Leonard Cohen — Book of Mercy “I,8”

2026-03-06 · 17 min · episode 26 · 14 entities

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Leonard Cohen — Book of Mercy “I,8”
discusses Society & Culture concept

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discusses Arts concept

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discusses Religion & Spirituality concept

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Episode description as stored

Have you ever watched, in awe, as a skilled gymnast or skater lifts off and completes a dizzying number of revolutions in less than a second before landing safely back down? That’s how you may feel upon reading the great Leonard Cohen’s urgent, dreamlike poem “I, 8” from Book of Mercy . In his telling of a man’s fall “from his high place” into “disgrace”, Cohen sends us on a short, 206-word journey that seamlessly weaves together narration, fiction, meditation, devotion, and prayer. We invite you to subscribe to Pádraig’s weekly Poetry Unbound Substack , read the Poetry Unbound books and his newest work, Kitchen Hymns , or listen to all our Poetry Unbound episodes . Leonard Cohen had an artistic career that began in 1956 with the publication of his first book of poetry, Let Us Compare Mythologies . He published two novels, The Favourite Game and Beautiful Losers , and 10 books of poetry, most recently Stranger Music: Selected Poems and Songs and Book of Longing . During a recording career that spanned almost 50 years, he released 14 studio albums, the last of which, You Want It Darker , was released in 2016. Cohen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008, received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010, and was awarded the Glenn Gould Prize in 2011. He died on November 7, 2016. Find the transcript for this show at onbeing.org . Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.