From this broken hill I sing to you : God, sex, and politics in the work of Leonard Cohen / by Marcia Pally.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pally, Marcia, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Cohen, Leonard, 1934-2016--Teachings.

Cohen, Leonard.

Covenants--Religious aspects--Judaism.

Covenants.

Theology.

Theodicy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (201 pages)

Other Title:

God, sex, and politics in the work of Leonard Cohen

Place of Publication:

London : T and T Clark, 2021.

Summary:

Leonard Cohen's troubled relationship with God is here mapped onto his troubled relationships with sex and politics. Analysing Covenantal theology and its place in Cohen's work, this book is the first to trace a consistent theology across sixty years of Cohen's writing, drawing on his Jewish heritage and its expression in his lyrics and poems. Cohen's commitment to covenant, and his anger at this God who made us so prone to failing it, undergird the faith, frustration, and sardonic taunting of Cohen's work. Both his faith and ire are traced through: · Cohen's unorthodox use of Jewish and Christian imagery · His writings about women, politics, and the Holocaust · His final theology, You Want It Darker, released three weeks before his death.

"This book begins with a brief overview of traditional theodicy followed by a more detailed look at Cohen's covenantal theology. Covenant grounds Cohen's understanding of our relationships with God and other persons and is the basis for his theodicy: if we are by creation covenantal, bound to God and each other in covenant, why do we have such difficulty sustaining covenantal bonds? Cohen was rent by his own inability to maintain bond with God and other persons, often women he loved. While theodicy traditionally holds this is a human failing, Cohen proposes that it must also be God's. God is the source of humanity's covenantal breaches as he is source of humanity itself. Cohen's commitment to covenant and his anger at this God who made us so prone to failing it undergird the faith, frustration, and sardonic taunting of Cohen's work. Both his faith and ire are traced through (i) Cohen's unorthodox use of Jewish and Christian imagery, (ii) his writings about women, politics, and the Holocaust, and (iii) in his magisterial final theology, You Want It Darker, released three weeks before his death"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Cover

Half Title

Title

Copyright

Contents

Figures

Acknowledgments

Song Corrections Discussed in this Book

Foreword

Introduction

1 Theodicy: Arguments with God about Evil, Suffering, and God Himself

2 Covenantal Theology and Its Place in Cohen's Work

3 From Covenantal Theology to Theodicy:

4 Failing Covenant with God and Persons:

5 Those Who Did Not Fail Covenant:

6 The Double Bind That Is Not a Bond: Cohen and Women

7 Betrayal of God, Betrayal of Persons, Political Betrayals: Cohen's Trinity

Conclusion: You Want It Darker and Thanks for the Dance-Cohen's Last Creed

References

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

Other Format:

Print version: Pally, Marcia. From this broken hill I sing to you

ISBN:

9780567694799

0567694798

9780567694782

056769478X

OCLC:

1262371118