Matthew Hittinger

Two Poems at No Is For Wimps (NIFW)

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 23:43:00 +0000

Check out two rather recent poems ("Even a Blind Squirrel Wants an Acorn" and "--Sittin' There in My Gucci--Waitin'"--") at No Is For Wimps (NIFW).

These poems will find a home in the Impossible Gotham manuscript currently in progress.

Three Poems in volume 2/issue 1 of SALiT Magazine.

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:10:00 +0000

I have three poems in volume 2/issue 1 of SALiT Magazine:

Earrings at the Ear Inn
45th St Gutter Fall
V H D N K U O S R C

Enjoy!

Finalist for 2008 Keystone Chapbook Prize

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 23:17:00 +0000

Just a note to say I was a Finalist again for the Keystone Chapbook Prize, this time for a chapbook called Keystone Effect which steals some poems from The Erotic Postulate and buddies them with some old but recently revised Pennsylvania-centric love poems.

It's fun to see all these poems together again under the Keystone Effect title. They originally all lived together under the working title Scumble which became a hand-made one-of-a-kind book gift for my then boyfriend Brian. Over the years I reworked a handful of those poems into sections of The Erotic Postulate and have thought about them in the context of that manuscript for so long that I forgot they can also exist in the context of their original sequence.

Who knows, maybe I'll continue to send Keystone Effect around while I continue to wait for The Erotic Postulate to find a home.

Narcissus Resists Status Update: In Limbo?

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 02:10:00 +0000

Dearest readers:

I've had many inquiries about the status of Narcissus Resists, my chapbook sequence which won the 2007 Beauty/Truth Chapbook Contest. To be honest I had been hoping by this point to be announcing its release. In keeping with the spirit of the sequence, it was going to be an e-book, the PDF available via download from the Beauty/Truth website. There was even a lovely wrap-around cover featuring artwork by my friend Connie Brady.

Unfortunately the Beauty/Truth website has disappeared within the last week. Perhaps the site is just down temporarily, but the editors (James Gapinski and Annabel Rauch) have been maintaining radio silence in recent months; James has not replied to any of my emails since March when we last discussed final tweaks to the cover, so I have no idea what the current status is. They sent an email out to their mailing list back in late March outlining the reasons for the delay in their Spring/Summer issue, but made no mention of NR. To my knowledge I don't believe the Spring/Summer issue was ever released (I'd be curious to know from any of its contributors as, prior to its disappearance this past week, their website had not been updated since February).

We are now fast approaching the anniversary (September 18th) of their announcement that NR had won their first (and only? no announcement about the contest for 2008) chapbook contest. The original release date was November 1st of last year (ambitious, I know), then December 1st, and then after a brief delay in communication, March 1st. I'd be okay with the delays if I were kept in the loop about them and had some assurance that the project was going to be released. It's frustrating as the text had been proofed and set and the cover was just about done.

Though the site is down and their emails no longer work, I do have their physical address and am considering writing a letter to withdraw the manuscript in hopes that another press would be interested in publishing it.

So that's the latest. Writing this has made me realize what a patient person I am. Perhaps too patient. If you have any advice for my situation, feel free to write.

Cheers-

Matthew

Poem in July/August "Transformation" issue of qarrtsiluni.

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:32:00 +0000

Click HERE to read and hear me read "Uncle Remus Denies the Ethnographer" in the July/August "Transformation" issue of qarrtsiluni.

Interview with Oranges & Sardines

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 18:29:00 +0000

Check out an interview with Oranges & Sardines here.

Striking a yoga pose in the Wall Street Journal Online

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:56:00 +0000

I'll let a bit of my day job in here: check out this link to the Wall Street Journal Online to see me striking a yoga pose.

Platos de Sal in 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:16:00 +0000

An announcement from Seven Kitchens Press concerning their latest titles; my chapbook sequence Platos de Sal is scheduled for a late spring 2009 release.

More details to come in the months ahead...

Reading at Shaman Drum Wednesday, November 19, 7PM

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:28:00 +0000

Just a note to let you know about a reading scheduled this fall at the Shaman Drum Bookshop in Ann Arbor, MI for Wednesday November 19th at 7PM with James Shea whose first book will be coming out from FENCE books.

Hope to see some familiar faces!

KGB Bar Impromptu Cameo

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 03:16:00 +0000

I went to hear new friend Jennifer Kwon Dobbs read at the KGB Bar last night. The night was a celebration of new books by Jennifer, Tina Chang, and Tom Fink.

Tom read first and invited his daughter up with him to read a series of 11 line poems. He then read primarily from his new book Clarity (Marsh Hawk Press 2008) and a couple from After Taxes (Marsh Hawk Press 2004). He's quite the performer with great moments of humor, singing some of the poems to some rather well-known tunes, and switching in and out of accents for the different speakers.

Tina was second and told an inspiring story over the genesis of the anthology she co-edited, Language for a New Century (Norton 2008), and the perserverance over the years as she watched it get rejected from every publisher and agent. The work very much follows in the lineage of and deepens the ground Carolyn Forche broke with her Against Forgetting: Twentieth Century Poetry of Witness anthology. Forche in fact wrote the foreward to the book and Tina admitted that was very much her vision, to compile a testament from "the Middle East, Asia, and Beyond" that addressed the skewed notion of "the East" in the post-9-11 world. It's a beautiful book (check out the cover) with compelling subsections: "Slips and Atmospherics" is my favorite so far.

