Leonard Norman Cohen

Leonard Norman Cohen was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist who lived from 1934 to 2016. He was born in Westmount, Quebec, Canada into an Orthodox Jewish family. He showed remarkable intelligence and talent from an early age. He studied literature and music at McGill University and Columbia University. He published his first book of poetry, Let Us Compare Mythologies, in 1956. He followed it with two novels, The Favourite Game (1963) and Beautiful Losers (1966), and several more poetry collections. Cohen began his music career in 1967 with his debut album Songs of Leonard Cohen, which featured his most famous song "Hallelujah". He released 14 more studio albums and eight live albums over the course of his career. His songs explored various themes such as faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, social and political conflict, and sexual and romantic love, desire, regret and loss. His songs were influenced by folk, rock, pop, gospel, blues and world music genres. Some of his other well-known songs include "Suzanne", "Bird on the Wire", "So Long, Marianne", "Famous Blue Raincoat", "Chelsea Hotel No. 2", "Everybody Knows", "I'm Your Man", "Dance Me to the End of Love", "First We Take Manhattan", "The Future", "Anthem", "Closing Time", "Waiting for the Miracle", "You Want It Darker" and many more. Cohen was also a prolific writer and poet. He published 12 books of poetry and two novels in his lifetime. His poems were influenced by various literary traditions such as modernism, surrealism, beat poetry and Zen Buddhism. Some of his poetry collections include The Spice-Box of Earth (1961), Flowers for Hitler (1964), Parasites of Heaven (1966), The Energy of Slaves (1972), Death of a Lady's Man (1978), Book of Mercy (1984), Stranger Music: Selected Poems and Songs (1993), Book of Longing (2006) and The Flame: Poems Notebooks Lyrics Drawings (2018). Cohen was a man of many interests and passions. He was a spiritual seeker who explored various religions and philosophies such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Scientology. He was a lover who had many romantic relationships with women such as Marianne Ihlen, Suzanne Elrod, Rebecca De Mornay and Anjani Thomas. He was a father who had two children with Suzanne Elrod: Adam Cohen, who is also a singer-songwriter, and Lorca Cohen, who is a photographer. He was a traveler who visited many countries and cultures such as Greece, Israel, India, Japan and Cuba. He was a painter who created many artworks that were exhibited in galleries and museums. Cohen was a revered and influential figure in the world of music and literature. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He received many awards and honors such as the Order of Canada, the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature, the Glenn Gould Prize and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He inspired many artists and performers such as Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Nick Cave, U2, Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright, Lana Del Rey and many more. Cohen died in 2016 at the age of 82 in Los Angeles, California, US. He had been suffering from leukemia and other health problems. He was buried in Shaar Hashomayim Congregation Cemetery in Montreal, Canada, according to Jewish tradition. He left behind a legacy of songs and books that continue to touch and inspire millions of people around the world.