Leonard Cohen's Last Book: The Flame

The Flame by Leonard Cohen with Remembrance of Things Past by Nancy A. Bekofske

In the last days of his life, Leonard Cohen prepared his last book, gathering drawings, unpublished material, and the lyrics from his last albums. He was a man who knew he was in his last days and an artist who needed to send out one last envoy to the world. That book has been published as The Flame.

The image on the cover is the burning bush, a green tree surrounded by fire and yet is not burned by the flames. Cohen's "flame burned bright within him to the very end," said Robert Kory, manager and trustee of the Cohen estate, “this book, finished only days before his death, reveals the intensity of his inner fire to all.”

One of the first record albums I bought as an early teen was The Songs of Leonard Cohen. I later bought the songbook. I grew up listening to those songs, singing those songs, strumming chords on my guitar. When an ARC of Cohen's final book The Flame arrived I downloaded the digital album and revisited those songs while opening the book to read.

The Flame with Remembrance of Things Past by Nancy A. Bekofske

As I worked my way through the book I researched Cohen's life and work online. I discovered the poets who he admired and influenced him, including Frederico Garcia Lorca; Cohen even named his daughter Lorca.

The drawings are primarily self-portraits, his face deeply creased and intense, and of women, spiritual imagery, and a few still lifes. Facsimiles of his manuscripts are also included.

The selections are confessional, addressing his personal struggles with depression, relationships, and spiritual meaning. Rhythm is more important than rhyme. The imagery is often very personal, arcane, but also with references to Biblical stories and Jewish history.

The message I gather is this: When love fails to save us and faith fails to bring grace, and the world has become merciless, music and poetry become acts of resistance rebellion. The creative urge engenders the flame that can not be quenched or dimmed by the world.

I received an ARC from the publisher through a Goodreads giveaway.

The Flame: Poems Notebooks Lyrics Drawings by Leonard Cohen
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication Date 10/02/2018
$28 hardbound
ISBN: 9780374156060

Over There: WWI Sheet Music

WWI songs reflect a spectrum of reaction to the Great War, from patriotism and support to homesickness,  mothers and children worried for their menfolk, and even pacifist songs.

One of the most well known WWI songs is Over There by George M. Cohen. An article from the Library of Congress gives the song's history:

George M. Cohan, a successful Broadway producer, playwright, performer, lyricist and composer, wrote "Over There" on his way into work. The headlines that inspired him the morning of April 6, 1917, were not ordinary. They announced that the U.S. had abandoned its isolationist policy and entered World War I on the side of the Allied Powers against the Central Powers (Germany, Austro-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire).

Cohan’s gingery song took its opening verse "Johnny, get your gun" from a popular American song published in 1886. He based his music on a three note bugle call. Although Cohan tested the song on a group of military men at Fort Meyers, Florida, without much success, the general public loved it.

"Over There" was first performed publicly in the fall of 1917 by Charles King at a Red Cross benefit in New York. But it was the popular singer and comedienne Nora Bayes who made the song famous. Cohan, it is said, personally chose her to premiere his song on stage. Bayes also recorded "Over There" for the Victor Talking Machine Company on July 13, 1917 (in a 78 rpm format).

On June 29, 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt awarded Cohan the Congressional Gold Medal for this and other songs.

Listen to George M. Cohen sing Over There here.

The cover illustration is by Barbelle. See other covers by Barbelle here.

Johnnie get your gun, get your gun, get your gun
Take it on the run, on the run, on the run
Hear them calling you and me
Every son of liberty

Hurry right away, no delay, go today
Make your daddy glad to have had such a lad
Tell your sweetheart not to pine
To be proud her boy's in line.

CHORUS (repeated twice):
Over there, over there
Send the word, send the word over there
That the Yanks are coming, the Yanks are coming
The drums are rum-tumming everywhere

So prepare, say a prayer
Send the word, send the word to beware
We'll be over there, we're coming over
And we won't come back till it's over over there.
Over there.

Johnnie get your gun, get your gun, get your gun
Johnnie show the Hun you're a son of a gun
Hoist the flag and let her fly
Yankee Doodle do or die

Pack your little kit, show your grit, do your bit
Yankees to the ranks from the towns and the tanks
Make your mother proud of you
And the old Red White and Blue.

