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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment

HISTORICAL FACTS: How the light gets in on the darkest days | History Defined

Leonard Cohen greeting the public during the international Festival of Benicassim.
‘Forget your perfect offering,’ sang Leonard Cohen. There is a crack, a crack in everything…’ Photograph: Diego Tuson/AFP/Getty Images

Another song by Leonard Cohen, Anthem, is one that I would like played at my own funeral, rather than Hallelujah (Editorial, 1 July). Cohen died in November 2016, just before Trump was elected. Since then, the words of the chorus have sustained me through the darkest days of our recent history: “Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”
Ray Jenkin
Cardiff

• Many years ago we accompanied the late, great Michael Foot to Glyndebourne for an opera by his beloved Rossini. As he sat enjoying a glass of champagne in the interval, a passing toff expressed surprise at seeing him there. “Nothing,” retorted Michael, “is too good for the workers” (Letters, 1 July).
Sheila Williams
London

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