Book of Longing

Book of Longing is a collection of 167 poems and drawings by Leonard Cohen, published in 2006 after a 22-year gap in his poetry publications. The works were created during Cohen's time at a Zen monastery on Mount Baldy and during his travels in India throughout the 1990s. The collection includes song lyrics from Cohen's albums Ten New Songs and Dear Heather, alongside previously unpublished poems from various periods of his life. The book features Cohen's own drawings and artwork, integrated throughout the text as essential components of the work. The poems explore relationships, spirituality, desire, and the passage of time. These themes emerge through Cohen's direct writing style and his ability to merge sacred and secular experiences into a unified artistic vision.

Readers describe the Book of Longing as a raw and intimate collection, with Cohen's poetry focusing on love, sex, spirituality, and aging. Many note the interplay between Cohen's drawings and poems enhances the emotional impact. Readers appreciated: - Honest exploration of desire and mortality - Simple yet profound language - Self-deprecating humor - Inclusion of Cohen's artwork - Insights into his time as a Buddhist monk Common criticisms: - Repetitive themes and imagery - Some poems feel unfinished or fragmentary - Too much focus on sexual content for some readers - Artwork quality varies significantly Ratings: Goodreads: 4.1/5 (7,800+ ratings) Amazon: 4.5/5 (350+ ratings) Reader quote: "The poems range from brilliant to basic, but Cohen's voice remains authentic throughout" - Goodreads reviewer Top complaints mention the book's uneven quality and note some poems read more like journal entries than finished work.

Delights & Shadows by Ted Kooser A collection of poems that transforms mundane moments into meditations on existence, using spare language to connect spiritual and earthly experiences.

Nine Horses by Billy Collins Poetry collection that blends observations of daily life with contemplations of mortality and time, sharing Cohen's knack for finding profound meaning in simple moments.

The Hell With Love: Poems to Mend a Broken Heart by Mary D. Waters A compilation of poems about love, loss, and redemption that speaks to the same emotional landscape Cohen explores in his work.

Present Company by W.S. Merwin Poems addressing absent friends, places, and memories, written with the same sense of longing and spiritual seeking found in Cohen's work.

Risking Everything: 110 Poems of Love and Revelation by Roger Housden A collection that combines spiritual insight with earthly passion, featuring poets who, like Cohen, bridge the gap between sacred and profane experience.

🎵 Cohen wrote many of these poems on simple napkins and scraps of paper while at Mount Baldy's Zen monastery, where he was ordained as a Zen monk in 1996. 🖼️ The book contains over 50 self-portrait sketches by Cohen, who began drawing regularly during his stays in Indian hotels where he often felt lonely and introspective. 📝 Several poems in the collection were later adapted into songs for his album "Ten New Songs" (2001), including the track "Alexandra Leaving." ⛰️ At age 60, Cohen lived in a 6x6 foot cabin on Mount Baldy at an elevation of 6,250 feet, serving as personal assistant to his Zen master Roshi. 🌏 During his Indian travels which inspired many poems in the book, Cohen stayed primarily in budget hotels in Mumbai and carried just one small suitcase with his notebooks and art supplies.