CHORUS (repeated twice):
Over there, over there
Send the word, send the word over there
That the Yanks are coming, the Yanks are coming
The drums are rum-tumming everywhere

So prepare, say a prayer
Send the word, send the word to beware
We'll be over there, we're coming over
And we won't come back till it's over over there.

Over there.

***

Hooray for Uncle Sam, 1917, words and music by Della Williams Paine, is another patriotic rabble-rouser with a march tempo. Uncle Sam is featured in many songs. This one is particularly interesting for its invocation of God and how it imagines the whole world singing Uncle Sam's praises.

We are the boys of the USA,

We stand for unity always,

We pledge ourselves to you,

the Red White and Blue

and to you we'll be true.

We love each star and stripe to day

As o'er our heads you proudly wave,

We are your sons so staunch and true

And we are proud to fight for you.

Chorus:

Then Hooray for Uncle Sam

The bravest in the land,

We all salute you ev'ry day

The glorious flag of USA,

And may you never cease to wave

O'er this land of the free and brave,

United all we stand or fall,

We will be ready when you call,

For we are loyal o'er this land

Then Hooray for our dear Uncle Sam.

We give our all to you to day

As soldiers of the USA

And we will loyal be

on land and on sea,

Sweet land of liberty

To thee we sing our songs of praise

And to thy God our voices raise,

We ask thy help and aid today

To save our brothers o'er the way .(chorus)

When we from war come marching home

And lay our victories at your throne

You will be proud to see

the flag of the free

Still floating on the breeze,

So glor'ous will it wave that day

That other nations all will say,

Three cheers for you, the USA

May God your noble work repay (chorus)

***

America Here's My Boy was introduced in 1917 as reflecting "the sentiment of every American Mother." The prolific Andrew B. Sterling had a song for every new development from Ragtime to wartime. The music was by Arthur Lange. Here the recording here, complete with a bugle introduction and martial music. The cover illustration is by Andre' De Takacs. See his wonderful covers here.

There's a million mothers knocking at the nation's door
A million mothers, yes and there'll be millions more
And while within each mother heart they pray
Just hark what one brave mother has to say

America, I raised a boy for you
America, you'll find him staunch and true
Place a gun upon his shoulder, he is ready to die or do
America, he is my only one, my hope, my pride and joy
But if I had another, he would march beside his brother
America, here's my boy!

There's a million mothers waiting by the fireside bright
A million mothers, waiting for the call tonight
And while within each heart there'll be a tear
She'll watch her boy go marching with a cheer

America, I raised a boy for you
America, you'll find him staunch and true
Place a gun upon his shoulder, he is ready to die or do
America, he is my only one, my hope, my pride and joy
But if I had another, he would march beside his brother
America, here's my boy!

***

Just a few years earlier in 1915 the song I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier came out, with lyrics by Alfred Bryan and music by Al Piantadosi. It was the first pacifist anti-war songs plus it had a feminist bent. Teddy Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman hated the song and many parodied it. Listen to an Edison cylinder recording here. The subtitle is "A Mother's Plea for Peace." Read more about the music here.

My copy has a photo of Chel 'Toy of the Ching Ling Foo Co. What is a Chinese lady doing on this sheet music? The Ching Ling Foo Company was a traveling vaudeville magic act troop out of China in the last years of the 19th c and into the early 20th c. Read more here and here. Although Chinese were prohibited from immigrating to the United States Ching Ling Foo was considered an artist and allowed into the country. He started a craze for Chinese magic acts. 

The various issues of the song featured minorities on the cover: Chinese, Native American, and African America.

Ten million soldiers to the war have gone,

Who may never return again.

Ten million mothers' hearts must break

For the ones who died in vain.

Head bowed down in sorrow

In her lonely years,

I heard a mother murmur thru' her tears:

Chorus:

I didn't raise my boy to be a soldier,

I brought him up to be my pride and joy.

Who dares to place a musket on his shoulder,

To shoot some other mother's darling boy?

Let nations arbitrate their future troubles,

It's time to lay the sword and gun away.

