Lincoln Center to Host Leonard Cohen Remembrance Celebration

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Calling all Leonard Cohen fans — get yourselves to Lincoln Center's Hearst Plaza on December 5 to celebrate the legacy of the late singer, songwriter, poet, novelist and artist.

Lincoln Center announced on its website that it would hold the informal celebration — which means no special speakers or live performances — for Cohen, who died in November at the age of 82. The event, which will be held rain or shine, will feature recordings of Cohen's work selected by his friends and fans, according to the Lincoln Center website.

Cohen, while never enjoying the popularity of fellow poet - and now Nobel Laureate, Bob Dylan - was almost as influential not only on other singers but poets as well.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which inducted him in 2008, says that Cohen "was already an established poet and novelist before he turned his attention to songwriting. Along with other folk-steeped musical literati, Cohen raised songwriting bar."

Cohen was always aware of his reputation as an intellectual.

"I get tagged as an art-song intellectual," he once told Billboard magazine. "But I've always tried to have hits."

His most recent album, You Want it Darker, was just released in October.

"What is truly extraordinary about Cohen is not that he is still making albums but that they are as rich, deep and potent as ever," said The Telegraph in its five-star review.

The December 5 celebration was organized by the Lincoln Center Public Programming Department and music producer Hal Willner, according to Lincoln Center.

Photo Roland Godefroy via Wikimedia Commons