Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) was born in Westmount, Quebec, and published his first poetry collection, Let Us Compare Mythologies (Contact Press, 1956), as part of the McGill Poetry Series while an undergraduate. The Spice-Box of Earth (McClelland and Stewart, 1961) and Flowers for Hitler (1964) followed before he turned to music, releasing his debut album in 1967. He received the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature in 2011 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008. Appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1991, he was elevated to Companion, the order's higher grade, in 2003.
