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another question for all you knowledgeable folks out there - what does our man like to read, in the way of poems, novels, etc.?

I heard him asked that in an interview once, and his reply was "The Bible", on the grounds that he usually leaves whatever book he is currently reading lying in an airport lounge somewhere, and there's always a Bible in a hotel room. I never cease to marvel at Leonard's ability to answer a question without actually telling you anything

I think his answers tell a lot....but perhaps some do not understand

Perhaps I was a bit too simplistic there. Leonard will very often answer a question in such a way that he tells you what he wants you to know, rather than giving a direct answer to the question asked. In the interview I mentioned, the interviewer probably wanted to start a discussion on modern literature. What he got instead was Leonard's views on how religion and philosophy help one to deal with the stresses of modern life. Leonard is adept at sidestepping questions he does not want to answer.

Linmag ~

The way you have fleshed out your answer here is the way I understood you to mean it when you first stated it, as you've said, perhaps a bit too simplistically. It has seemed to me that often implicit in the interviewers' questioning is the looking-to-Leonard-for-the-answers, guru phenomena ~ and that Leonard is rather committed to the idea of people thinking for themselves. It seems he feels he has all he can handle to be responsible for his own life, and he does not wish to assume responsibility for anyone else's, via simply providing them "the answers to life." I feel that he recognizes and understands, more than most, how different the answers may be for each individual. I feel that we have been made privy to his own, personal journey in this quest, through his music and poetry, writing, art, anecdotes, and editorial comments. What we glean from it is whatever we may find applicable and useful, but not as the result of any directives set forth by Leonard.

~ Elizabeth

i do think it would be revealing, or at least interesting, to know which other writers' work leonard feels affinities with. as a parallel example, it added to my appreciation of 'desire' when i learned that dylan has been reading a lot of joseph conrad at the time.

strange that leonard should prefer to keep his literary tastes quiet, when i see from another post that his musical tastes are pretty well-documented (tom waits, bob dylan and nusrat fateh - it's gratifying but not unexpected to see that the man has impeccable taste).

on the other hand, leonard does occasionally wear his literary passions on his sleeve. garcia lorca is the obvious one, and from 'alexandra leaving' it's pretty clear that he's an admirer of cavafy (or at least that one poem).

maybe i should rephrase the question - which writers do you imagine or suspect that leonard read/s? my money would be on lawrence durrell for one.