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.

Matthew Hittinger was born and raised in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and earned his Bachelor of Arts in Art History and English from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 2000, and his Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in 2004. He is the author of Pear Slip (2007), which won the Spire Press 2006 Chapbook Award, Narcissus Resists (2009), and Platos de Sal (2009). Shortlisted for the National Poetry Series, the New Issues Poetry Prize, the Marsh Hawk Poetry Prize, the Akron Poetry Prize, and twice for the Walt Whitman Award, Matthew's honors include a Hopwood Award and The Helen S. and John Wagner Prize from the University of Michigan, the Kay Deeter Award from the journal Fine Madness, two Sundress Best of the Net nominations, and eight Pushcart Prize nominations. He lives in New York City.