The Red and Black

Issue date: 4/22/09 Section: Variety

Leonard Cohen [Click to enlarge]

Poetry analysis is a daunting task to many University students, but this semester a popular recording artist may have tricked a group of freshman into doing it. And now, these students and friends will perform a tribute to him.

This semester, Elizabeth Kraft, an English professor, taught this group in her freshmen seminar course, "The Tower of Song: The Poetry of Leonard Cohen." In the class, Kraft uses the music and poetry of renowned singer-songwriter Cohen as a way to introduce students to poetry analysis.

"Leonard Cohen began his career as a poet, not a singer," Kraft said.

Each week, the class read and prepared a response to several poems, then discussed them, listened to them and viewed videos of Cohen performances.

"I'm sure they don't actually think that they've learned all that much about analyzing poetry as they get to the end of the class," Kraft said, "but I can assure you that they have."

This will be the third time Kraft has taught the class and only the second time she has rented the second floor of Tasty World to host the culminating Cohen tribute concert. Current and returning students, their friends and some University staff members will perform Cohen songs and other tributes.

"It's interesting to perform a poem or a song, different than just the passive listening. You have to learn it from a different angle," said Kraft, who normally teaches 18th century British literature and an introduction to poetry course.

The event was spawned at an end-of-year celebration in the Cohen class' first year, when several students brought guitars and played a few Cohen songs.

"It was just charming," said Kraft, who became a fan of Cohen's only in the past few years. However, she had an immediate appreciation for not only his songs but also the use of literary devices in his work.

"I have learned to love him through the class," said freshman Rachel Robeck, who had minimal exposure to Cohen before the class.

Over time, though, the poetic lyrics reached her with the melodies.

"It was really interesting to … read the lyrics and understand them that way and then hear them in the music," said Robeck, who will be performing two songs today.

Other performers include some friends of Kraft who also work at the University.

"I've loved Leonard Cohen's work since I was a teenager," said Jay Aronson, a professor in the Terry College of Business. "And just to have a chance to perform it, even if it's only the people from the class and my friends who are singing, it's just fun."

Along with this culminating performance, Kraft assigned a final project to the class: find a Cohen song they hadn't discussed and present it to the class. After months of reading, listening, discussing and now performing, the students presented introspective looks at form, metaphor and tone.

"Sometimes it's a bit rudimentary," Kraft said, "but they weren't doing that when they came in."

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