Our podcast and Substack is made in Prishtina. Why is it named "Suzanne"?
We have started this podcast a month ago. Two episodes are already published, but we're also publishing this substack to promote different content by our authors, guests, etc. But why name "Suzanne"?
Podcast’s name is “Suzanne” but you have probably heard the song of the same name by Leonard Cohen.
As I was looking for names of a podcast dedicated to women and their neighborhoods where they lived and worked and their unrecognized contribution to the diversity of the city, society, I was also listening to lot of music, while driving around the city, trying to focus on the sights and sounds for inspiration.
My friend Rina started playing the song on the Spotify. She said maybe the podcast should be named Suzanne. A specific, recognizable name.
And it made me think of this woman named Suzanne in this iconic song – we don’t know anything about her. And I started reading about her.
In the song, Cohen describes spending time with Suzanne Verdal, in an area in Montreal by the Saint Lawrence River. Suzanne would take Cohen to her home, and they would share tea. The neighborhood mentioned in the song is the Old Port area of Montreal, where Suzanne Verdal lived. The specific mention of the Saint Lawrence River and the reference to the tea and oranges evoke a sense of intimacy and simplicity in their interactions.
So, both Suzanne and the neighborhood where she lived, left such a vivid impression with Cohen but while Cohen and the song became global and marked an epoch in music and society, Suzanne and her life, her work, her travails, her beauty and her place were forgotten.
Which is why our podcast is now called Suzanne.
Dedicated to women of Kosovo who leave an imprint, who gave a contribution, but who are not remembered, bar a footnote here and their in men’s memories – if that.
Hope you like the podcast Suzanne. Rina also recommended me start adding “bonus” material like playlists of the podcasts guests or their writings. So, we opened this page to publish different writings, poems, lists and other text content by our guests and contributors. Hope you like them.
ARLINDA