About the Author

Padraig Rooney was born in Ireland and studied at Maynooth College and at the Sorbonne. When he was sixteen he first came to Switzerland, saw the Rolling Stones in Berne, and never looked back. He has lived in Switzerland for fifteen years, and teaches English at International School Basel. He worked as a freelance travel writer for many years, for the Irish Times, Irish Press, Sunday Tribune, Bangkok Post, and many Asian magazines.Padraig Rooney has published three collections of poetry. His poems have been winners of the Patrick Kavanagh Award, the Poetry Business Award, the Strokestown International Poetry Prize and the 2012 Listowel Poem Award. His work has been anthologised in Scanning the Century: The Penguin Book of the Twentieth Century in Poetry (Viking), in Haiku World and The Haiku Seasons (Kodansha), and his short stories in Best Irish Short Stories 2 & 3 (Paul Elek).www.padraigrooney.com

Reviews

There is a mastery in his handling of prose-rhythm which I find exciting. It is in order for an ageing writer, in a valediction to Irish readers, to essay a prophecy about Irish letters. Mr. Rooney will be a credit to them. - Anthony BurgessA fascinating look behind the scenery at how Switzerland has influenced and affected some of the greatest authors and some of my favourite books. - Diccon Bewes, author of Swiss Watching