The Australians [on Hydra] drank more than other people, they wrote more, they got sick more, they got well more, they cursed more, they blessed more, and they helped a great deal more. They were an inspiration.
Leonard Cohen
From Leonard Cohen George Johnston Charmian Clift On Hydra.
The George Johnston and Leonard Cohen 1960 Video
George Johnston and Leonard Cohen 19601 tells the story of Leonard Cohen moving to Hydra where he met Australian writers George Johnston and Charmian Clift – and, of course, Marianne. According to the Australian Encounters web site,
Presented with humour and verve, Australian Encounters celebrates ten historic encounters, each between a renowned Australian and an international mover and shaker.
In the backroom bar of the Katsikas brothers’ grocery store, amid tins of olive oil and sacks of flour, a young unknown Canadian poet met an Australian expatriate named George Johnston.
More About Leonard Cohen & George Johnston
A succinct account of the connection between Cohen & Johnston by the same author and illustrator responsible for the Australian Encounters series can be found at George Johnston & Leonard Cohen by Shane Maloney and Chris Grosz (The Monthly: November 2005, No. 7)
A more extensive account, along with many photos, can be accessed at Leonard Cohen, George Johnston, Charmian Clift On Hydra.
For more information about the Australian Encounters show, see the Australian Encounters web site and the Australian Encounters Facebook Page
Credit Due Department: Thanks go to Anja Deelen, who alerted me to availability of this video and to Roman Gavrilin aka Hermitage Prisoner, who made the video accessible.
Credit Due Department: Hydra photo by Marie-louise Guillard.
I am republishing selected posts from my former Leonard Cohen site, Cohencentric, here on AllanShowalter.com (these posts can be found at Leonard Cohen). This entry is composed of material first posted \Oct 10, 2013 at 1HeckOfAGuy.com.
__________________________
- George Johnston and Leonard Cohen 1960 – Series 1: Episode 7 of Australian Encounters – originally aired Oct 8, 2013 on ABC1. [↩]