Fine poetry and art improve with age. In celebration and in evidence of this, the University of Tampa Press presents the newest work by Peter Meinke, first Poet Laureate of the City of St. Petersburg, Florida: the thirty-fifth anniversary edition of his internationally acclaimed and long out-of-print classic, Lines from Neuchâtel, featuring drawings by Jeanne Meinke.

With a dozen additional drawings by Jeanne, a new essay and six added poems by Peter, and a production that presents the text and art in a handsome special edition, Lines from Neuchâtel has been enriched in the fullness of time. First designed and printed by St. Petersburg's Konglomerati Press in 1974, Lines from Neuchâtel brought Peter and Jeanne's poems and drawings together in a memorable and groundbreaking volume. Shortly afterward, Peter would publish his first book in the Pitt Poetry Series and begin a publishing history marked by major awards and readings around the globe. Jeanne's drawings would begin to appear in The New Yorker and Gourmet magazine as well as in national literary journals and books.

Lines from Neuchâtel holds a special place in the work and experience of two of Florida's most admired artists in our "State of the Arts." This new University of Tampa Press quality paperback edition preserves an extraordinary shared vision that will be treasured by readers and fans for years to come. (Also available on our site as a handcrafted hardback bound by David Barry of Griffin Bindery, St. Petersburg, with dark blue quarter-linen spine and French marbled papers, signed by poet and artist.) Publication date: July 2009.