Meet the Renaissance Man (Created March 20, 2013)

He has been called a true renaissance man, and the culture and style of Leonard Cohen is hard to fit on a page, describe in a short biography or condense in a way that would allow this reader to truly understand the artist. A singer, songwriter, poet, musician and novelist, Cohen is one of the most compelling and engaging men of this – or any other – generation

As comparisons go, Cohen's name has been up there next to Bob Dylan, Paul Simon and other musical icons stapled not just in the 1960's, but those who have carried the torch well and into the 21st century. Still, none of them have the intellectual background of Cohen, who took up music at a young age but entered his undergraduate studies as a English major who would publish his first poetry books and novels well before he ever recorded his first album.

When Cohen did start writing music, he found his voice as a composer before he triumphed as a performer. That moment came in the summer of 1967 at the Newport Folk Festival, and Cohen never looked back. Through decades of making music, he is known for both his early albums ("Songs of Leonard Cohen," "Songs from a Room" and "Songs of Love and Hate") as well as his later works in the 1970's and 80's and beyond. Through the years his best-loved and most-recorded work was "Hallelujah," along with hits like "Everybody Knows" and "First We Take Manhattan."

Cohen has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and both the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest civilian honor, and in 2011 received the Prince of Asturias Award for literature. His most recent album, 2012's "Old Ideas," is his highest-charting release in the United States, 44 years after the release of his very first work.