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Klofið Land, Klofið Sjálf

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Klofið Land, Klofið Sjálf Hugvísindasvið Klofið land, klofið sjálf Leonard Cohen og leitin að kanadískri bókmenntahefð Ritgerð til M.A.-prófs Valur Gunnarsson Maí 2012 Háskóli Íslands Hugvísindasvið Almenn bókmenntafræði Klofið land, klofið sjálf Leonard Cohen og leitin að kanadískri bókmenntahefð Ritgerð til M.A.-prófs Valur Gunnarsson Kt.: 260876-3339 Leiðbeinandi: Sveinn Yngvi Egilsson Maí 2012 Efniságrip Ritgerðin fjallar um höfundarverk Leonard Cohen, jafnt skáldsögur, ljóðabækur og hljómplötur, í samhengi við þann klofning í kanadískum bókmenntum sem fræðimenn telja að hafi einkennt þær allt frá seinni heimsstyrjöld. Í fyrri hlutanum er sjónum beint að uppvexti Cohen í Montreal, þar sem enskum og frönskum áhrifum, gyðingdómi og kaþólsku ægir saman. Sérstaklega verður skoðað samband hans við tvo menn, föðurinn sem kynnti hann fyrir enskum bókmenntum og hefðum, og móðurafann sem lagði áherslu á hinn gyðinglega uppruna þeirra. Á endanum vex Cohen þó upp úr þessum fyrirmyndum og finnur sér nýjar, bæði kennara sína við hinn virta McGill háskóla og hið löngu látna spænska skáld Federico Garcia Lorca. Á 7. áratugnum fer fyrst að kveða að Cohen í Kanada sem ljóðskáldi og rithöfundi. Verður hann hér settur í samhengi við aðra kanadíska höfunda og þá sérstaklega Robert Kroetsch sem á sama tíma var að hafna evrópskum fyrirmyndum og leitaðist við að finna hið sér-kanadíska í bókmenntunum. Báðir höfundar leggja mikla áherslu á klofninginn sem þeir telja að einkenni Kanada og birtist á ýmsan hátt í þjóðarsálinni. Undir lok áratugarins flytur Cohen til New York borgar og fer að semja lög sem öðlast miklar vinsældir. Hér stendur hann í skugga Bob Dylan og eiga þeir margt sameiginlegt, þó að ýmislegt greini þá að, og verður ekki hjá því komist að bera þessi tvö söngvaskáld saman. Eigi að síður virðist hann enn á margan hátt klofinn persónuleiki, og tekst á við þennan klofning allan 8. áratuginn. Í verkum hans má meðal annars sjá átök á milli friðarsinna og hermennsku, kvennamanns og einnar konu manns, gyðingdóms og kaþólskra áhrifa, ensku og frönsku og ekki síst á milli persónuleika Leonard Cohen og fjölmiðlapersónunnar „Leonard Cohen.“ Á 9. áratugnum tekst honum að vissu leyti að vinna bug á þessum klofningi á plötunni Various Positions, og undir lok áratugarins stígur hann fram sem heildstæðari persóna og nýtur aukinna vinsælda. Klofningurinn hefur þó ekki með öllu horfið, og hann virðist fyrst sættast við sjálfan sig og hinar mörgu arfleifðir sínar á 10. áratugnum þegar hann gengur í búddatrúarklaustur á fjallinu Mt. Baldy í Kaliforníu. Þegar hann snýr þaðan aftur á fyrsta áratug 21. aldar hefst lokaþáttur ferils hans, hin langa kveðjustund, sem stendur enn. Á lokalagi nýjustu plötunnar birtist persónan „Leonard“ mælanda sem „a lazy bastard living in a suit.“ Ekki er hægt að átta sig á hver þessi „Leonard“ er nema skoða höfundarverkið í heild sinni, áhrifavaldana og ekki síst það umhverfi sem „Leonard“ sprettur upp úr. Efnisyfirlit Inngangur ................................................................................................................................................ 6 1. Endalokin ....................................................................................................................................... 12 2. Hin langa kveðjustund ................................................................................................................... 13 3. Upphafið ........................................................................................................................................ 17 4. Hermaður og svikari ....................................................................................................................... 19 5. Viktoríanskur séntilmaður .............................................................................................................. 22 6. Hin kanadíska þögn ........................................................................................................................ 25 7. Prestur eða spámaður .................................................................................................................... 29 8. Gyðingur og kaþólikki..................................................................................................................... 31 9. Leonard Cohen á faraldsfæti .......................................................................................................... 34 10. Leonard Cohen á heimavelli ....................................................................................................... 37 11. Ó Kanada ................................................................................................................................... 