Accessible and perfectly average collection of poems. Thank you, Central Avenue, for the advance ebook.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

3.5

Poetry books are always incredibly difficult to review, and this one is definitely no exception. And as always, there were poems that inevitably fell a bit short compared to some others in the collection. Overall, What We Lost in the Swamp is a very interesting collection, using nature analogy and comparisons to express a variety of emotions, ranging from topics of relationship, sexuality, jealously, personal growth and so on.

As in topics, the form of the poems also expresses variety. some of the poems are more detailed, more intricate, with richer language and story, while some are shorter and to the point. While one is not necessarily better than the other, the longer, more complex poems in this book ended up working better for me overall.

Some of the topics did seem slightly watered down, as to appeal to a larger audience, and maybe my lack of personal connection to it is the biggest issue but there was a poem in particular that left me a bit perplexed. There were, though, quite a few poems I really enjoyed, my Y being Tour de Force, The Garden Gate, Die Hard, Pockets, Letter to my Former Self .

All of that said, I would recommend this book if you're looking for a quick collection that deals with Introspection and identity and finding yourself!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for all honest review!

What We Lost in the Swamp is a beautiful and heartfelt collection of poetry. The poems tell the story of hiding your identity and then finally discovering and revealing it, touching upon the complete range of human emotion related to this process. The title poem begins "Boys do not kiss boys. They catch frogs," while another poem explores the difficult moment the poet came out to his parents while they watched a football game. One poem is titled "My First Date With Another Man" and another "I Feel Bad For All The Strait Men." My favorite poem that explores sexual identity is titled "To The Popular Kids Who Called Me Gay (Abridged)" and brilliantly asserts "You were right."

In addition to exploring sexual identity and family relationships, the collection relies heavily on natural images including green tree frogs, bluebirds, butterflies, swans, ladybugs, and constellations. The collection features beautiful poetry and I highly recommend it!

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I am not a poetry person and I loved this collection. These poems were haunting, vivid, and nostalgic. Absolutely worth the read!

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest feedback.

This collection was, simply put, stunning. I tore through the pages, and highlighted lines more often than I did not I think. It is a beautiful representation of queerness and love and loss. "The Breaking" in particular was one of my favorite pieces of this collection; it took the air out of my lungs as I read it. Grant Chemidlin has a voice that's worth listening to and a way with words that I think it becoming more rare in the poetry genre. Very, very easily five stars for me.

I struggled to connect to this poetry collection. I enjoyed some of the poems but not others. Sadly this one wasn’t for me, but I imagine the right readers will find their way to this book.

A sweet release of poetry for the soul. It spurs you on through your emotions and the self discovery we all eventually abide by. It was a refreshing look at how poems can inflict so much emotion on us. Good or bad. It’s all there. I think this collection is a enjoyable read for most and would be a fantastic start to your poetry journey.

Thanks, NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Poems are personal and I always feel a sense of inadequacy when reviewing them as It feels wrong to attach material value to someone's utmost and honest thoughts.

What We Lost in The Swamp is full of beautiful prose and imagery calling attention to the poet's struggles with acceptance, anxiety and different periods in their life. I found it entertaining and a comforting read and hope you will too

As always, I love to give a disclaimer on poetry collections as they're something intimate. I may not hear a voice in poetry that others may hear inside themselves, and that's the beauty of it.

What We Lost in the Swamp is a collection that has a much stronger ending than it does a beginning. When first diving into this collection; I felt a little tired by the overly flowery language used. It almost felt like the metaphors were too forced, and trying to overindulge something that could have been beautifully simple.

There's one poem where the author explains that they're a good writer because they can explain something without having done so; and I found it a little ironic seeing as I think the way they describe things takes away from their own storytelling.

That said, once I got past the first movement, I loved the way the rest of the book was written. It was authentic and felt very real, raw almost. It was novel in it's own way; found a way to hold a mirror up to you, despite the poems being so distinct and personal.

