Reissued with a new afterword

Leonard Cohen is back! With a #1 bestselling poetry collection, The Book of Longing, flying off bookshelves; Lian Lunson’s acclaimed documentary, Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man, in theatres this summer (the DVD will release this fall); and the superb soundtrack in music stores everywhere, Leonard Cohen proves he is Canada’s most enduring icon. Now, in the newly reissued Various Positions, Ira Nadel peels back the many layers to reveal the man and explain the fascinating relationship between Leonard Cohen’s life and his art. This book is a remarkable and rare
look at Leonard Cohen, up close and personal.

For nearly forty years, Leonard Cohen has endured the ups and downs of an international career that has alternately identified him as the "Prince of Bummers" and Canada's most respected poet and performer. Now, author Ira Nadel brings us closer to understanding these conflicting descriptions and allows us to enter Cohen's private world. He peels back the many layers to reveal the man and explain the fascinating relationship between Cohen's life and his art.

This is a remarkable and rare look at Leonard Cohen, up close and personal.

Ira B. Nadel's profile page

Ira B. Nadel has written several other books, including a short biography of Cohen, as well as Biography: Fiction and Fact & Form and Joyce and the Jews. Nadel comments on books for CBC Radio and teaches at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, where he is a professor of English.

"The definitive biography of Canada's best-known poet and angst-ridden singer."
—The Edmonton Sun
"Nadel deserves only applause. He makes it all look so easy, with his graceful prose and well-detailed chapters--thoroughly scholarly and genuinely entertaining at the same time."
—The Montreal Gazette
"A candid and frank portrait of the artist-- Fans of Cohen will find the book to be a treasure trove of revealing information."
—The Toronto Star
"The research is exhaustive, the psychological insights are intelligent, and the life and work are well integrated."
— Quill & Quire
"Includes more about Cohen than has ever before been assembled."
— The Globe and Mail