Author Archive for: Norman

On his last album, a month before he died, Leonard seemed as ready as anyone could be. He littered his songs with a dry acceptance of the inevitable, “clos[e]ing the bar,” “leaving the table,” being “out of the game.” I imagine very few of us get the chance to publicly declare our own demise or, as Leonard did so often in his music, argue with himself about what, if anything, comes next. I’m writing this essay half a world away from my home. My writing has given me opportunities to chase dreams and futures I never saw as catchable all those years ago—listening to Leonard, writing atrocious poetry.