We Need More Bad Art

Letter from the Editor as published in the June 2023 issue

a Cohen silhouette that was on display as part of the “Everybody Knows” exhibit at the Toronto AGO

It was upon my high school library bookshelves that I discovered Leonard Cohen. In the angst of my first real heartbreak, I felt seen by his words and he’s been etched into my life ever since. I didn’t know him as a musician or a singer or a performer until I was much older. Back then I knew him only as a poet; a prophet; a soulmate. He was the ultimate lyric of my formative years.

This past March, it was my great joy to visit the special exhibit hosted by the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto with my family. I slowly wandered displays of his notebooks, sketches, grade school report cards, hats, shoes, instruments, Grammys, telegrams from Joni Mitchell, and artwork.

In one glass case, there was a note that shocked me.

“This letter is a yelp for help! I’ve been rejected by Viking even though Cork S. said good things about my work…”

Leonard Cohen. Rejected by a publisher.

This hurt me a little. But it also held a huge lesson. Everything is subjective. Everything is relative. What I love is not what someone else might love. Just because one “gatekeeper” doesn’t understand or appreciate a piece of art, doesn’t mean it holds no value. Had Leonard Cohen given up, I would never have found his poetry in the library.

As we wandered the AGO exhibit, my children remarked that his art wasn’t special. “He’s just a man,” they said.

“That’s what makes him special,” I told them.

Having to turn away submissions is one of the great burdens of running this publication. I try to approach each piece that crosses my desk with care and I work to discern the intention and passion of the artist behind it.

We are all just normal people. We are all drawn to different things—different tones; different colours; different voices; different stories. What I welcome into these pages doesn’t negate the things I pass on.

All art holds value, whether it’s welcomed into publication or not.

“We need more bad art,” my son told me as we discussed the accessibility of publishing. “Not bad art. But, like, permission to keep trying.”

If Leonard Cohen has taught me anything it is that unapologetically embracing your voice and pushing it forward no matter the industry response is the key to a long legacy that effects change.

Leonard refused to be silent. May this be the permission you need to also be loud; to make bad art; to tell your story; to keep creating.

Alanna Rusnak

     Editor in Chief, Blank Spaces