Overview

A Welsh poet based in Mexico, his poems about Mexico capture the magic and vibrancy of a country Andre Breton once described as 'the most surrealist in the world.' Other poems pay homage to Welsh cult heroes John Cale and Adrian Street, and Ben's plucky ancestor, Rebecca Howells, who emigrated to Patagonia after her husband was killed in a mining explosion at Blaengwawr Colliery. At once funny, tender, and beautifully bizarre, Breakfast with the Scavengers explores love, loss, loneliness, our never-ending quest for connection, and those blink-and-you-miss-them moments of transcendence that can light up our lives.

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9781917140560

Table of Contents

Reviews

'Ben Rhys Palmer builds a world in every poem, allowing the reader to live inside it, entertained yet teetering on the precipice of disaster. These poem are romantic, apocalyptic, welcoming, terrifying, funny and heart-breaking all at once.' – Caroline Bird 'Ben Rhys Palmer has an extraordinary gift for building tiny worlds that he allows us to visit through these poems. Populated with ostrich riders, axolotls and luchadores to name a few, each setting is exquisitely detailed and inventively drawn. There’s a rare, playful empathy for all humans and creatures and our interdependencies – the glorious weirdness of these often surreal settings only serves to enhance emotional resonance and connection.' – Suzannah Evans 'Ben Rhys Palmer is one of the most exciting poetry voices to emerge from Wales for many years. His writing combines a range of transatlantic influences, including James Tate, Charles Simic, Caroline Bird and David Wojahn, and the experience of living abroad, into a rich and individual voice. Here you will find witty and exuberantly imaginative visions of ostrich racing and robot gardeners, alongside beautifully crafted odes to Welsh pop culture heroes like John Cale and Adrian Street. Here, too, you will find tender, huge-hearted, important poems of family and loss, of romantic love and the joy of pets, of empathetic connection to strangers and ancestors. It takes a special writer to build such a varied and successful body of work, and the publication of this collection is an event to be celebrated in writing from Wales.' – Jonathan Edwards 'what’s true of this book is that you never really know where the next poem might take you. Because if this is a path, then it’s one that veers, loops, and splits itself, wildly – which makes this collection such an all-round fascinating read. Lyrical / narrative; personal / surreal –overall, it’s a heady, imaginative mix, making Breakfast…, quite simply, one to devour.' – Mab Jones, Buzz Magazine 'The poet has an original way of mixing imagery from his growing-up in Wales with scenes from his adopted Mexico. This makes for a special freshness… If your poetry world is feeling a bit stale, this is definitely for you. Enjoy your breakfast…’ – Pat Edwards, London Grip A Welsh poet based in Mexico, his poems about Mexico capture the magic and vibrancy of a country André Breton once described as ‘the most surrealist in the world.’ Other poems pay homage to Welsh cult heroes John Cale and Adrian Street, and Ben’s plucky ancestor, Rebecca Howells, who emigrated to Patagonia after her husband was killed in a mining explosion at Blaengwawr Colliery. At once funny, tender, and beautifully bizarre, Breakfast with the Scavengers explores love, loss, loneliness, our never-ending quest for connection, and those blink-and-you-miss-them moments of transcendence that can light up our lives. -- Publisher: Parthian Books

""Ben Rhys Palmer builds a world in every poem, allowing the reader to live inside it, entertained yet teetering on the precipice of disaster. These poems are romantic, apocalyptic, welcoming, terrifying, funny and heart-breaking all at once."" --Caroline Bird, Published author ""Ben Rhys Palmer has an extraordinary gift for building tiny worlds... Exquisitely detailed and inventively drawn... there's a rare, playful empathy for all humans and creatures and our interdependencies. The glorious weirdness of these often surreal settings only serves to enhance emotional resonance and connection."" --Suzannah Evans, Published author ""One of the most exciting poetry voices to emerge from Wales in many years... Here you will find witty and exuberantly imaginative visions, tender poems of family and loss, and a rich, individual voice."" --Jonathan Edwards, Published and award-winning poet

Author Information

Ben Rhys Palmer is a poet, translator, editor, and musician born in Cardiff, Wales and now based in Guadalajara, Mexico. His poetry has been published in The London Magazine; Poetry Wales; New Welsh Review; Forklift, Ohio; Wales Arts Review; The Caterpillar; Under the Radar, and Neon. Winner of the Verve Poetry Competition 2022, Ben was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize 2023 and highly commended in the Winchester Poetry Prize, the Kent & Sussex Poetry Competition, The Interpreter's House Poetry Competition and the Welshpool Competition. Breakfast with the Scavengers is his debut collection.

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