Girard provides what might be the most convincing account of how it must have felt for Cohen to discover that his manager had made off with his life savings. The freedom afforded by the comics medium pays dividends throughout. But I believe it’s been done in a respectful way.” All that was too important not to talk about. Was that level of frankness a difficult creative decision? Photo by Philippe Girard / Drawn & QuarterlyĪmong those liberties was following Cohen into the bedroom, a choice that involves depicting some well-known personages in intimate and undressed states. You take liberties, and sometimes you hit the bull’s-eye.” A pre-fame Cohen goes to Hydra, Greece and meets a crucial muse in Philippe Girard’s Leonard Cohen: On a Wire.

“If, for instance, his son were to write a book about him, I’m sure it would be different.

“I gave myself licence to be creative about his life because in a way this is my Leonard Cohen, the one I love,” he said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. He took his work very seriously, but was able to laugh at himself.”Ĭohen’s life being hardly an unexamined one (Sylvie Simmons provided what’s likely to stand as the definitive account with her 2012 biography I’m Your Man), Girard allowed himself the leeway of a novelist. “He was a big star who was also a man of the people. “He was an extraordinary man who was chased by the ordinary - treason, bankruptcy and eventually death,” said Girard.

Soon enough, it was apparent that “liked” was no longer the operational word: a deep dive into Cohen’s life and work made Girard an unabashed admirer. I didn’t really realize how big he was in the average Canadian’s imagination.” “To me, he was a Montreal singer I liked,” he recalled. Photo by Philippe Girard / Drawn & Quarterlyįor Girard, coming to Cohen without years of personal investment turned out to be an advantage. Article content A teenage Cohen discovers his vocation and fends off his mother’s advice in Philippe Girard’s Leonard Cohen: On a Wire.

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