I met Leonard Cohen in 2001. He was staying at the Mayflower, a modest, somewhat faded hotel on Central Park West, just up the street from the Trump International. As I recall, his label had originally put him up in a much fancier place, but he hadn't liked the vibe and switched without telling them. He'd recently
This article originally appeared on www.rollingstone.com: A Visit With Leonard Cohen: Poetry, Britney Spears and More With a Master