Love could not bind them
Fear could not either
They went unconnected
They never knew where
Excerpted from a little-known interview conducted by Kathleen Kendel in 1974, this instalment of PBS’s animated Blank on Blank series features the recently deceased Canadian writer, singer and artist Leonard Cohen reading his poem ‘Two Went to Sleep’ in his distinctive baritone. He then goes on to tell the story of writing the song ‘The Sisters of Mercy’, evoking a restless moonlit winter night spent in Edmonton, Canada, with two sleeping companions nearby. How Cohen got himself into bed with two women is a good story, but what actually transpired is something altogether more wonderful – a lovely evocation of songwriting’s power to transport.
Director: Patrick Smith
Producer: David Gerlach
videoConsciousness and altered states
‘I want me back’ – after a head injury, Nick struggles with his altered reality
7 minutes
videoVirtues and vices
Why Bennie tried to disappear, and what happened when he was found decades later
16 minutes
videoStories and literature
Two variants of a Hindu myth come alive in an animated ode to Indian storytelling
14 minutes
videoLanguage and linguistics
Why Susan listens to recordings of herself speaking a language she no longer remembers
5 minutes
videoFamily life
One family’s harrowing escape from postwar Vietnam, told in a poignant metaphor
10 minutes
videoHistory of technology
Replicating Shakespearean-era printing brings its own dramas and comedy
19 minutes
videoAnimals and humans
The wild tale of a young animal keeper, an angry tiger and a torn circle net
10 minutes
videoWar and peace
‘She is living on in many hearts’ – Otto Frank on the legacy of his daughter’s diary
12 minutes
videoArt
Why Diego Velázquez needed a lifetime to paint his enigmatic masterpiece
31 minutes