We begin the week here on My Poetic Side with a look at a couple of articles about the late songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen, on the occasion of the anniversary of his birth.

Leonard Cohen Honoured with Postage Stamp

The late singer, songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen was honoured over the weekend by Canada Post. Sunday would have been the legendary icon’s 85^th birthday and they released a set of stamps in commemoration of the occasion.

The stamps are a set of three. Each one has a very distinctive design and has been produced to depict a different period of the illustrious music career of Cohen. They were unveiled for the first time on Saturday

The first stamp depicts the singer in a crouching position, the second standing and the final one standing. Each features the name Cohen in large letters. They have been created by Paprika – a Montreal-based design firm who say that the choice of size for the lettering is a symbol of the magnitude of Cohen’s work and also the man that he was – larger than life. Because these stamps have been created posthumously, they have been depicted in black and white.

The art director for Paprika says that they wanted to create something that was timeless yet coherent, and that was a representation of Cohen’s entire career.

Until the official release, the design of the stamps had been a very closely guarded secret. The big reveal was made under the mural of Cohen that is located on Crescent Street. The mural has become something of a highlight on the skyline of Montreal.

Cohen passed away in 2016 at the age of 82.

Canada Post has confirmed that it will be making four million of the stamps, a number they believe will be enough for both collectors and fans worldwide. The stamps will be made available for up to two years depending on how long they last.

Since they began producing stamps in 1851, Canada Post has produced several stamps to honour iconic institutions and figures. The 80th birthday of the pianist Oscar Peterson was marked with a stamp. Jean Beliveau and Giles Villeneuve have also been commemorated. However, they believe that their Cohen stamps are their most important ones to date.

The stamps were given the go-ahead almost two years ago but there has been significant work going on behind the scenes as Cohen’s estate and family have worked with the Crown corporation to produce what they hope will be a fitting tribute.

Release of Posthumous Leonard Cohen Album

Prior to his death in 2016 the late Leonard Cohen had recorded several songs that were never released. On Friday, they were released on a new record “Thanks for the Dance.”

The record has been produced by Adam Cohen, his son and contains instrumentals for a number of musicians who he brought in to help him.

The words are all Cohen’s the music in some cases has been added by these musicians following musical patterns that were characteristic to many of his previous songs.

The release of the album was planned carefully to coincide with the anniversary of Cohen’s Birthday.