Overall I enjoyed this poetry collection. I liked the narrative style, how the poems followed specific stories or a specific situation in the poets life. I really enjoyed some of the metaphors and descriptions, while others felt very juvenile and basic. I didn't enjoy the poems that used initials to replace people's names, they use of the initials felt weird and took me out of the poems.

My favourite poems in the collection:
- I Often Feel
- What We Lost in the Swamp
- To the Popular Kids who Called me Gay (Abridged)
- The Plea
- Splash
- For the Love of Dusk I
- How the Home Says Hello
- Tour de Force
- Little Hymn III
- For the Love of Dusk II
- Sandbox

I am not really a poetry person, but I want to be! And this collection was such a great way to get into poetry.
It’s vulnerable, it’s raw, it’s sweet, and it’s not pretentious. Usually I feel like poets try too hard to be “deep” and it’s a turn off for me, but I actually found myself relating, and highlighting because it was just so beautiful.


Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this truly great poetry collection!

While this wasn’t my favorite poetry collection I’ve read recently, there were some really gorgeous pieces. I especially loved the title poem; as well as Letter to My Past-Life Lover, the Little Hymns, and Tour De Force.

I really enjoyed a handful of poems from this collection, but I’m not sure if it did much for me as a whole. I can see how the poems are connected in some ways but it felt disjointed. I was also pretty surprised at how short it was too.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

I wasn't familiar with the author before requesting this collection but I'm definitely going to check out his other work now! I felt like all the poems were strong and were woven together beautifully with themes like growing up, jealousy, figuring out sexuality, relationships, and nature. Usually, I find myself skimming one or two in a poetry collection but each one of these held my attention. Mt faves were To The Popular Kids Who Called Me Gay, The Plea, Warning of a Winter Storm, How the Home Says Hello, and Die Hard

very profound and moving. I really enjoyed how the poems flowed from youth to present (or even maybe future).

I wasn't familiar with Grant Chemidlin until I requested this appealing collection of poetry - and what a collection it is. Here, the poet focuses on issues from nature, to his sexuality, through to experiences with a counsellor. I enjoyed the way the collection is cyclical with the start and end focusing on a theme of nature.

Even though I enjoyed all of the poems, there were some particular stand-outs: 'The Stoner Safari' (not sure about the title, tbh) perfectly conjures up the adolescent years, and clings on to youth before it can be forgotten, with 'Guided/by starlight, we scraped/&scratched...' reminding me somewhat of my own rural childhood and the hi-jinx I used to get up to under cover of darkness. In 'Portrait of a Painter Painting', the poet focuses on the craft of writing, using the analogy of an artist's canvas. 'Tour de Force' perfectly captures how Chemidlin hopes we inherit favourable qualities from family, such as a 'love of weather', as well as looks. Other notable stand-outs for me are 'The Garden Gate', 'The Little Builder Man' and 'Pockets'. Childhood is, again, captured in 'The Wagon Game; here is a poem that reminds us how games from our formative years can stick with us, and help to prepare us for the 'crashes & burns of life'. Just one thing - I am not really too sure why the ampersand has to be used instead of 'and' but I guess this is artistic licence.

A stunning collection and one that has prompted me to read more of the writer's work. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

This was a really beautiful poetry book about self discovery.
I really enjoyed my time reading this book, the poems were accessible and amazing!
I highly recommend reading this poetry collection for everyone!

Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Publication Date: May 2, 2023

Really enjoyed this! I tend to judge my enjoyment of poetry collections by how many poems I feel the urge to skim, and this one had my full attention for each piece. The nature metaphors felt, for lack of a better term, very natural. The poet’s true meaning came through in a beautiful way, and the theme provided a smooth transition between poems. This was a great collection to read during poetry month!

I am so thankful to have been considered and approved for this title by Central Avenue Publishing, Grant Chemidlin, and NetGalley. I've been reading a lot of poetry lately, and What We Lost in the Swamp was the perfect collection of prose to put me in a clearer headspace while also being transported into another magical world. What we Lost in the Swamp will be published on May 2, 2023.