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Poet Leonard Cohen splashes on to world stage at 22
Poet, musician, novelist, ladies' man, monk, actor... Leonard Norman Cohen, one of Canada's most influential cultural icons was born on Sept. 21, 1934 in Montreal. Whether from a mountaintop at a Buddhist retreat in California, on the Greek island of Hydra or strolling along the streets of his beloved ville d'amour, the melancholy bard of popular music has delighted fans worldwide with his poetry, novels and music.
Cohen began writing seriously at McGill University and was part of the bohemian literary scene in Montreal. He was only 22, still an undergrad at McGill, when he raised eyebrows with his first collection of poetry, Let Us Compare Mythologies (1956).
Five years later he catapulted to international fame with The Spice-Box of Earth (1961), his second collection of poetry.
Cohen performed two poems, Twelve O'Clock Chant and Out of the Land of Heaven (for Marc Chagall) from that collection on CBC in 1958.
• Leonard Cohen's maternal grandfather was a writer and published a Hebrew dictionary called Lexicon of Hebrew Homonyms.
Program: Anthology
Broadcast Date: April 22, 1958
Performer: Leonard Cohen
Duration: 3:12
Last updated: March 29, 2012
Page consulted on March 28, 2013
All Clips from this Topic
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Cohen wows critics with his first collection of poetry.
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Cohen lives on and off in Greece for almost seven years with a Norwegi...
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Leonard Cohen defends the 1963 work he says is "a third novel disguise...
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While living in a white house on the sun-drenched island of Hydra, Gre...
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Cohen leaves his blissful domestic life on Hydra with the intention of...
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Adrienne Clarkson interviews Cohen after the publication of his second...
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Cohen opens up about his writing in a rare in-depth television intervi...
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Cohen opens up about his writing in Part II of a rare in-depth televis...
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Cohen discusses turning 50 with CBC Radio's Morningside host Peter Gzo...
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Vicki Gabereau gets in-depth and personal with the Canadian legend.
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Cohen receives the Juno Award for Male Vocalist of the Year and the Go...
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A Canadian Music Hall of Fame induction prompts the songwriter to refl...
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A Canadian Music Hall of Fame induction prompts the songwriter to refl...
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Poet, musician, novelist, ladies' man, monk, actor... Leonard Norman C...