leap thirty
Diane LOWELL WILDER
Paperback • 5.5” x 8.5” • 84 pages • $15
September 1, 2021 • ISBN
978-1-7356783-3-7
This visceral debut collection is a dance across the decades. In thirty spare and gripping poems, Diane Lowell Wilder recasts midlife as a second coming of age: a time of new vulnerabilities and strengths, breakdown and renewal, constraint and release. In the process, she lands on vital sources of affirmation and resilience—in being a parent, in embracing change, in letting go, in reclaiming agency. Here is the aftermath of divorce and the landscape of later romance, the strain of watching parents age, the anxieties of motherhood, an aching hip, bold moves, fresh starts. Ever aware that the past and future are always bound up in the present, Wilder shows us how a poetic exploration of personal history, even when it means wrestling with loss, can help us gain perspective and maybe even a new sense of freedom and direction.
2022 Eric Hoffer Award First Runner-Up in Poetry
2022 First Horizons Award Finalist
16th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist
“At first, the pages feel quiet and tender, but they grow louder and bolder as the reader continues, each pebble’s ripple adding to a greater tide of authentic reckoning. When executed well, poetry consists of only what is necessary—the best words in the best order to articulate the greatest truth. This collection is executed at the highest level, like a meal at a Michelin-star restaurant. Each poem is delicately presented and reverberates within the reader with ample and surprising complexity. We are moved to engage, reflect, and participate in the work.”
“Leap Thirty is Diane Lowell Wilder’s concept album. She’s giving us strong and compelling poems that can stand on their own but then also create a beautiful portrait of a life lived. It’s a true mosaic and beautiful to watch unfold page after page, deepening her story . . . I could have continued reading Wilder’s poetry long after that. So now I’m here, patiently waiting for her next collection.”
—Independent Book Review
“Here on achingly full display is the decline of the body . . . and the cravings, desires, and memories that continue on. These beautifully observed poems are deceptively simple: they sneak up on the reader to pack an emotional wallop. Wilder is a consummate poet at the top of her craft. I am particularly fond of the title poem ‘Glorious Leap Thirty’: energetic, joyous, and heartbreaking.”
—Carole Bernstein, author of the poetry collections Buried Alive: A To-Do List and Familiar
“The raw honesty of the poems makes their meanings plain; it also leads connections to flourish. . . . Moving in their simplicity, these poems excel because of their focus on quiet moments that are often overlooked in favor of milestones. At the same time, the poems are a way to process heavier emotions around loss—of a family member, of a relationship, or of time. Leap Thirty is a powerful, understated poetry collection that makes its impact felt through emotional resonance.”
—Foreword Clarion Reviews
(Read the full review here.)
“Leap Thirty, issuing from and sensitively engaging with the transitional space that follows the end of marriage, captivates by bravely choosing not to reside there. Its poems—observational and imagined—query, reinterpret, examine, accept, and then simply let go, opening with mature wonder to that which lies beyond. This is beauty: simply expressed, layered and wise, imperfect, graceful. Can one ask for more from a first book of poems?”
—Poet Marc Zegans, author of The Snow Dead and The Underwater Typewriter
(Read his extended review here.)
“In her emotionally vivid debut collection . . . Diane Lowell Wilder plumbs the depths of memory to explore how relationships change over time, particularly our relationships to ourselves. It is a moving reflection on love and loss readers will find entrancing. 5/5 STARS.”
—IndieReader
(Read the rest here.)
PRESS & PRIZES
Finalist, 16th Annual National Indie Excellence Award in poetry
2022 Eric Hoffer Award 1st Runner-Up in poetry
2022 First Horizons Award Finalist (“for superior work by debut authors”)
Recognized as a 2022 IPPY Award “almost-winner” in the poetry category
Named in Independent Book Review’s “35 Impressive Indie Press Books of 2021” list (December 2021)
Included in the Swarthmore College Bulletin’s “Hot Type” alumni publication highlights (Fall 2021)
Featured in the Vermont-based online news hub The Chester Telegraph (December 2021)
About the Author
Diane Lowell Wilder, poet, mother, former competitive ice skater, lover of jazz piano and languages, grew up in rural Vermont. She attended Swarthmore College and has had a long career in advancement and alumni relations for liberal arts institutions. A longtime resident of the Philadelphia area and active participant in the city’s creative writing community, she now lives in Rochester, New York. This is her first published collection.
