In the Middle of a Better World: Poems

What do we risk by living our most authentic lives? More importantly, what do we gain?

In the Middle of a Better World is a queer guide to love and identity, a collection both formally inventive and infused with a bright, shimmering imagination. Part elegy, part battle cry, this highly anticipated new collection by Grant Chemidlin is unabashedly joyous in its exploration of desire, human connection, and community--those we’re born into and those we build ourselves.

Grant Chemidlin is the author of What We Lost in the Swamp (Central Avenue Poetry, 2023), a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry. His poems can be found in The Los Angeles Review, Palette Poetry, The Florida Review, Quarterly West, and theAcademy of American Poets, among other publications. He lives in Los Angeles with his husband and cat. You can find him on IG @grantcpoetry or at grantchemidlin.com.