A new collection of Leonard Cohen‘s unpublished work is to be officially released next year under the title The Flame.
Cohen himself chose and ordered the poems in the book, of which “the overwhelming majority” is new material, The Guardian reports.
Publisher Canongate has called new collection The Flame “an enormously powerful final chapter in Cohen’s storied literary career.”
It will be published next October.
Cohen’s manager, Robert Kory, told The Guardian: “During the final months of his life, Leonard had a singular focus – completing this book, taken largely from his unpublished poems and selections from his notebooks. The flame and how our culture threatened its extinction was a central concern.
“Though in declining health, Leonard died unexpectedly. Those of us who had the rare privilege of spending time with him during this period recognised that the flame burned bright within him to the very end. This book, finished only days before his death, reveals to all the intensity of his inner fire.”
In addition to his poetry, The Flame will also draw on his notebooks, which Canongate describes as “poetic” and said will provide “an unprecedentedly intimate look inside the life and mind of a singular artist and thinker”.