Grove will publish a collection of previously unpublished fiction by the late, legendary Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, the press announced in a news release.
A Ballet of Lepers: A Novel and Stories will hit bookstore shelves this fall. Grove says the book, “vivid in its detail, unsparing in its gaze, reveals the great artist and visceral genius as never seen before.” Cohen died in 2016 at the age of 82.
Cohen was a poet and novelist before he launched his music career in 1967 with the album Songs of Leonard Cohen, which contained now-classic tracks like “Suzanne,” “So Long, Marianne,” and “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye.”
His first book, the poetry collection Let Us Compare Mythologies, was published in 1956, and his debut novel, The Favorite Game, followed seven years later. His best-known book, the novel Beautiful Losers, came out in 1966; it’s widely considered a classic of Canadian literature.
“The pieces in this collection, written between 1956 and 1961 and including short fiction, a radio play, and a stunning early novel, offer startling insights into Cohen’s imagination and creative process,” Grove says of the forthcoming book. “Cohen explores themes that would permeate his later work, from shame and unworthiness to sexual desire in all its sacred and profane dimensions to longing, whether for love, family, freedom, or transcendence.”
A Ballet of Lepers is slated for publication on Oct. 11.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