There'd be no war today,

If mothers all would say,

"I didn't raise my boy to be a soldier."

What victory can cheer a mother's heart,

When she looks at her blighted home?

What victory can bring her back

All she cared to call her own?

Let each mother answer

In the years to be,

Remember that my boy belongs to me!

Repeat Chorus 2x

***

The boys were sent off to war 

So Long, Mother, 1917, lyrics by Raymond Egan and Gus Kahn with music by Egbert Van Alstyne, was made famous by Al. Jolson and it was advertised as "Al Jolson's Mother Song". I can't find a vintage recording but hear it here. Read about the music here.

Oh mother dear a little tear is gleaming in your eye
Your lips are all a tremble as you hear me say "goodbye"
The Stars and Stripes are calling now
On every mother's boy
From Maine to dear old Dixie
They shoulder arms with joy.

Chorus:
So long my dear old lady
Don't you cry
Just kiss your grown-up baby goodbye
Somewhere in France I'll be dreaming of you
You and your dear eyes of blue
Come let me see you smile before we part
I'll throw a kiss to cheer your dear old heart
Dry the tear in your eye
Don't you sigh
Don't you cry
So long, mother
Kiss your boy good-bye.

Oh mother dear each volunteer must say good-bye today
Some leave a love who may forget
When he has march'd away
But I leave one who'll not forget
That's why I'm mighty glad
For you're the only sweet-heart 
That I have ever had. (Chorus)

***

Once the boys were overseas their thoughts returned to dear old Mother. There's a Picture in My Old Kit Bag by Al Sweet .

A soldier boy was writing home to his Mother o'er the sea
Telling of the strange and awful sights in this war for humanity
He told his love for loved ones so dear
As he brushed a tear away
And through her tears a Mother read
these words for her alone.

There's a picture in my old kit bag, in a worn old leather frame
It's a dear to me as our grand old flag and I'll cherish just the same'
On the long, long trail to No Man's Land,
When my weary footsteps lag,
There's a cheer all the while in my Mother's smile
In that picture in my old kit bag.

***

For Your Boy and My Boy Buy Bonds! Buy Bonds! "Hear the Bugle Call!" was another WWI song written by Gus Kahn and Egbert Van Alstyne. Listen to a recording here.  War bonds allowed the government to borrow funds for the war effort.

Hear the bugle call
The call to arms for Liberty
See them one and all
They go to fight for you and me
Heroes we will find them
Ev'ry mother's son
We must get behind them
'Till their work is done

Chorus:
For your boy and my boy and all the boys out there
Let's lend our money to the U.S.A. 
And do our share
Ev'ry bond that we are buying
Will help to hold the fighting line
Buy Bonds
Buy Bonds
For Your Boy and Mine

Hear the bugle call
The call to those who stay at home
You are soldiers all
Tho'  you may never cross the foam
Keep Old Glory waving
Proudly up above
Praying working saving
For the ones you love
(chorus)

***

What Are You Going To Do To Help the Boys? Buy a Liberty Bond!, 1918, is another Gus Kahn and Egbert Van Alstyne song for war bonds. Hear a recording here. The lyrics

Your Uncle Sam is calling now on ev'ry one of you

If you're too old or young to fight there's something else to do

If you have done a but before don't let the matter rest

For Uncle Sam expects that ev'ry man will do his best

Chorus:

What are you going to do for Uncle Sammy?

What are you going to do to help the boys?

If you mean to stay at home

While they're fighting o'er the foam

The least you can do is buy a Liberty bond or two

If you're going to be a sympathetic miser

The kind that only lends noise

You're no better than the one who loves the Kaiser

So what are you going to do to help the boys?

It makes no difference who you are or whence you came or how

Your Uncle Sammy help'd you then and you must help him now

Your brothers will be fighting for your freedom over there

And if you love the Stars and Stripes then you must do your share.

(Chorus)

 ***

The super-patriotism of these last songs were not the only kind popular during the way. Some songs did reflect the pathos suffered by families whose menfolk were in harm's way. 

Just a Baby's Prayer at Twilight for her Daddy Over There, words by Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young, and music by M. K. Jerome, 1918, has a Barbelle illustrated cover of a girl praying for her daddy. Hear Henry Burr sing it here. It is a sentimental and sweet song.

