Breakfast with the Scavengers by Ben Rhys Palmer
Parthian Books
Published 2nd October 2025.
"Deeply funny, deeply memorable ... steeped in some of the best American surrealist writing of recent years ... a great joy.' - Jonathan Edwards on "Bellyache Jake' A lively, imaginative poetry collection that blends humour, surrealism, and warmth, finding meaning in the weird and wonderful moments of life. Breakfast with the Scavengers explores love, loss, and the human need for connection with playfulness, wit, and a sharp eye for the unexpected. In Ben Rhys Palmer's joyful debut collection, discombobulated robots rub shoulders with philosophising hyenas, orangutan brides, Mesopotamian fish gods, and a psychotherapist from outer space. 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. 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.
"Deeply funny, deeply memorable ... steeped in some of the best American surrealist writing of recent years ... a great joy.' - Jonathan Edwards on "Bellyache Jake' A lively, imaginative poetry collection that blends humour, surrealism, and warmth, finding meaning in the weird and wonderful moments of life. Breakfast with the Scavengers explores love, loss, and the human need for connection with playfulness, wit, and a sharp eye for the unexpected. In Ben Rhys Palmer's joyful debut collection, discombobulated robots rub shoulders with philosophising hyenas, orangutan brides, Mesopotamian fish gods, and a psychotherapist from outer space. 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. 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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