Scarred Resilience

Suzanne Cottrell's poems create verbal jewels inspired by the natural world. These poems offer a healing movement-of-spirit, reminding us why we fell in love with poetry in the first place.

-Marilyn Kallet, Knoxville Poet Laureate and Author of How Our Bodies Learned

Suzanne Cottrell's poems, a synthesis of visual details, combine with her all-seeing eye for nuance and change. Her collection speaks of a life spent in the sciences where things are viewed through a microscope, often distilled as in a vintage snapshot that illustrates competition for resources, quick change in circumstances or the eternal struggle to survive. Her poem "Transformation" provides a clinical description of biological statistics and specimens. But, in "Silent Stroll," the poet reveals the inner life of feelings and search for clarity. The poems are a delicate balance between micro-views and personal internal longings.

-Lynda McKinney Lambert, Author of Star Signs: New & Selected Poems

Suzanne Cottrell's third poetry chapbook chronicles life's difficulties wrapping painful memory with the beauty of nature and offering the possibility to "pass through the darkness into the light to follow your dreams." Her poems express resilience, finding strength in laughter during darker moments. In her poem "Aged," the narrator asks the question - "Have all their pages been written?" I hope for those who love poetry, the answer for Ms. Cottrell would be "Oh, no. There's so much more to come."

-Anne Anthony, Author and Editor, Flash Fiction for Flash

An emotional spark subtly ignites from deep within Suzann Cottrell's measured words and counted lines. Gently, yet distinctly, the reader becomes aware of the joy, understanding and love for life and nature her words convey.

-Maxine Reynolds Chauvaux, Co-founder of the Granville Writers' Group and Creative Life-Long Learning Workshop Facilitator