Cohen was honored by the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame
Could Canada seduce Leonard Cohen away from the glamour of life in Los Angeles, where he has lived for more than 20 years? Our most famous troubadour got an early valentine from his home country this week. It wasn't a box of chocolates and a long stemmed rose, but five of his songs were inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame on Sunday. The gala event, which honored Cohen and seven other songwriters and performers, included performances of his music by Rufus Wainwright, Willie Nelson and k.d. lang, a poignant tribute by former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson and a wildly enthusiastic standing ovation. Cohen, 71, who was moved to tears by the event, told TIME the next day that he hadn't quite recovered from it. "It was so overwhelmingly emotional. It happens very rarely in anybody's life to receive such a clear affirmation of your work and to experience the really deep hospitality of the people that you've been writing for."
So was he moved enough to consider heading north? Cohen says he is tied up in Los Angeles with legal battles following accusations that his former manager stole millions of dollars that Cohen had intended to use for his retirement. But Canada has its persuasions. Hawaiian-born singer Anjani Thomas, Cohen's romantic and musical partner with whom he has collaborated on an album to be released in the spring, loves the country. "I want to be Canadian. I want to move here. As soon as I can swing it, that's my big dream," she says. It may help that neither Thomas nor Cohen is afraid of the cold. "Everybody thinks it's crazy, but I love Montreal in the winter," Cohen says. He may be our man yet.
