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    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    The relationship between Leonard Cohen and Marianne Ihlen

    Leonard Cohen died in 2016. That was only a few months after the woman who inspired some of his best work died, Marianne Ihlen. A new documentary explores their relationship, called "Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love."

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    By Madeleine Brand • Jul 8, 2019 • 1 min read

    Leonard Cohen died in 2016. That was only a few months after the woman who inspired some of his best work died, Marianne Ihlen. A new documentary explores their relationship, called "Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love."

    Director Nick Broomfield tells Press Play that Ihlen inspired him to start making documentaries. “I think [Marianne] had a great talent for supporting the strengths of people and encouraging them to follow that strength, which is a very rare talent," he says.

    Even though Cohen's lyrics were written in a different era, they still endure today. “The words are so incredible. He was very selective in how he wrote and what he wrote. And he obviously took an immense amount of time over the particular words he used and the sentences he used. He was such a craftsman," says Broomfield.

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Madeleine Brand

      Host, 'Press Play'

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      Sarah Sweeney

      Vice President of Talk Programming, KCRW

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      Michell Eloy

      Line Editor, Press Play

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      Alexandra Sif Tryggvadottir

      Associate producer

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      Nick Broomfield

      director

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