هیدرا و موزهای لئونارد کوهن: [جستجویی برای آرامش در آفتاب]: (یک پارابولای یونانی برای همه ما)

"What begins as a poem written on the occasion of a birthday evolves into an all-consuming search - for meaning, for the rest of the story, for the often elusive connections between words and things, ourselves and others. Combining wit, style, and with nods to everyone from Basho to Rainer Maria Rilke, "Suzanne" to Bananarama, Hydra and the Bananas of Leonard Cohen proves, once again, that (in the words of fellow poet Lawrence Durrell), life is far too serious not to be taken lightly."--Jacket. 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. Fun de Siecle 4 -- Notes to Fun de Siecle 7 -- Singing South 20 -- Banana Update 39 -- Interleaves 45 -- Steve Notes 57 -- Voyeur 64 -- My Journey 77 -- Homecoming 96 -- Enclosed Garden 105 -- Death in This Book 125 -- Rag-and-Bone Shop 137 -- Of Angels and Wolves 145 -- Emergency Exit 151 -- Suzanne 165 -- Sleepwalking 186 -- Mister Bowles and Mister Green 196 -- In Between 204. On an idyllic Greek island, the garden of sixties icon Leonard Cohen inspires a poet to question and ultimately celebrate the meaning of his own life