Leonard's novels?

[Mark A. Murphy]

I've just read Ira Nadel's biography. Leonard Cohen, A Life In Art. I often wondered whether Leonard had ever written any other novels besides The Favourite Gme and Beautiful Losers. Nadel mentions two other unpublished novels in his book. Does anyone know why these books were never published? And does anyone know if Leonard has any intention of offering them for publication in the future? Leonard's novels rank among my favourites by any author. I would love to read more of his prose work. Can we start a campaign here to get the unpublished works published? Any ideas welcome.

[greeksiren]

I've read both of the novels you mentioned... but I wasn't aware of any others! I'll be watching this forum closely!

[the canadian]

Those are his only novels. There are, however, quite a few great volumes of poetry.

[tomsakic]

The mentioned two "novels" are probably preserved in forms of partial and unfinished manuscripts. The first is actually the first version of The Favourite Game (two-time longer, more autobiographical) and I guess it could be published one day. The 2nd "novel" is early, prose version of Death of a Lady's Man, titled My Life in Art (it's pieces were included in the final book, those are mostly the prose parts). We can see it's also autobiographical. Anyhow, nobody knows is it really a novel, and how much of it has been written. While the first manuscript is probably in Toronto library, I don't know is there a second. I guess only Cohen knows the answers.

Indeed, there's a great deal of manuscripts to make a critical edition one day. Not only these two books, and many poems and dozens of diaries and notebooks from 1960s on, but also correspondence (Nadel's book showed only a part), which includes Jack McClelland and Irving Layton, and family, and friends, but also people like Allen Ginsberg, Dylan, various poets, etc. That part is forbidden for access until death of Leonard Cohen and ALL other authors of letters.

I hope that one day the green light will be given and that there will be interest from McClelland and Stewart and Canadian critics for the job.

Cohen's manuscripts are preserved by Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library:
http://www.library.utoronto.ca/fisher/c ... ohen03.pdf

In short overview, Box 1 has one attempt at writing a novel (Ballet of Lepers) , box 4 another (early version of Favourite Game), Box 13 are permitted letters, Box 8a has unpublished plays written with Irving Layton, while there's no sign of My Life in Art at all.