Rex Wilder is an award-winning poet and photographer. He is the author of four previously published books of poetry. His poetry collection, Open Late: New & Collected Poems (1979-2018), was published by Chatwin in 2018 and his latest book, A Quiet Place to Land was published by Chatwin in November, 2023.
Wilder’s poetry has appeared in leading magazines such as Poetry, The New Republic, National Review, and the Yale, Harvard, Antioch, Georgia, and Poetry Ireland reviews. His poems have been featured over the decades in London’s Times Literary Supplement. A former regional director of the Poetry Society of America in L.A., Wilder helped establish Hollywood’s popular “Act of the Poet” reading series.
The two-term U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins said this of Rex’s first book, Waking Bodies:
“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.”
Inspired by early 20th century Pictorialists, Rex practices digital overpainting and written reflection to interpret his photography. This approach allows him to reimagine a moment—highlighting the soul and beauty of the image and fixing the glimmer of a moment in memory. He resides in Benedict Canyon, California.