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A mil besos de profundidad - Canciones y Poemas 1956-1978. Volumen 1; translation by Alberto Manzano; selection of poems and songs; Visor Libros / Colección Visor de Poesía, Madrid 2012 SPA. 251p Paperback. ISBN: 9788498958041.

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A mil besos de profundidad - Canciones y Poemas 1979-2006. Volumen 2; translation by Alberto Manzano; selection of poems and songs ; Visor Libros / Colección Visor de Poesía, Madrid 2012 SPA. 185p Paperback. ISBN: 9788498958058.

In the 1989 interview with Adrienne Clarkson in the Leonard house in Montreal, we can see the book "Canciones y nuevos poemas vol. 2" on the table.
There is another book with a collection of Manzano interviews with Cohen and others.

I fondly keep anonymous mimeographed documents, purchased around 1978 without copyright but it was stuff no edited wanted for the fans. Alberto Manzano acknowledges as own the edition in the book "Leonard Cohen in Spain" (2010). I loved these books; they are part of my life. The songs translation of 1979 “Canciones” has the pages lose due to overuse.

But to be honest, every time I see a new book from Manzano, I say: again more of the same. Years later, when I update my Leonard’s world, I read and discover new contributions, unknown contents and points of views that I had not imagined. The personal view of Manzano over Cohen is outstanding.

The book, at the beginning of this post, is really short. In addition to the interview, winter 2007, studies the work evolution: "Chelsea Hotel", "Fire" and "Alexandra Leaving", plus manuscripts and photos.

"La Biografía" 2010 (The Biography), I read it a month ago at the same time that the Simmons 2012. For me, Manzano is more personal and deep, but does not include any quote, not even for himself, he is "the journalist". The content is too accelerated at the end. I do not like that so conclusive title for someone who has not written the last chapter. ("A Fistful Of Gitanes", the Serge Gainsbourg biography written by Simmons, than I read these days, was published in Spain as "The Biography" also, editors things.)

For me, know biographies it’s more than gossip, well, with the time can be normal some kind of curiosity or sympathy. Mainly it’s for best work knowledge. Leonard Cohen says than his work is autobiographical (interview Jordi Sierra i Fabra for Popular 1, Barcelona Oct. 12 1974). Cohen believes that the artist must be sincere; communication must be based on the honest expression of feelings and circumstances. Even though his work can function ignoring his life. For example, the famous Suzanne evokes powerful images, but then, knowing his biography we realize that the character and location are fully true.

Manzano now writes thematic biographies, let’s say. In the book "Lorca, el flamenco y el judío errante" 2012, digs into his influences. With this title I thought it would tend to his own side, not at all. It’s truth than he reviews the biography seeking whatever close to Lorca, gypsy, flamenco and Jewish. But also he discuss over other influences: Ashkenazi / Yiddish Jews, Sufi mysticism (Rumi), Christianity (Catholicism - Mary the Irish nanny), Buddhism (zen, haiku), Hinduism (Vedanta), the mythology of the Spanish Civil War, the French Resistance, the imagism (Ezra Pound), Yeats, beats, Cavafy, all kinds of music and more and more. The cultural and intellectual knowledge of Leonard Cohen is immense. I do not know in LA, but still in Montreal, sitting in the Parc du Portugal, I see Leonard as a classic ancient European man with roots thousands years deep.