Locking eyes with Leonard

Documenting the lives of some of Canada’s most esteemed performers is second nature to acclaimed author, playwright and editor Michael Posner. An award-winning actor in his youth, his intimate knowledge of stagecraft and performance shines in his biographies of Anne Murray, Mordechai Richler and now, in a new three-volume oral history of Leonard Cohen. It is “authenticity” that distinguishes the good from the great artists, he says. Their honest conviction.”

We spoke with Posner to hear more about his unique approach to biography and how he once locked eyes with Cohen, ahead of his talk at the AGO Friday, March 3.

AGOinsider: As a highly accomplished writer accustomed to many genres and styles, your preferred approach to biography seems to be oral history. Why is that?

Posner: In biography, the oral format seems to be the most democratic. It offers the most seats at the table and delivers the most extensive menu. You hear the viewpoints and stories of far more people than you likely would in a conventional narrative biography and thus provides a more complete, more nuanced portrait of the subject. Of course, there's a price to pay for that diversity. Opinions and memories will conflict, and readers may wonder whose version of history, of truth, is most accurate. But I'm not averse to asking readers to exercise judgment. Their instincts are usually pretty good.

Oral biography seems to suit me temperamentally, because I'm not particularly interested in interpreting, or evaluating Leonard Cohen's — or anyone else's — life; I just want to document it, as best I can. However, I think the genre is appropriate for Leonard, too. He lived such a multi-dimensional, compartmentalized life - in literature, music, Zen Buddhism, Judaism and romance. The oral history format provides a chance to bring together people he knew in these silos and let them have at it.

AGOInsider: In your various pursuits as an actor, a playwright, publisher, critic and biographer – you’ve explored performance from all sides. What do you think makes the difference between a good and great, even legendary, performance?

Posner: It's unfair to reduce such a challenging question to a one-word answer, but if one word were all I had available, I'd choose 'authenticity.' There are thousands, probably tens of thousands, of immensely talented performers — musicians, dancers, actors, etc. Many are technically flawless — that's certainly one level of greatness. But the distinction attached to Leonard Cohen was not his musical proficiency as such. It wasn't his voice. It wasn't his guitar skills. In fact, he often joked about it, saying that while other musicians had 'chops', he had a chop — one — the six flamenco chords he'd learned as a young man. At other times, he quipped that if he wanted to hear a real singer, he'd go to the opera. But what Leonard may have lacked in raw musical ability, he made up for, I submit, in conviction. Beyond the power and mystery of his lyrics or the magic of his melodies, a large part of what audiences responded to was the recognition that his performance was as genuine and honest as he could make it. Night after night, show after show, he gave you his heart. He never dialed it in. As one of his songs says, "The singer must die for the lie in his voice."

AGOInsider: Both Richler and Cohen came from Montreal and sought fame elsewhere. Is there a creative predestination inherent in the Montreal birthright? Or does it say more about Montreal’s internationality that their departures seem part of a pattern?

Posner: I'm not sure it's only a Montreal phenomenon. For Anglophones, at least, I think it's a Canadian phenomenon. Canada is still a developing country, with a relatively young culture. Certainly that was true when Richler and Cohen were starting out. To succeed on the world stage, as they both aspired to do, you almost were required to go abroad. Others did too — writer Mavis Gallant (another Montrealer), and actors Christopher Plummer, William Shatner (also Montrealers), Lorne Green and Kate Reid. Vis-a-vis Quebec, perhaps the struggle for recognition also had something to do with being part of the Anglo minority. Of course, there were exceptions, even then — writers Margaret Atwood and Alice Munro, for example; both became internationally celebrated without ever leaving home. And in the music world, the introduction of Canadian content regulations on radio in the 1960s laid the foundation for a domestic music industry that may have existed otherwise.

AGOInsider: What was your first encounter with Leonard Cohen? Did you anticipate this biography being three volumes from the start?

Posner: I saw him perform in January, 1967, at the University of Manitoba, when he was making the transition from poet/novelist to singer/songwriter. He was mesmerizing, even then. Decades later, I saw him on the street in Toronto, and our eyes had a conversation. My eyes said, "You're Leonard Cohen!" And his eyes said, "Yes, I am, and I know that you know that I am." As for the book, it started out as one book but, after it reached 600,000 words, it was clear it would either have to be eviscerated in the editing suite, or published in separate volumes. To my great good fortune, Simon and Schuster Canada chose the latter option.

AGOinsider: Your biographies (be it of Cohen, Richler or Murray) are often praised for highlighting ‘the reality behind the myth.’ Given how colourful — how human — the realities you describe are, why do you think myths remain so pervasive?

Posner: To some extent — probably, to a large extent — we are a society that prefers myth. Reality is almost always messier, grittier, more complicated, sometimes even disturbing. Myths are tidier, prettier, and often more satisfying. Neither the Richler nor the Cohen books are hagiographic; they present their central characters as flawed human beings, as we all are. Some readers will thirst for that more complete picture. Others will stubbornly resist it; they don't want to see their heroes tarnished, toppled from the pedestal. There are all kinds of mini-myths embedded in the Cohen saga, stories handed down through the decades. They are often false, or at best distortions of the truth, but hard-core Cohen fans don't care. They are content with the myth. I think it was John F. Kennedy who said “the enemy of truth is not the deliberate lie, but the persuasive myth.”

AGOinsider: Having invested so much time in your subjects, what happens to the attachment and intimacy, when the projects are finished? Can you casually listen to Anne Murray or Leonard Cohen’s music? Can you recommend St. Urbain’s Horseman in passing?

Posner: Short answer: Yes. I can listen to Anne any time. I'm somewhat more selective with Leonard. But I'm not quite done with him. There's a new Cohen project in development.

Catch Michael Posner in conversation with musicologist and historian Mike Daley as he discusses his three-volume biography, Leonard Cohen, Untold Stories, Friday, March 3, in the AGO’s Jackman Hall. Tickets are on sale here.