Open Late: New & Collected Poems (1979 - 2018)

Open Late: New & Collected Poems (1979-2018).

Chatwin is proud to announce the publication of the collected poetry of Rex Wilder, whose passion for rhyme and rhymes of passion have long set him apart as a unique presence in contemporary American poetry. In addition to collecting Wilder's previously published work, Open Late includes some 100 works never before published.

In addition to the paperback edition, a special hardcover limited edition of 350 copies, signed and numbered, is available. Open Late will be published September 20, 2018.

The two-term U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins said this of Rex’s first book, Waking Bodies, the poems of which are included in this volume:

“In Rex Wilder's poetry, the tired English of everyday use comes back to us refreshed and full of its original surprise. In a world glutted with poetry, that Wilder has found a new way to say the old things is a notable achievement.”

Here is one example:

Summers on Woodland

Relaxation we’d later know
Sexually: premonition of afterglow
In swimming holes, in sunlight
Cut by Rousseau’s forest. Coat
After sheer coat of water tried
On and rejected by the heat.
We were ten forever, tethering
Our parents’ ages too; weathering
The summer thunderstorms
Of childhood, staying out of harm’s
Way as we dripped and dried
Off under lemon trees, a pride
Of cubs, printed with grape leaves’
Shadows and the rest of our lives.