I've heard the prayers of mothers,
Some of them old and gray
I've heard the prayers of others
For those who went away

Oft times a prayer will teach one
The meaning of good bye
I felt the pain of each one,
But this one made me cry

Just a baby's prayer at twilight
When lights are low
Poor baby's years
are filled with tears

There's a mother there at twilight
Who's proud to know
Her precious little tot
Is Dad's forget-me-not

After saying "Goodnight, Mama"
She climbs up stairs
Quite unawares
And says her prayers

"Oh! kindly tell my daddy
That he must take care"
That's a baby's prayer at twilight
For her daddy, "over there"

The gold that some folks pray for,
Brings nothing but regrets
Some day this gold won't pay for
Their many lifelong debts.

Some prayers may be neglected
Beyond the Gold Gates.
But when they're all collected,
Here's one that never waits;

Just a baby's prayer at twilight
When lights are low
Poor baby's years
are filled with
There's a mother there at twilight
Who's proud to know
Her precious little tot
Is Dad's forget-me-not

After saying, "Goodnight, Mama"
She climbs up stairs
Quite unawares
And says her prayers

"Oh! kindly tell my daddy
That he must take care"
That's a baby's prayer at twilight
For her daddy, "over there."

***

After the War is Over Will there Be Any "Home Sweet Home" by E. J. Pourmon and Joseph Woodruff, 1917, has none of the bravado of the patriotic songs. THe lyricist instead writes about the somber realities of war. The composer's photo is featured on the cover.

Listen to a piano version here. 

Angels they are weeping o'er the foreign war,
Transports are sailing from shore to shore.
Brace heroes are falling to arise no more,
But will the bugle's calling every man to war.

After the war is over and the world's at peace
Many a heart will be aching after the war has ceased
Many a home will be vacant,
Many a child alone,
But I hope they'll all be happy 
In a place called "Home sweet Home."

Changed will be the picture of the foreign lands,
Maps will change entirely to diff'rent hands.
Kings and Queens may ever rule their fellow man,
But pray they'll be united like our own free land.
(Chorus)

A Community of Quilts An Old Fashioned Church Pew Show

The Clawson United Methodist Church in Clawson, Michigan is holding the Community of Quilts, an Old Fashioned Church Pew show this weekend. Around 200 quilts are displayed on pews in the sanctuary and chapel.

Quilts of every kind! Quilts made by grandmothers in the last century and new Modern quilts.

Pieced quilts, appliqued quilts, embroidered quilts!

Many were machine quilted by Barb Lusk, whose medallion quilt with an eagle center is seen below. Barb is a church member and organizer of the show.

Many of my local quilts friends contributed to the show.

I contributed two quilts. One was the Biblical Block Sampler, seen below in cranberry and green. It was made by the Hillsdale Quilters--the gals I learned to quilt from-- and gifted to my husband in 1998.

The embroidered yellow roses quilt was made by my weekly quilt group friend's mother.

The other quilt I contributed was the Japanese Kimono girls. The blocks were made by the Hillsdale Quilters and given to me. I set them in this quilt and hand quilted it with traditional Sashiko patterns.

 There were Halloween quilts and witch quilts.

A display from the Remember Me Quilt Project included quilts made to remember victims of gun violence.

 There is also vendors selling their handcrafted goods.

Are You a Sampler Addict? Pat Sloan is Back with The Splendid Sampler 2

Over 28,000 quilters joined the online Splendid Sampler group. Now Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson return with 100 all-new block patterns to inspire quilters all over the world, all over again! from the publisher

Can you resist these sweet treat 6" blocks? The joy and exuberance in the blocks reflect the designers: they were asked to create a block in their 'signature style' to answer the question "I'm living my best quilting life when.."

New blocks from Lissa Alexander, Carrie Nelson, Jenny Doan, Susan Ache, Betsy Chutchian, Rob Appell, and others (see the complete list here) include all styles: patchwork, applique, embroidery, paper piecing. Along with great instructions the blocks are shown in alternate colorways.

