Distributed by YesYes Books and Ingram
Cover & Interior Design: Alban Fischer
Cover Art: Brooke DiDonato
$12 | 38 pages | ISBN: 978-1-936919-77-2
Poetry l Perfectbound | March 12, 2024
Praise for Scavenger
The poems in Scavenger are so beautifully and thoughtfully composed that one could say they belie the brutality of intimate partner violence, but Jessica Lynn Suchon wields her poetic brilliance with a layered approach; little is more complex than loving someone who threatens your safety, and Suchon writes this complexity with astonishing skill, clarity, and truth. Scavenger is an impressive feat, and it will linger with the reader indefinitely.
—Lynn Melnick, author of I’ve Had to Think Up a Way to Survive: On Trauma, Persistance, and Dolly Parton
The opening poem of Scavenger ends with the line, “He says I remember it wrong.” Suchon goes on to deftly subvert this gaslighting, charting a course of lyrical, heart-wrenching, and definitive remembering. The poems use figurative language and allusion like a glittering sinew, tying the flesh of the story to fairy tale and mythology—reminding us that nothing—not deer, not ravens, not rain, not even starlight—is free from violence against women. The book is insightful and incisive—a world shimmering with beauty and terror. The world is better for this book.
—Teresa Dzieglewicz, author of Something Small of How to See a River, winner of the 2021 Tupelo Press Dorset Prize
Scavenger
Scavenger Is Available Now!
About Scavenger
The poems in Scavenger trace the progression of an abusive relationship, exposing moments of brutality and brief, quiet tenderness. Scavenger follows a woman through violence, self-doubt, and eventual miscarriage as she seeks slivers of safety and solidarity within nature, myth, and the memory of her younger self. Against fluctuating landscapes of domesticity, skyscrapers, and stone bluffs—Jessica Lynn Suchon’s poems offer varied nuances of survival as they also interrogate the ways in which one person’s violence can spill out into an entire life.
About the Author
JESSICA LYNN SUCHON is the author of Scavenger (YesYes Books 2024), winner of the Vinyl 45 Chapbook Contest from YesYes Books. She completed her MFA at Southern Illinois University where she received honors from the Academy of American Poets. Her work was featured in Best New Poets 2021 and was awarded fellowships from Aspen Words and Tennessee Playwrights Studio. Jessica’s poems have appeared in Copper Nickel, Willow Springs, Ninth Letter, Yemassee, The Pinch, Muzzle Magazine, and RHINO Poetry, among others. Her debut stage play Shopgirls premiered at the Dark Horse Theater Chapel in Nashville as part of the 2019 Tennessee Playwright Festival. Jessica’s librettos have debuted internationally in performances by EKMELES Vocal Ensemble, the Eureka Ensemble, and the Albany Symphony, among others. She currently lives in Philadelphia with her husband Josh and sweet pup Gracie.
