I came so far for beauty: a Nobel for Leonard Cohen?

The Guardian looks at Leonard Cohen's nom for a Nobel Prize: "Now in his 70s, Cohen has attained what Dr. Johnson called "the dignity of an ancient". He has gone through the painful phases required of a proper poet. First there was gravel-voiced despair ("Like a bird on a wire/ Like a drunk in a midnight choir"). Next came mid-life libertinism (see 'New Skin for the Old Ceremony,' and its paean to oral sex with Janis Joplin, 'Chelsea Hotel No 2'). And then there was late-life religion, with 1984's 'Various Positions,' written after Cohen tried taking "the Bodhisattva path, which is the path of service". "Once you start dealing with sacred material, you're gonna get creamed," reflected Cohen. The true poet has to pay a price. Now is the time for his reward. How can the Nobel prize committee say no?" The Beeb notes, "In many other language cultures, there is no question that song lyrics have literary merit. However, the idea of giving a pop star like Cohen a Nobel prize for literature is still seen as unusual in the English-speaking world."