In addition to announcing a forthcoming album, Leonard Cohen accepted the Principe de Asturias Prize for his poetry last Friday in Oviedo, Spain, discussing the country’s profound influence on his work in a speech before Queen Sofía and others. While he cited Federico García Lorca as a key figure in finding his voice in verse, Cohen opted to focus on his mid-1960s transition from poetry to music by telling a story he had never shared publicly before “of how I got my song.” The result should be revelatory to all Cohen fans, especially with regard to the origins of tunes like “Avalanche,” a flamenco guitar-driven personal favorite off his third LP. Video of his full speech is above.
