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Skin Shift
Matthew Hittinger's Skin Shift assembles a metamorphosis taxonomy in poems that spider spin, that nimbus twirl into Wonder Woman and leap with the Aboriginal kangaroo woman, that escape from a sub-trunk with Houdini and seduce like the Amazon's pink river dolphin man. Traditional forms morph into experimental narratives, lyrics and dramatic monologues that present an invitation to slip inside the skins of others and to experience the mythologies that resonate in modern times.
- GenresPoetry
114 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2012
62 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Hittinger
17 books55 followersMatthew Hittinger is the author of The Masque of Marilyn (GOSS183, 2017), The Erotic Postulate (2014) and Skin Shift (2012) both from Sibling Rivalry Press, and the chapbooks Thought * Frost * Voodoo (Harbor Editions, 2024), Platos de Sal (Seven Kitchens Press, 2009), Narcissus Resists (GOSS183, 2009), and Pear Slip (Spire Press, 2007) winner of the Spire Press 2006 Chapbook Award. Named a Debut Poet by Poets & Writers Magazine, his work has appeared in many journals and anthologies, and has been featured on Verse Daily, the Academy of American Poets' Poem-a-Day, and the Library of Congress’s The Poet and The Poem.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 23, 2018
A most unique book of poetry. I did enjoy it, though it was not an easy read. The subject matter was somewhere between science fiction & ancient myth. Mythological critters morphing into humans, humans morphing into gods via mythological viruses. Even before I saw the section about Metamorphosis I mentally shelved this book as Shel Silverstien-meets-Kafka, so I was at least partially understanding Hittinger's wild streaming wordplay and internal rhyme schemes. It was poetry that had to be examined & savored in a cerebral rather than visceral way.At first I thought, This guy must be Australian, but in the last two sections he proved to be American (the bio backed this up, though I'm still not sure). I think I would've enjoyed this as a book of short storeis much better, but I still appreciate it for what it is.
May 24, 2012
Matthew Hittinger continues to dazzle
The New York poet Matthew Hittinger is no in the category of `new poets to watch'. The publications of his poems increases every year and his works appear in important poetry collections of the highest order. One reason for Hittinger's ever growing popularity is the fat that he experiments with new visual presentations of his words as well as exploring new avenues of thought - fantasies admixed with reality, humanistic themes married to mythological tradition, re-visiting dead poets and artists and finding new pathways to make them come alive in the present time. `SKIN SHIFT' as a title of these new collection is suggestive of the manner in which Hittinger refreshes old ideas, a skin shift is a modern way to describe `metamorphosis' - the viewable, pulsatile change that can result as one organism sheds integument to become something renewed.
From an interview online we can read Hittinger's thoughts: "I'm always looking past the reality around us to see how mundane daily life has echoes with mythology. I'm looking back and finding our source material and bringing them back to life. And so goes this collection, with entire sections devoted to such mythological characters as Narcissus - the various reincarnations are mesmerizing and include favorite topics of the poet. "I can't just write your standard left-justified poem and stanzas. If I'm going to write a sonnet, I can't just write a sonnet, I need to somehow turn it on its head.'
Some examples serve as aperitifs: First from the Narcissus series:
CONCUSSION (from Metamorphosis of Narcissus I)
Hungover, brow cut from a bar brawl,
skin still flushed from blows, Narcissus
crawled home, unsure if it was daybreak
or nightfall. Light spilled out the slit,
but no wisdom sprang form his split
head. His Mind arced off like a broken
rainbow, no keystone to lock indigo
or red, color scumbled into charcoal sky.
Was this heaven-light or his own
flesh radiant? He leapt at shadows
cast on Venetian blinds, eyes half-open
beneath bandage, compress. His mind
scintillant horizon, lined mosaic of shift
and give, of numb, flickering patterns.
