Leonard Cohen

Canadian singer, songwriter, and poet, Leonard Cohen, died on Monday 7 November at the age of 82, and announced on Thursday 10 November 2016.

The Huffington Post said, ‘Throughout his career, Cohen wore his heart on his sleeve, never shying away from talking, writing, or singing about life, sexuality, spirituality, or death.’ Among Cohen’s songs were ‘Hallelujah’, ‘So Long Marianne’, ‘First We Take Manhattan’ and ‘Tower of Song.’ My favourite was ‘Closing Time.’

Cohen (1934-2016) was inducted into the Canadian Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2008 he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In 2010, The Recording Academy honoured Cohen with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Huffington Post said Cohen spoke candidly to The New Yorker in October 2016 about his ‘proximity to death.’ ‘I’ve got some work to do,’ he told David Remnick. ‘Take care of business. I am ready to die. I hope it’s not too uncomfortable. That’s about it for me.’ He released his 14th studio album, ‘You Want it Darker’ in October 2016 in which he sings ‘plainly and beautifully about death knocking at his door.’

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MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).