Mark Lanegan has announced the release of Leaving California, a poetry book “sequel” to his 2020 grunge memoir.

The former Screaming Trees frontman released the book Sing Backwards And Weep last year, detailing in it his time in the Seattle music scene in the ‘90s.

Leaving California will be published by Heartworm Press, whose website says new tome merges “the lines of harsh reality and paranoia, beauty and reflection, and the wisdom of the escape artist”.

The 76-poem collection is also said to be “in many ways” the second part of Sing Backwards And Weep, “where loose ends are tied and others left for dead”.

“A brilliant work of true transformation, these poems also chronicle Lanegan’s exit from California for the literal greener pastures of Ireland,” the site continues. “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.”

Leaving California will be published on March 15 and can be pre-ordered here.

Last year, Lanegan also released his second Christmas album. He previously released a festive record nine years ago with ‘Dark Mark Does Christmas 2012’.

The follow-up album, called ‘Dark Mark Does Christmas 2020’, featured original tracks and covers of festive classics, including ‘In The Bleak Midwinter’, ‘O Holy Night’ and ‘We Three Kings’. It also boasted Lanegan’s take on Roky Erickson’s ‘Burn The Flames’ and Dennis Linde’s ‘Christmas Eve Can Kill You’.