CRUISING (from Matamorphosis of Narcissus III)
Narcissus cruised a dubious fellow
on night who kept light-rimmed
shards of mirror in his sac. He left
our hero to mend the shattered image,
a fractured climax: flesh gave way,
the edge scraped skin, glass cleaved
bone. Hot blood streaked the angle,
white curves; his ice melted into pink
slush, his head, armpits, and groin
wet, raw form a splinter of honey
curls. Before he went blind, his blue
eyes turned purple. His lips locked
his lips, two slivers, jaw-line jagged
edge wed to a jagged edge of light.
As the final encore offering of recitalists goes, 'If you want anymore you can sing it yourself.' There are five divisions of poems in this artful collection (cover illustration by Michael DiMotta seduces us to open them) and every one deserves tasting. This is another superb publication from Sibling Rivalry Press and a generous exposure of the gifts of Matthew Hittinger. Oh, and why the emphasis on Narcissus? Just take a look at this handsome young man's photo....
Grady Harp
The New York poet Matthew Hittinger is no in the category of `new poets to watch'. The publications of his poems increases every year and his works appear in important poetry collections of the highest order. One reason for Hittinger's ever growing popularity is the fat that he experiments with new visual presentations of his words as well as exploring new avenues of thought - fantasies admixed with reality, humanistic themes married to mythological tradition, re-visiting dead poets and artists and finding new pathways to make them come alive in the present time. `SKIN SHIFT' as a title of these new collection is suggestive of the manner in which Hittinger refreshes old ideas, a skin shift is a modern way to describe `metamorphosis' - the viewable, pulsatile change that can result as one organism sheds integument to become something renewed.
From an interview online we can read Hittinger's thoughts: "I'm always looking past the reality around us to see how mundane daily life has echoes with mythology. I'm looking back and finding our source material and bringing them back to life. And so goes this collection, with entire sections devoted to such mythological characters as Narcissus - the various reincarnations are mesmerizing and include favorite topics of the poet. "I can't just write your standard left-justified poem and stanzas. If I'm going to write a sonnet, I can't just write a sonnet, I need to somehow turn it on its head.'
Some examples serve as aperitifs: First from the Narcissus series:
CONCUSSION (from Metamorphosis of Narcissus I)
Hungover, brow cut from a bar brawl,
skin still flushed from blows, Narcissus
crawled home, unsure if it was daybreak
or nightfall. Light spilled out the slit,
but no wisdom sprang form his split
head. His Mind arced off like a broken
rainbow, no keystone to lock indigo
or red, color scumbled into charcoal sky.
Was this heaven-light or his own
flesh radiant? He leapt at shadows
cast on Venetian blinds, eyes half-open
beneath bandage, compress. His mind
scintillant horizon, lined mosaic of shift
and give, of numb, flickering patterns.
CRUISING (from Matamorphosis of Narcissus III)
Narcissus cruised a dubious fellow
on night who kept light-rimmed
shards of mirror in his sac. He left
our hero to mend the shattered image,
a fractured climax: flesh gave way,
the edge scraped skin, glass cleaved
bone. Hot blood streaked the angle,
white curves; his ice melted into pink
slush, his head, armpits, and groin
wet, raw form a splinter of honey
curls. Before he went blind, his blue
eyes turned purple. His lips locked
his lips, two slivers, jaw-line jagged
edge wed to a jagged edge of light.
As the final encore offering of recitalists goes, 'If you want anymore you can sing it yourself.' There are five divisions of poems in this artful collection (cover illustration by Michael DiMotta seduces us to open them) and every one deserves tasting. This is another superb publication from Sibling Rivalry Press and a generous exposure of the gifts of Matthew Hittinger. Oh, and why the emphasis on Narcissus? Just take a look at this handsome young man's photo....
Grady Harp
March 28, 2013
Lambda Literary Review by Jerome Murphy.
March 13, 2013
Meh. I saw this guy in Poets & Writers magazine and really loved the sample they showcased of his work, so I took the risk on buying his book and just...couldn't get into him. Oh well.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews