Ex-Hole Guitarist Eric Erlandson Explains Motivation for Writing ‘Letters to Kurt’

Former Hole guitarist Eric Erlandson explains why he penned the Kurt Cobain-inspired 'Letters to Kurt' and talks about his murky relationship with ex-fling/frontwoman Courtney Love.

Erlandson just released a book called 'Letters to Kurt,' a collection of poetry and words inspired by his friend, Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, who took his own life 18 years ago. "You know someone’s suicidal, you know someone’s playing with death," Erlandson tells Rolling Stone. "But you don’t know how to deal with it. You don’t really know what’s going on until somebody defines it for you in a clear way where you get it."

Profoundly affected by the loss of his friend, Erlandson explains that he authored the elegy to Cobain as a cautionary tale. "I admit, I made some stupid mistakes with some people, and people are dead because of my stupid mistakes," says Erlandson. "That’s what I want to say. And I want to use that, so that other people don’t make the same mistakes that I made, and other people start understanding. I get emotional about this. We’ve all lost people."

"I’m writing these letters to him, tapping something deep inside myself, but am I really talking to him? No," Erlandson continues. "At the same time, I think he would really like this book. He had a really dark sense of humor and he loved wordplay. Look at his lyrics. He would know what I am talking about."

'Letters to Kurt' also examines Erlandson's romantic relationship with Courtney Love, which took place prior to her marriage to the iconic Nirvana frontman. Despite the fact that Love didn't want her ex-lover to air her dirty laundry, Erlandson says that all hope for a reunion between the former bandmates is not lost. "I never say never," he says. "I don’t know what’s going to happen to her. I don’t know what’s going to happen to me. I like things to be open."