Grass Grows Inward
Andreas Neeser
Illustrated by Hugo Suter
Translated from the German by Marc Vincenz
ISBN 978-0-923389-44-4 $15.00 126 pages
Whatever Neeser writes, it is pure poetry.
St. Galler Tagblatt
To read Andreas Neeser’s poetry is comparable with peeling an artichoke. In the end you’re left holding a heart.
Schweizer Radio DRS 1
Neeser plays his concentrated language game with finesse. He is a man of soft-spoken nuances.
Basler Zeitung
In order to get these word landscapes to talk to you, perhaps a second look is required—if only to recognize how carefully Neeser moves towards his reality. All of a sudden, when you have given in to his world of words, have confided in his motives and symbolism, you come to the realization that rarely has someone read “life from the inside” quite so emphatically.
Aargauer Zeitung
Meticulously, word by word, image by image, layer by layer, line by line, Andreas Neeser builds up his concise poetic landscape. He consults its assonance and equivocality, tastes them as notes on his palate. His unique vocabulary grows out of this.
Der Bund
Andreas Neeser is a Swiss poet and author who currently lives in Suhr near Aarau. From 2003 to 2011, he ran the Aargauer Literaturhaus in Lenzburg, Switzerland. He has won the Feldkircher Lyrikpreis (2008) and the RAI Bozen Poetry Prize of the Lyrikpreis Meran (2006). He has published numerous novels, short story and poetry collections. His latest novel is, Fliegen, bis es schneit (Haymon Verlag, 2012), his most recent poetry collection is, Die Sonne ist ein nasser Hund (Wolfbach Verlag, 2006). His latest novel is Zwischen den Wassern, (Haymon Verlag, 2014).
Hugo Suter is considered one of Switzerland’s most important contemporary artists. He was born in 1943 and grew up in Gränichen, Aargau. Today he lives in Birrwill. He has worked in many forms, including graphics, paintings and object art.
Marc Vincenz is British-Swiss, was born in Hong Kong, and has published six collections of poetry: The Propaganda Factory, or Speaking of Trees; Gods of a Ransacked Century; Mao’s Mole; Behind the Wall at the Sugar Works (a verse novel); Additional Breathing Exercises and Beautiful Rush. He is also the translator of numerous German-language poets, including: Erika Burkart, Ernst Halter, Klaus Merz, Andreas Neeser, and Alexander Xaver Gwerder. Marc is the publisher and executive editor of MadHat Press, MadHat Annual (formerly Mad Hatters’ Review) and MadHat Lit. He is Coeditor-in-Chief of Fulcrum: An Anthology of Poetry and Aesthetics, and serves on the editorial board of Open Letters Monthly. He is the founder of Evolution Arts, Inc., a non-profit organization that promotes independent presses and journals.