ROBERT HUMPHREY
Leonard Cohen: One of Those Guys
Between morning sittings
I lay on your bed
Pause in your chairs.
Within afternoon silence
I lay in your bathtub
Light pours in the windows
I memorize every detail
This mind told me to forget.
The poems in this new book are Humphrey's tribute to Leonard Cohen’s history as a poet, novelist, songwriter and Zen Buddhist. Robert Humphrey traveled to Hydra and Mount Baldy in his quest to make sense of the worldwide fascination with Cohen’s words and powerful imagery. The poems cover Leonard’s early days in Montreal and follow him through the snowy fields of Mount Baldy.
Robert Humphrey and Leonard Cohen have crossed paths before. Back in 1973, he had a curious encounter with Leonard in the midst of another Arab-Israeli war. By sheer coincidence he run into Cohen on King David Street in Jerusalem and proceeded to follow him for hours until Cohen wised up to this young ‘stalker’. As one expects from Cohen, he confronted Humphrey and almost immediately asked if he was hungry and if yes would he have lunch with him! Several hours later, the young poet said goodbye to Leonard Cohen and they never met again. But Cohen remembered and made notes about this encounter in his journal and Humphrey recalled this encounter in a book of psalm-poems titled Vertigo of Surrender, also published by Sore Dove Press in 2006.
The poems in this new book are tender but not sentimental. Humphrey writes clearly and concisely in a collection of poems that will be around for a long time.
Published March 2009 in an edition limited to 136 copies of which only 10 special copies were handbound in boards and carried two original paintings by Robert Humphrey and Soheyl Dahi inside. Cover photo of Leonard Cohen was taken by Soheyl Dahi and is pasted on the cover of the book. Also included inside the 10 special copies is an original, never published 5x7 inches photograph of Leonard Cohen.
| Regular signed and numbered edition in wrappers: $20.00 |
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| Signed and lettered edition limited to 26 copies with an original painting by Soheyl Dahi tipped inside the book: $75.00 |
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| One of 10 Handbound, Hardcover copies numbered in I-X with an original, never published photograph of Leonard Cohen tipped-in and two paintings by Robert Humphrey and Soheyl Dahi included inside the book: $200.00 |
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