Mark Lanegan – Leaving California
Mark Lanegan will be releasing a book of poetry via his publisher, Heartworm Press. The book, Leaving California, contains 76 poems and is described as “part two of Lanegan’s best selling 2020 novel, Sing Backwards and Weep”. Heartworm Press describes the poetry in Leaving California as “76 poems that that merge the line of harsh reality and paranoia, beauty and reflection, and the wisdom of the escape artist”.
The title, Leaving California, can be taken literally as some of the poetry outlines his move from living in California to living in Ireland. The book description says about the move, “these poems also chronicle Lanegan’s exit from California for the literal greener pastures of Ireland. As someone who has survived it all, he must have known this move was the next level of perseverance. There’s a pacing anxiety leading up to the move, turbulence in the transition, and a calm consideration once he’s settled”.
Mark Lanegan was the lead singer of grunge pioneers Screaming Trees from 1984-2000. His memoir, Sing Backwards and Weep, was released in April 2020. The memoir follows his life growing up in Washington all through Mark getting sober after years of addiction. Mark didn’t leave his addictions to just drugs as the book also details all of the fallout from his addiction to sex as well. After reading the memoir you realize how amazing it is that Mark was able to live long enough to even write the memoir. In Sing Backwards and Weep Mark gives us all an incite into his friendships with grunge luminaries Layne Staley and Kurt Cobain. Through the whole book Mark’s unfiltered honesty really shines through. Mark’s stories do not glorify his addictions, but in fact really show how much those addictions really effect a person’s life and their relationships with others. The juxtaposition of Mark touring the world with Screaming Trees while simultaneously selling crack out of his Seattle apartment is quite stunning.
You can pre-order Leaving California on the Heartworm Press website.