Pat herself designed Radio Waves block to represent the "email that changed my life" when she was asked to host an Internet radio show about quilting. Jane Davidson created First Aid to represent patching up beloved quilts worn from too much love.

The late Nancy Zieman contributed Nancy's Spool in memory of her annual quilting getaways with dear friends. Lissa Alexander's block Big Sun was made during Hurricane Harvey, "I remember wishing that a Big Sun would come and dry up all the rain."

Other blocks show a love a gardening and flowers, the wonders of cities and majestic mountains and starry nights and the seaside, antique needlework and the women who made them, a love of reading, childhood memories, pets and friendship and family and faith. And of course, a love of sewing quilts!

I received a free ebook from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Learn more about The Splendid Sampler 2 at
https://www.shopmartingale.com/the-splendid-sampler-2.html

Splendid Sampler 2
by Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson
Martingale
$28.99
144 pages
publication October 1, 2018
ISBN: 9781604689525

Learn more Splendid Sampler (I) at
https://www.shopmartingale.com/the-splendid-sampler.html

Join Pat's Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/QuiltWithPatSloan/
Tutorials are available online at The Splendid Sampler.

Virgil Wander by Leif Enger

Virgil Wander by Leif Enger is a lovely, quiet story on the surface, featuring quirky small-town folk who carry on in spite of heavy baggage. If you let yourself flow along with the gentle story, you will be caught up in the wind current of change and impending disaster to a satisfying conclusion. Have a little faith in these characters, and they will greatly reward you.

Greenstone, MN sits on the great inland sea of Lake Superior. Its glory days are behind it; the Taconic mine that built it looms over the shoreline, ruining the view with its reminder of what has been lost. The town's once famous ballplayer, whose uncontrollable wild pitch was both his boon and his burden, disappeared in a plane over the lake ten years ago. It seems like hard times haunts the town.

Virgil Wander operates the small theater. His car went through a railing into the lake. He should have died, except a beachcomber rescued him. Virgil is given a new lease on life. As recovers his equilibrium, adjectives, and strength he considers his future. Virgil is a good man. He holds an unrequited love for a woman, befriends her son, takes care of people in need.

Greenstone is undergoing a sea change. A local man is drowned while fishing for a legendary monster sturgeon. A kite flying Norwegian arrives, looking for information about the son he never knew he had. The town founder's son returns, his sheen of charm and panache a thin veil over a flinty heart. The town struggles to find a way to celebrate itself at its annual festival, finally embracing its heritage in Hard Luck Days.

I enjoyed reading this novel at a leisurely pace...until I could not put it down and gulped the last of it down in one sitting, staying up late into the night.

The name of Virgil's town, Greenstone intrigued me.

Greenstone is the state gem of Michigan, found along Lake Superior. It is a mineral found in basalt, a volcanic rock. The Ely greenstone found in Minnesota is basalt that has been metamorphized; that is, volcanic rock which under pressure has been changed into a new form.  Read more here.

Virgil's town of Greenstone is troubled by great disasters, economic and personal, and has been crushed and pummeled. But it survives and is reborn in a new form. This hopeful novel reminds us that suffering and loss is not the end of the story. We can, and do, survive the sea-change of near-death. And are reborn to a different life that may be as good or better than what we had known.

I received a free ARC from Bookish in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Virgil Wander
Leif Enger
Atlantic Monthly Press
Publication October 2, 2018
$27.00 hardcover
ISBN 978-0-0821-2878-2
eISBN 978-0-8021-4668-7

Farewell, Summer by Ray Bradbury

"Farewell, Summer. Here it is. October 1st. Temperature's 82. Season just won't let go. The leaves won't turn." from Farewell, Summer by Ray Bradbury

I read Farewell Summer on the last day of summer. 

My electric company had sent me a warning email that my bill would be twice as high as last month's. We had been running the air conditioner for weeks because of the high humidity and 90-degree weather, accompanied by thunderstorms. The bees were visiting the Sedum Autumn Joy since most of the other flowers had gone, except the roses which are still blooming their hearts out.

But a few days later as I write this post the change has come. We expect our first frost. The apple tree has some yellowing leaves. I left my window open last night but pulled my quilt up to my chin. The house was chilled this morning. Farewell, Summer.

