CfP: Leonard Cohen 2026 Global Perspectives on a Multi-disciplinary Artist (06.-08.10.2026, Ghent University Belgium) Deadline: 30.04.2026
Call for Papers — Leonard Cohen 2026, Global Perspectives on a Multi-disciplinary Artist
International Conference, October 6-8, 2026
The ten-year anniversary of Leonard Cohen’s death in November 2026 invites renewed critical reflection on his life, work, and significance today. The past decade has witnessed a surge in publications on Cohen for both academic and general audiences, posthumous releases of music and the publication of an early novel, as well as his appearance in the works of other artists as both inspiration and antagonist. A singer-songwriter, poet, novelist, and visual artist, Cohen was both an icon of his home city, Montreal, and a citizen of the world. Now, as in his lifetime, his art resists divisions between nations and audiences, media and genres, philosophies and religions, academic disciplines and styles of fandom. Despite Cohen’s own efforts to overcome such divisions, writing on his work often reiterates them, separating literature and music, global and national influences, and academic and general audiences. Moreover, commemoration itself risks settling into a fixed narrative, smoothing over the contradictions and productive tensions that animated Cohen’s work when he was alive and was continually recontextualizing his creations. A decade after Cohen’s passing, the challenge is to resist this tendency toward stabilization and instead to rekindle the dynamism and ongoing evolution that characterized his artistic practice.
Focused on re-evaluating Cohen’s work and legacy in ways that attend to multiple aspects of his art and its reception, this conference aims to bring together scholars working across disciplines and the globe. We welcome proposals focused on all aspects of Cohen’s poetry, fiction, music, visual art, and performances, as well as on his life and legacy. In the spirit of this international conference and of Cohen’s artistic practices, we are especially interested in critical approaches that cross disciplinary borders and push the boundaries of Cohen scholarship in new directions, including but not limited to the topics below:
RECEPTION/TRANSLATION
LOCAL AND GLOBAL SETTINGS:
ADAPTATION/COLLABORATION/REMEDIATION
INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES AND CRITICAL METHODS
MATERIAL CULTURE:
RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Please submit your proposal to cohen2026@ugent.be by April 30, 2026. Participants will be notified of acceptance or rejection in May. There will be a registration fee.
We invite proposals for a variety of presentations:
Individual Papers of 15-20 minutes: Please submit a 300-word abstract and 150-word bio.
Panel Proposal: Panels consist of 3-4 speakers, each giving a presentation of 15-20 minutes on a common topic or question. Please submit a 500-word summary of the panel’s organizing idea as well as 150-word bios for each confirmed speaker and the title of their papers.
Roundtable: Roundtables are opportunities for organized conversation and debate over a broad question or idea. Prepared remarks should be limited so that the roundtable privileges the exchange of ideas among panelists and the audience. Proposals for roundtables should include a 250-word summary of the topic as well as 150-word bios for each confirmed participant.
Creative Proposals: We are open to other kinds of presentations and ways of sharing ideas. Please be in touch if you have an idea that does not fit with the options listed above.
CONTACT
cohen2026[at]ugent[dot]be
WEBSITE