Beautiful Losers, Leonard Cohen’s legendary second novel, was described by The New York Times, when first published in 1966, as ‘a gorgeously written…..anguished, overwhelming….prose-poem’.
In the middle of this book comes a short section beginning with the words ‘God is Alive. Magic is Afoot.’ The writing that follows is arguably some of Cohen’s finest. In this piece he creates a mantra which intriguingly connects God and magic, and leaves the reader to decide where one ends and another begins.
In a similar way that his anthem Hallelujah has inspired millions, God is Alive Magic is Afoot has the ability to take Cohen’s audience on a spiritual journey powered by language that seems to touch everyone’s experience.