Re: THE FLAME - Reviews
Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2018 7:58 am
THE FLAME received a starred review in the October 15 issue of Library Journal:
"Renowned singer/songwriter Cohen (1934–2016) shares a deeply personal take on the wonders and challenges of life and love in this collection that will appeal not only to his fans but also anyone who loves beautiful lyrics that parse life's meaning. Cohen devotees, in particular, will be entranced by the many line drawings—mostly self-portraits—that extend the words in a kind of visual diary. (One caveat with the drawings—the words reproduced often appear too small for easy reading.) Cohen, who struggled to finish this work before his death, also included a dialog with a former teacher. Sometimes, the poet's language is ordinary and the line breaks arbitrary ("Vanessa called/ all the way from Toronto/ She said that I/ could count on her/ if ever I was/ down and out"), but even this poem is transformed by the title, "G-D Wants His Song." Far more eloquent and frequent are lines that examine life from the inside out: "The Heart beneath is teaching/ To the broken Heart above" and "If the sea were sand alone/ And the flowers made of stone." VERDICT: An excellent addition for all poetry collections. —Doris Lynch