''Book of Longing'' was the first new poetry book by

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

since 1984's '' Book of Mercy''. First published in 2006 by

McClelland and Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. History It was found ...

, ''Book of Longing'' contains 167 previously unpublished

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

s and drawings, mostly written at a Zen monastery on Mount Baldy in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, where Cohen lived from 1994 to 1999, and in India, which he visited regularly during the late 1990s. The book also incorporates a number of poems written after his 1978 book, '' Death of a Lady's Man'' (not to be confused with his 1977 album, '' Death of a Ladies' Man''). These presumably were left out of his 1984 '' Book of Mercy'', which contained only psalm-like meditations. ''Book of Longing'' also collects some of the lyrics to songs from the albums ''

Ten New Songs ''Ten New Songs'' is Leonard Cohen's tenth studio album, released in 2001. It was co-written and produced by Sharon Robinson. It was produced in Cohen's and Robinson's home studios in Los Angeles. It was also his first album in nearly 10 years. ...

'' (2001) and ''

Dear Heather ''Dear Heather'' is the 11th studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, released by Columbia Records in 2004. It was dedicated "in memory of Jack McClelland 1922-2004." Background The album features Cohen experimenting with diffe ...

'' (2004). Many of these poems were first published at The Blackening Pages of The Leonard Cohen File

website. In 2007, the American composer Philip Glass premiered his work ''Book of Longing. Song Cycle Based on the Poetry and Artwork of Leonard Cohen'', in which he set 23 of the book's poems to music. Some poems included Cohen's

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

. The work was co-commissioned by

Luminato Festival Luminato Festival, Toronto's International Festival of Arts and Ideas, is an annual celebration of the arts in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, launched in 2007. In its first decade, Luminato presented over 3,000 performances featuring 11,000 artists fr ...

under the artistic direction of Chris Lorway in Toronto Canada, Australia's 2008

Adelaide Festival The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...

under the artistic direction of Brett Sheehy, and Barbican Centre in London, and premiered at

Luminato Luminato Festival, Toronto's International Festival of Arts and Ideas, is an annual celebration of the arts in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, launched in 2007. In its first decade, Luminato presented over 3,000 performances featuring 11,000 artists fr ...

in 2007. It was subsequently performed at various venues in the United States, Australia, United Kingdom and Europe. At the Barbican Centre in London in October 2007, Cohen joined Glass onstage for a pre-concert discussion. The double-CD was released in December 2007.

External links

The Blackening Pages
of The Leonard Cohen Files

at The Leonard Cohen Files 2006 books Poetry by Leonard Cohen McClelland & Stewart books {{poetry-collection-stub