Published in 1956 to immediate acclaim, Leonard Cohen’s first published book contains poems written between the ages of fifteen and twenty. Now new generations of readers will rediscover not only the early, though no less accomplished and passionate, work of one of our most beloved writers, but poetry that resonates loudly with relevance today.

Selected Poems, 1956-1968

I've read a lot of poetry in the last year or so, maybe even more than all the other years put together. My poetry binge, which has gone on for months, had to end somewhere, and if this selection of Cohen poems is the last book of poetry I read in 2019 then I've most definitely gone out on a high!  lyrical, emotive, with strong social and religious overtones, this book is made up of a selection of poems from the volumes 'Let Us Compare Mythologies' (1956), 'The Spice-Box of Earth' (1961), 'Flowers for Hitler' (1964), 'Parasites of Heaven' (1966), plus a collection of twenty-three newly written songs and verses. With his flowing lines and sensory images, all I can say is that the guy was a genius. He certainly stirred something in me.

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Selected Poems, 1956-1968

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