McClelland & Stewart statement on the loss of Leonard Cohen

TORONTO, Nov. 11, 2016 /CNW/ - It was announced last night that internationally acclaimed and award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and author, Leonard Cohen, has passed away.

McClelland & Stewart has been the proud publisher of Cohen's novels and poetry.  Jared Bland, Publisher of McClelland & Stewart, said: "Leonard Cohen was one of the great artists of our age: a poet of transcendent beauty and wisdom, a novelist of moral urgency and insight, and, of course, a peerless singer and songwriter. His work, in all its forms, touched our hearts, informed our lives, and made our world better. It is almost impossible to imagine a world without his singular voice. His presence will never be forgotten. His profound art will endure."

Novelist Michael Ondaatje said: "He was a hero for our generation and for the next - stepping bravely into new forms, a great writer who then became a great songwriter. We drank a toast to him tonight at The Tulip."

Leonard Cohen's artistic career began in 1956 with the publication of his first book of poetry, Let Us Compare Mythologies. He had published two novels, The Favourite Game and Beautiful Losers, and eleven books of poetry, most recently Stranger Music: Selected Poems and Songs, Book of Longing, and Leonard Cohen: Poems and Songs. He had to date released fourteen studio albums, the most recent of which, You Want It Darker, was released in 2016. Cohen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008, received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010, and was awarded the Glenn Gould Prize in 2011.

McClelland & Stewart and Penguin Random House Canada mourn the loss of this unique talent. 

SOURCE Penguin Random House Canada Limited

Ashley Dunn, [email protected], 647-788-3976