George Bernard Shaw wrote the classic play about her - St.Joan. Eco-feminist, warrior, truth teller, compassionate heart. But it was the first time I heard Leonard Cohen’s song, Joan of Arc, that really got me hooked on her story, and his extraordinary work. I once gave a volume of his poetry to someone as a gesture of love. Then later shared a poem from that same collection as a goodbye. That’s the amazing scope of his writing - from cradle to tomb.

The Flame (Penguin/Random House) is a new collection of Cohen’s previously unpublished poems, and selections from the piles of notebooks he kept during his lifetime. A labour of love, curated by his son, Adam Cohen. Poems, drawings, and the reflections of a man who lived and wrote with equal parts audacity and grace. It’s a beautiful collection - full of humour and so much humility. To lose him and Gord Downie in the same calendar year is kind of unthinkable. But like Downie’s albums, we have Cohen’s volumes to hold on to, and revisit over and over. Like I’m doing now. Seriously good shit…

Buy it. Read it.

RECENTLY:

Workshop of John Lyly’s Galatea. Lyly was a contemporary of Shakespeare’s - and rumor has it the Bard helped himself to Lyly’s characters and plot lines and penned them as his own. That bitch ripped everyone off. Galatea is the first known play of the period to put a queer love affair between 2 women, front and centre. The collaborative efforts of Bard on the Beach, SFU, UBC, and a room full of actors, directors and dramaturgs - trying to figure out if the play stands on it’s own and could be produced in the future.
Halfway through shooting the first season of the new Citytv/Muse series The Murders. Really great writing. Really great folks. 100% Can-con. Yaasssssss.

And: Hives for Humanity, Eastside Culture Crawl , Portland Hotel Society. Gotta love this city.