40 12. Tímamót sem enginn tók eftir .................................................................................................... 44 13. Skáldið verður að hneyksla ......................................................................................................... 46 14. Cohen mjólkar Kanada ............................................................................................................... 49 15. Í og úr skugga Dylan ................................................................................................................... 51 16. Bækur í lagaformi ....................................................................................................................... 53 17. Helvíti eru hinir .......................................................................................................................... 55 18. Meistarasöngvar ........................................................................................................................ 58 19. Abraham, Ísak og Jóhanna af Örk ............................................................................................... 60 20. Rottur og skjaldbökur ................................................................................................................. 64 21. „Ég mun klæðast grímu fyrir þig.“ .............................................................................................. 67 22. Söngur kokkálsins ...................................................................................................................... 68 23. Hatur og ást ............................................................................................................................... 71 24. Lennie eða Len? ......................................................................................................................... 74 25. Það er stríð ................................................................................................................................ 78 26. Kvennamaður og einnar konu maður ......................................................................................... 79 27. Klofið sjálf .................................................................................................................................. 83 28. Klofið land .................................................................................................................................. 85 4 29. Kanada kvatt á ný ....................................................................................................................... 88 30. Hinar ýmsu stellingar þagnarinnar .............................................................................................. 89 31. Dömur mínar og herrar, „Leonard Cohen“ .................................................................................. 95 32. Maður og fjall ............................................................................................................................ 97 33. Elskhugar og prestar ................................................................................................................ 100 34. Kohen og Koan ......................................................................................................................... 103 35. Skjaldbökur og jakkaföt ............................................................................................................ 107 5 Inngangur „There is a crack in everything/That‘s how the light gets in,“1 segir Leonard Cohen í laginu „Anthem,“ sem er, eins og nafnið bendir til, nokkurskonar þjóðsöngur hans sjálfs. En hvaða sprungu er verið að tala um, og hvers vegna telur Leonard Cohen að hún hleypi ljósinu inn? Hvers vegna er maður sem margsinnis hefur lagt heiminn að fótum sér svona upptekinn af ósigrum sínum? Hvers vegna er maður sem er jafn orðheppinn og hann svona upptekinn af því hvað það sé erfitt að tjá sig? Rithöfundurinn og bókmenntafræðingurinn Robert Kroetsch segir í ritgerð sinni „Unhiding the Hidden“ að hann finni „...in the Canadian writers whom I know personally, a peculiar will towards silence. Something that on the surface looks like a will towards failure.“2 Kroetsch segir ástæðuna vera þríþætta. Hún felist í afstöðunni til breskrar fortíðar, til nágrannans í suðri, en ekki síður til hinnar miklu víðáttu í norðri: This silence – this impulse towards the natural, the uncreated, if you will – is summed up by the north. The north is not a typical American frontier, a natural world to be conquered and exploited. Rather, in spite of inroads, it remains a true wilderness, a continuing presence. We don‘t want to conquer it. Sometimes we want it to conquer us...It presses southward into the Canadian consciousness.3 Winfried Siemerling, prófessor í bókmenntafræði við háskólann í Toronto, tekur undir að hinn byggði hluti Kanada sé landamærasvæði, staður sem sameinar ólíka
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