Name: A Ballet of Lepers: A Novel and Stories
Brand: Leonard Cohen

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

9781838852931

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Colour

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format Books GB

Hardback

Format detail

Limited edition

Release date

2022-10-11

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

Faber

Tax rate GB

Zero:0

UPC / Barcode

Artist

Leonard Cohen

Genre GB

Music

Label GB

Canongate

Leonard Cohen was a Canadian poet, singer, and songwriter born on September 21, 1934, in Montreal, Quebec. He passed away on November 7, 2016, in Los Angeles, California. Cohen's artistic journey began with the publication of his poetry collections "Let Us Compare Mythologies" (1956) and "The Spice Box of Earth" (1961). After spending time in Europe, he settled on the Greek island of Hydra where he wrote more poetry and novels. In 1967, Cohen moved to the United States to pursue a career as a folk musician.

Cohen recorded 14 studio albums during his lifetime and left an indelible mark on music history. His work inspired numerous artists including John Cale whose cover of Cohen's song "Hallelujah" became widely known through Jeff Buckley's rendition. In addition to his musical achievements, Cohen was also recognized for his contributions as a poet and songwriter. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2008 as a performer and into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010.

Despite his success, Cohen sought solace at the Mt. Baldy Zen Center near Los Angeles where he spent five years immersed in seclusion. During this time, he became ordained as a Rinzai Zen Buddhist monk under the name "Jikan," meaning "silence." Leonard Cohen's legacy lives on through his timeless music

An unprecedented glimpse into the formation of the legendary talent of Leonard Cohen. Before the celebrated late-career world tours, before the Grammy awards, before the chart-topping albums, before 'Hallelujah' and 'So Long, Marianne' and 'Famous Blue Raincoat', the young Leonard Cohen wrote poetry and fiction and yearned for literary stardom. In A Ballet of Lepers, readers will discover that the magic that animated Cohen's unforgettable body of work was present from the very beginning. Written between 1956 in Montreal, just as Cohen was publishing his first poetry collection, and 1961, when he'd settled on Greece's Hydra island, the pieces in this collection offer startling insight into Cohen's imagination and creative process, and explore themes that would permeate his later work, from shame and unworthiness to sexual desire to longing, whether for love, family, freedom or transcendence. The titular novel, A Ballet of Lepers - one he later remarked was 'probably a better novel' than his celebrated book The Favourite Game - is a haunting examination of these elements, while the fifteen stories, as well as the playscript, probe the inner demons of his characters, many of whom could function as stand-ins for the author himself. Meditative, surprising, playful and provocative, A Ballet of Lepers is vivid in its detail, unsparing in its gaze, and reveals the great artist and visceral genius like never before.

A Ballet of Lepers: A Novel and Stories

Books GB