Leonard Cohen, (born 21st September 1934 in Montréal, Quebec, Canada) is a poet, novelist and musician. His musical career has largely overshadowed his prior work as a poet and novelist, although he has continued to publish poetry sporadically after his breakthrough in the music industry. His first published book of poetry was, Let Us Compare Mythologies (1956). Musically, Cohen's early songs are based in folk music, in terms of both melody and instrumentation; from the 1970s, though, his work begins to show the influence of various types of popular and cabaret music.