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The dedication of Cohen's "Isaiah"
Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2019 10:27 pm
by lschwart
In The Spice-Box of Earth, Cohen dedicated the poem "Isaiah" to "G.C.S." Does anyone know the identity of the dedicatee?
Best,
Louis
Re: The dedication of Cohen's "Isaiah"
Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2019 9:27 pm
by lschwart
Just a bump in hopes someone might know!
Louis
Re: The dedication of Cohen's "Isaiah"
Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 6:33 am
by B4real
Hi Louis,
Sorry to say that I don’t know the answer to your question and judging from the response, I don't think anyone else does either! It would be nice to know for sure who it is.
You may already know this, but I can give you the name of someone with the initials G.S. that Leonard had close contact with at that time and he did in fact use that person as a muse for two other poems in this book – “For Anne” and another one which escapes my memory at the moment; ah, I think it’s “Now of Sleeping”. Her name is Georgianna Sherman (don’t know her middle name or if she had one) but Leonard called her Anne or Annie. Those two poems are so different in subject matter to "Isaiah for G.C.S." (except for one verse) – and she does have black hair
I doubt very much and would be most surprised if the whole poem relates to her. But just for the record, that’s my thoughts.
Re: The dedication of Cohen's "Isaiah"
Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 7:31 am
by lschwart
Thank you so much for the suggestion! As you say, she's not someone I'd associate with this particular poem, although her importance to those two you mention (and a few others as well) is certainly clear. I'll have to think more about it and see if there are any other dots I can (or can't) connect.
The possibility that pure metal black haired beloved is based on her (or on some other biographical lover) is certainly intriguing, although I'm not sure how far it makes sense to take the idea.
Louis