Water I Won't Touch

Kayleb Rae Candrilli is an American trans poet born around 1990 in rural Pennsylvania. They earned degrees from Penn State University and the University of Alabama, and live in Philadelphia. Candrilli is the author of several poetry collections, including Winter of Worship (2025), Water I Won't Touch (2021), All the Gay Saints (2020), and What Runs Over (2017), and has received a Whiting Award, Pew Fellowship, and National Endowment for the Arts fellowship.