If only life were only about the changing of the seasons, but with the change comes the recognition that life is moving on, the months are ticking off another year. I am growing old. I tried to hang onto youth, like Doug and Tom in Bradbury's fictional Illinois town, resentful and obstinate, sure I would never grow old. I would die first. Instead, I turned sixteen and suddenly I was married and then I was old.

A sequel to Dandelion Wine, written 55 years later, Bradbury returns to childhood's grappling with the awareness that comes after age nine, the knowledge that we grow old and die. Doug and Tom go to war with the old men. They think they know how the old men control the boys' destiny so they become men. Steal the chess pieces! Break the clock! 

Couched in the language of war, the last chapter is Appomatix. Mr. Quartermain, the old man who resented the boys, and Doug who waged war on the old men sit down together. 

"What is it you want to know?" Quartermain asks Doug.

"Everything," said Douglas. 
"Everything?" Quartermain laughed gently. "That'll take at least ten minutes."
"How about something?" asked Douglas finally.
"Something? One special thing? Why, Doug, that will take a lifetime. I've been at it a while. Everything rolls off my tongue, easy as pie. But something! Something! I get lockjaw just trying to define it. So let's talk about everything instead, for now."

I was so blown away by the writing, the word choice, the insights, I could have highlighted pages of favorites sentences. For #SundaySentence hosted on Twitter by author and 'book evangelist' David Abrams, I shared this lovely quote:

Grandpa's library was a fine dark place bricked with books, so anything could happen there and always did. All you had to do was pull a book from the shelf and open it and suddenly the darkness was not so dark anymore.

Last year I read Dandelion Wine with book club, my first reading since I was a teenager. Then I reread Something Wicked This Way Comes, which I also last read as a teenager.

Frankly, I could easily make it a habit every year of reading Dandelion Wine and Farewell, Summer both on the Autumn Equinox. The older I get, the more I have to learn from children.

The Man Who Walked Backward: An American Dreamer's Search for Meaning in the Great Depression

Plennie Lawrence Wingo is not a household name, although he went to great lengths endeavoring to achieve fame.

A string of bad luck had hit Plennie, thanks to the Depression. Nearly penniless, he hit on an idea. People were doing all kinds of crazy things to break records in a quest for fame. With fame comes money. It seemed as if everything that could be done had been done. Except...no one had walked around the world backward.

Plennie became obsessed. Every day for six months he practiced walking backward. He bought a map and sunglasses with mirrors to see behind him. He was given a cane. He put on his steel heeled shoes and a suit and tucked a notebook in his pocket, and in 1931 he left Texas, walking backward down Main Street on his way toward Dallas. He had picture postcards of himself to sell for income and hoped to find a commercial sponsor.

The Man Who Walked Backward by Ben Montgomery is Plennie's story, which is entertaining and interesting. He meets with great generosity and falls victim to scammers. He is a dreamer and a go-getter, fated to hit brick walls. He is harassed by cops and jailed in a foreign land. An affable man, he made friends who offered him shelter and meals and sometimes cash.

As readers travel with Plennie, we experience the misery and poverty of the Depression. We learn the story of America's growth through the history of the places he passed through, and how we used up and destroyed our vast riches.

Famous events and people are mentioned: the destruction of the buffalo as part of Native American genocide; the destruction of the prairie; towns that boom and bust; lynching and the Klan; Bonnie and Clyde and Al Capone; the kidnapping of Charles Lindberg's baby; the rise of Hoovervilles and the Dust Bowl; the growth of the beer industry and Prohibition.

And we travel with Plennie to Germany to experience the rise of Hitler, and across Europe to Turkey. It is unsettling how 1931 America is so familiar: ecological disaster, the destruction of the working class, the rise of a man who knew how to work the crowd, "tailoring his speeches to his audiences" and promising to make Germany great again. "People loved him. those who didn't were scared of those who did."

I found the book fascinating.

I received a free ebook from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

THE MAN WHO WALKED BACKWARD: An American Dreamer's Search for Meaning in the Great Depression
Little, Brown Spark
by Ben Montgomery
On Sale: September 18, 2018
Price: $14.99 / $18.99 (CDN)
ISBN-13: 9780316438049