NEWS
Leonard Cohen in 1967.
Jack Robinson/Getty ImagesLeonard Cohen’s early, never-before-published fiction will be collected in a new book, A Ballet of Lepers: A Novel and Stories, set to arrive Oct. 11 via Grove Press.
The book includes several pieces of short fiction, a radio play, and the titular novel, A Grove of Lepers. Cohen wrote everything in the book between 1956 — when he was still living in Montreal — and 1961, when he’d moved to Hydra island in Greece. A Ballet of Lepers: A Novel and Stories was edited by Cohen scholar Alexandra Pleshoyano, who also provided an afterword for the book.
No plot details about any of the pieces were revealed, but per a press release Cohen himself thought A Grove of Leper was “probably a better novel” than his celebrated 1963 book, The Favorite Game. Grove Atlantic deputy publisher, Peter Blackstock, said in a statement that the novel has “a Kerouacian intensity and darkly atmospheric setting.”
A Ballet of Lepers: A Novel and Stories was pulled from Cohen’s massive archive of unpublished material. As Robert Kory, Trustee of the Leonard Cohen Family Trust, noted: “Leonard said before his death that his life’s true masterwork was his archive, which he kept meticulously for the benefit of fans and scholars one day to discover. I’m pleased that, with this book, his readers and listeners can begin that rich journey.”
A Ballet of Lepers: A Novel and Stories is the second posthumous Cohen book published since his death in 2016, following The Flame — a collection of poetry, notebook excerpts, lyrics, and drawings — which arrived in 2018. The following year, Thanks for the Dance, a posthumous album featuring music Cohen recorded before his death, was released.
Fontaines D.C. have teamed up with Rosalía for their new collaboration, Where Is Gone?.
The song features on the Irish rock band's forthcoming album, Dopamine Chamber, which arrives on Friday (16.10.26). For guitarist Carlos O’Connell, working with the Spanish superstar is particularly special because of his own Spanish roots.
He explained: “I’ve admired Rosalía ever since her debut album, which I thought was absolutely beautiful.
“What excited me most was the way she continued to preserve Spain's musical traditions, something that felt spiritually connected to what we've been trying to achieve with Irish music. Having roots in both countries, it's been really special to witness. "She's an artist who has continued to amaze me at every point in her career.”
Frontman Grian Chatten has also described the collaboration with Rosalía as one of the most memorable achievements of his career.
He revealed that he felt "humbled" when she agreed to lend her voice to the band's album.
Speaking to NPR, Grian said: “I've always felt there's something almost like a single big idea that I'm personally trying to communicate to the world before I get old and die, if that makes sense. There's one thing I think I'll spend my life trying to express. I have a feeling she has a similar outlook. … I mean, she's an amazing arranger, composer and lyricist. It means so much that she wanted to sing on something we'd put together. It's definitely one of the highlights of my career.”
Rosalía's links to Irish rock music extend beyond Fontaines D.C. She also offered inspiration and helped develop the Spanish lyrics for U2's The Mirror Maker (Rosalía), a track from their forthcoming album, Carnaval de Luz.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last week, she spoke about frontman Bono, saying: “I don't know him personally, but he sent me a text explaining that he was working on a new project and had written a song called The Mirror Maker."
Rosalía joked that Bono had invented a few words of his own.
She recalled telling him: “I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I told him he could create his own language if he wanted to.”
She described the opportunity to collaborate with the 66 year old music veteran as a real privilege.
She added: “Bono is a legend.
“It's amazing.”
Bono recently revealed that he was worried about seeming like a stalker when he reached out to Rosalía to ask whether he could name the song after her.
