In the Middle of a Better World: Poems - Softcover

Chemidlin, Grant

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1771684364 ISBN 13: 9781771684361

Publisher: Central Avenue Poetry, 2026

Synopsis

A poetry collection about gay love, belonging, and being fully seen.

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.

About this title

About the Author

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 the Academy 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.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Cruising

Two men meet in the middle
of a secret,

hide behind
the bushes. The trees,

who see no deviance, offer
their trunks for cover.

Two men meet in the middle
of desire, slip out

of their armor, bask
in the unclad sun,

in each other’s arms,
in each other’s tongues.

In the middle
of a better world:

Two men, undone.
Two men, unbelievably soft

when they touch. Even
the stubble-studded chins

are silken moss.
A twig-crack. A gruff shout

in the distance
& two men

disappear.
All that’s left—two hollowed logs

holding their breath

on the forest floor.

Edition details

• Publisher: Central Avenue Poetry
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1771684364
• ISBN 13: 9781771684361
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 112