Collected Poems

Rainer Brambach’s (1917-83) other collections of poetry include, Zeit wär’s and Auch im April. Esther Kinsky is a poet, writer, and translator working in German, Polish, Russian and English. She is the author of Summer Resort, also published by Seagull Books.

• Translator’s NoteToss a Coin             LifeLumberjack BarThe Greenhouse, My AbodeMarch in BaselSnowIn Those TimesDay’s LabourPoetryThe AxeSchoolyardAt the HoardingPaulBy the RiverIt Was Loneliness that Forced MeIn the AfternoonToss a CoinLetter to Hans BenderDreamt PoemOld People’s HomeLight in AugustBistroSung LandscapeConfidenceHikeThere Will BeRichterswil IRichterswil IIBrief NoteLe LavandouMoon Late MorningFriendsMerriment in the GardenAchim RaabeThe Wind BreakSummer SundayThe TreeDog DaysEvil TricksReport from the GardenOne Day among ManyBrooding SummerIndentity CardDay in JulyEncounterGraniteSant EremoUnder Apple TreesTirednessPortrait of a Young ManThe Erratic RockIn July and AugustEmbassyWords for W.Belated IcarusNo One Will ComeSaltDeath of a CentaurEndangered LandscapeSingle MenOrganic FaultIroningThe StrangerThe End of SomethingVisit in M.Setting SailSouthern TownThe Gingko LeafPoem for FrankYou beside MeComing HomeA Leaf in Memory of SeptemberHard Times for DrinkersBack ThenIn the VineyardGoodbye to the EiffelShotsPromenadeBeyond RijekaBlack ForestAthletics for HaresHealthLucky CharmsDepartureLate in the EveningColdTracesDark DayFlight TimeStraw Flowers at FarewellPigeons When Sleep Is All I Long forHotel RoomCaution Should Be Called forEverydayAlso in April‘The year still young…’‘No sweet green glade…’‘As it has been raining…’‘My ancestors never left…’‘So many wonders in this world…’‘Dust is still an alien word…’‘The ribbon blue as Mörike saw it…’‘The maypoles standing tall…’‘Not strange at all…’‘The birds are shouting…’‘The evening’s still far away…’‘Your strength Ulea…’‘A stiff old-fashioned straw hat…’‘High noon, Sunday afternoon…’‘Me with my prose…’‘Perpetual begetting…’‘Summer evenings…’‘Not wanting to be part…’‘Concrete can be so ugly…’‘Surely the summer…’‘To live in a sunflower…’‘Fly a kite…’‘To write a poem…’‘Month of wine…’‘Westwind with its unspeakable force…’‘Taking a bite…’‘The rows of vines…’‘The cottage gardens…’‘Last day of October…’‘Free time…’‘Must a summer poem…’‘Sitting by the window…’‘A postcard from the Caribbean…’‘Ice grey, a wolf word…’‘My four and sixtieth winter…’‘Rust-red Reynard…’‘Picked up a handful of snow…’‘Ten degrees below zero…’‘Foehn wind in February…’‘Never put to paper…’Notes

“Collected Poems comes to us as the first volume in translation to fully present this worthy poet to an English-speaking audience. While largely forgotten on the international scene today, in Switzerland Brambach remains an important literary figure much admired for his often melancholic, always insightful little poems that present the bucolic landscapes of his adopted country in disquieting light. Concise they may be, but they leave room on the page for the mind to linger in contemplation.”