So this is permanence, edited by Jon Savage with a foreword by Deborah Curtis, p
resents the intensely personal writings of one of the most enigmatic and influen
tial songwriters and performers of the late twentieth century, Joy Division's Ia
n Curtis. The songs of Joy Division, infused with the energy of punk but steeped
in a resigned longing, were born of Manchester in the late seventies - a once f
lourishing industrial city in decline. They were the songs too of Ian Curtis' in
ner tragedies, as he battled depression, epilepsy and debilitating stage fright.
Ian Curtis committed suicide in 1980, on the eve of the band's first America
n tour. Interspersed with the lyrics are previously unpublished facsimile pages
of Ian's notebooks, which throw his highly emotive lyrics into fascinating relie
f and cast light on the creative process of this singularly poetic songwriter.
