The World of Leonard Cohen

Author: Shumway, David R. (Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania)

USA

Published on 29 January 2026 by CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS in the United Kingdom.

Hardback | 400 pages, Worked examples or Exercises
236 x 163 x 27 | 710g

Leonard Cohen's artistic career is unique. Most poets and novelists do not become rock stars. No other rock star's career peaked in their eighth decade as Leonard Cohen's did. Cohen's popularity is still growing following his death. In The World of Leonard Cohen, a team of international scholars and writers explore the various dimensions of the artist's life, work, persona, and legacy to offer an authoritative and accessible summation of Cohen's extraordinary career. His relation to key themes and topics – Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, Zen and the East, the Folk tradition, Rock & Roll, Canadian and world literature, film – are all addressed. The World of Leonard Cohen offers a comprehensive, uniquely informed and wholly fresh account of this iconic songwriter and artist, whose singular voice has permanently altered our cultural landscape.