Leaving California

Book excerpt: LEAVING CALIFORNIA compiles 76 poems that merge the line of harsh reality and paranoia, beauty and reflection, and the wisdom of the escape artist. There are amends and curses amongst stories that one can only tell once they've seen everything and everything collapse. A brilliant work of true transformation, 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. In many ways this is part two of Lanegan's best selling 2020 novel, Sing Backwards and Weep, where loose ends are tied and others left for dead. Intro by Wesley Eisold. Poetry.