Blue Hill Books and Blue Hill Public Library will host summer resident Jeffrey Lewis as he reads from his new book Leonard Cohen on Wednesday, August 14th at 7:00 pm in the Howard Room.  

So begins the story of an everyman Leonard Cohen, a would-be artist, a would-be lover, a would-be tragic figure, yet a man haunted by the greatness of his namesake. He struggles to compete. He struggles to be more than a punchline in his own mind. He struggles, in particular, to write one song that would be as great as the least of the great Leonard Cohen’s songs.

At the center of Leonard’s life is Daphne. In their meeting on a Greek island, a contemporary fable of Daphne and Apollo plays out. But even with Daphne, Leonard is shadowed by the ‘‘other’’ Leonard Cohen, whom he fears is the real Apollo. The ancient myth haunts the fated lovers.

Once upon a time, Apollo fell hard for Daphne, who turned herself into a laurel tree. No less a fate awaits the protagonist of this slender yet universal novel, where art, love, and fame all fatefully intertwine.

Jeffrey Lewis is an Ameican novelist and screenwriter. He has published eight novels, including Land of Cockaigne, Bealport: A Novel of a Town, and The Meritocracy Quartet. Previously he received two Emmy Awards and was nominated twelve times for his work as a television writer and producer, most notably for Hill Street Blues.

For more information, contact Kayleigh at 374-5515 or by email at kayleigh.thomas@bhpl.net