To mark the publication of Leonard Cohen's final book, The Flame, McClelland & Stewart is proud to reissue six beautiful editions of Cohen's cherished early works of poetry.
A freshly packaged series for devoted Leonard Cohen fans and those who wish to discover one of the world's most adored and celebrated writers.

Originally published by McClelland & Stewart in 1966, Parasites of Heaven came in the wake of the success of Cohen's second novel, Beautiful Losers. While not as ambitious as his three previous collections, Parasites of Heaven is an essential document in Cohen's evolution as it contains poems that would go on to form the basis of some of his most beloved songs, including "Suzanne" and "Avalanche."

Leonard Cohen's profile page

LEONARD COHEN's artistic career began in 1956 with the publication of his first book of poetry, Let Us Compare Mythologies. He published two novels, The Favourite Game and Beautiful Losers, and ten books of poetry, most recently Stranger Music: Selected Poems and Songs and Book of Longing. During a recording career that spanned almost fifty years, he released fourteen studio albums, the last 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 Prince of Asturias Award for Literature and the Glenn Gould Prize in 2011. He died on November 7, 2016.

Praise for Leonard Cohen:

"After decades of music and poetry and his two novels and his rightful ascent to the top of the pantheon of artistry (Canadian or otherwise), Cohen still felt relevant and vital. Who better to keep us laughing bitterly through the lonely night? There were so few like him." —Globe and Mail

"A pop hero, he's probably the first Canadian poet of any age to achieve geunine fame abroad as well as at home." —Toronto Star

"He has a European sensibility, and he dovetails it with his jet-setting internationalism; always with a slight political undercurrent buzzing through. The poetry has this sort of free-floating world view and I love his use of image and turns of phrase, the meaning and the paradoxes that go along with being alive." —Fred Wah, National Post