By clicking “Accept,” you agree to the use of cookies and similar technologies on your device as set forth in our Cookie Policy and our Privacy Policy. Please note that certain cookies are essential for this website to function properly and do not require user consent to be deployed.

Hydra and the Bananas of Leonard Cohen

Contributors

By Roger Green

Formats and Prices

Price

$18.99

Price

$24.99 CAD

Format

Format:

  1. ebook $18.99 $24.99 CAD
  2. Hardcover $35.00 $45.00 CAD

This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around April 30, 2009. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.

English poet Roger Green left the safety of God, country, and whiskey to immerse himself in an austere and sober life on the Greek Island of Hydra. But when Green discovered that his terrace overlooked the garden of sixties balladeer Leonard Cohen, he became obsessed with Cohen’s songs, wives, and banana tree. Hydra starts with a poem the author wrote and recited for his fifty-seventh birthday (borrowing the meter of Cohen’s “Suzanne,” and ripe with references to the song), with Cohen’s ex-partner Suzanne, who may or may not be the subject of Cohen’s song, in the audience. By turns playful and philosophic, Green’s unconventional memoir tells the story of his journey down the rabbit hole of obsession, as he confronts the meaning of poetry, history, and his own life. Beginning as a poetic meditation upon Leonard Cohen’s bananas, Green’s bardic pilgrimage takes the reader on various twists and turns until, at last, the poet accepts the joy of accepting his fate.

On Sale
Apr 30, 2009
Page Count
288 pages
Publisher
Basic Books
ISBN-13
9780786746927

Roger Green

About the Author

Roger Green is an English poet living on the Greek island of Hydra. Among his publications are several books of poetry, including Wolvercote Dreaming and Notes from Overground by Tiresias. In 1987 the Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary published his translation of the Akathistos Hymn by Romanos the Melodist.

Learn more about this author