When it was time for Jennifer to read she plugged my book Pear Slip and in an impromptu moment invited me up to read a poem, so I gave a cameo performance of "How to Write, How Not to Write, About Pears" which seemed to go over well (thank you again Jennifer!). She then read from her beautiful Paper Pavilion (WhitePine Press 2007) and read some new poems, one entitled "Orphan" which came fully formed the night before last with tape gun in hand while she was packing up boxes, and many from her new chapbook on which she's working which included a long powerful poem called "The Angel" that she's been working on for the past three years.

Pick up these amazing books everyone!

Specular Reflection Finalist for the 2008 NMP/DIAGRAM Chapbook Contest

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:05:00 +0000

More good news for Specular Reflection: it was one of 24 finalists for the 2008 NMP/DIAGRAM Chapbook Contest. You can see the announcement of the winner and the other finalists HERE.

An essay by my friend Katie Dykstra: "Venice, Italy: Beneath the City's Skirt"

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 18:16:00 +0000

Just read this great travel essay, "Venice, Italy: Beneath the City's Skirt" in Pology Magazine by my friend Katie Dykstra. Check it out here.

Two poems in Summer 2008 (volume 1, issue 1) Oranges & Sardines

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:49:00 +0000

I have two poems, "Upon Hearing the World Premiere of John Sichel's Piano Trio in One Movement," and "Somersault Precedes Transformation" in the Summer 2008 (volume 1, issue 1) Oranges & Sardines.

You can purchase a copy here and view a pdf version of the journal here.

Enjoy!

Pear Slip commentary on Ekphrasis: Poetry Inspired by Art

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Tue, 27 May 2008 17:36:00 +0000

I received a nice email today from Therese Broderick who maintains the blog Ekphrasis: Poetry Inspired by Art; she offered some nice commentary on Pear Slip (I love attentive, thoughtful readers!).

Here's a preview:

When you see the phrase “still life,” what image comes to your mind? Now that I’ve read the very engaging and inventive poems in Matthew Hittinger’s chapbook Pear Slip, I think primarily of pears.

Check it out here!

Finalist for the 2008 New Issues Poetry Prize

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Wed, 21 May 2008 11:21:00 +0000

Now that the winner has been announced I think it's safe to reveal I was one of 29 finalists for the 2008 New Issues Poetry Prize from New Issues Poetry & Prose.

This is the first contest placement for my second full-length manuscript, Skin Shift, which has increased my confidence in this project. I've been pondering lately how I'd feel if Skin Shift were accepted for publication before The Erotic Postulate. Large portions of SS were written during the same period I was composing TEP, but it didn't fully come together until a few years after I finished TEP, so I've always considered it manuscript #2. All these manuscripts accumulating...I'm beginning to feel backlogged...

UPDATE 5/24: Received a hand-written note from New Issues today informing me Carl Phillips placed Skin Shift in his top 5 manuscripts. Woo hoo!

Pear Slip Praise

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:16:00 +0000

A happy discovery. Someone included Pear Slip on an Amazon.com top nine list: "Favorites of a Self-Taught Literary Snob". This is what they have to say:

"This book is a great gift for someone who enjoys poetry, but doesn't have the patience for something too long. The work is fresh and smart."

Thank you "greeningupsmart", whoever you may be...

And a nice user review on Barnes & Noble.com (which is a doctored version of the Spire Press note back from the book release party):

This is (not (just about)) a pear
A reviewer, a poetry professor, 02/06/2008

'Pear Slip' is focused fruit, both rare and ripened. I think most will agree that these poems are excellent, juicy, plenty to ruminate -- and join me in my anticipation of this newly discovered poet's work to come. This short but cohesive work is sure to enhance any collection.

"the heart strobed superimposed" part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Wed, 14 May 2008 03:14:00 +0000

Here is a preview of "the heart strobed superimposed" recorded at the second screening of the film on Friday April 25th at the Brandeis/Hartt Collaborative Concert in the New Wing of the Hartford Art School.

Always a bridesmaid...

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Fri, 09 May 2008 00:15:00 +0000

Another surprise in the mail today: found out I was a semi-finalist for the 2008 Walt Whitman Award. This would be my second time as a semi-finalist, though the letter doesn't specify for which manuscript I submitted, so it may have been the Erotic Postulate again or Skin Shift for the first time. It remains a mystery, though whichever manuscript it may have been, it was one of 38 semi-finalists from over 1000 entries.

The Erotic Postulate was one of 25 semi-finalists out of almost 1300 submissions for the 2006 Walt Whitman Award.

And to go back a bit further, The Erotic Postulate was a finalist in the 2005 National Poetry Series, one of 20 I think out of nearly 1400 entries.

One of these years I'll get to kiss the groom...

UPDATE: Mystery solved. It was for The Erotic Postulate.

Specular Reflection Semifinalist for the 2008 Snowbound Chapbook Award

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Fri, 02 May 2008 21:22:00 +0000

Just a quick note that a new project I've been working on, Specular Reflection, inspired by my travels to Jamaica last year, was named a Semifinalist for the 2008 Tupelo Press Snowbound Chapbook Award. Not bad for its first time out.

Pics from the Moravian Book Shop Reading

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:54:00 +0000

Some pics from the 4/26 Moravian Book Shop Reading courtesy of my sister Jessica:

Showing the audience that shape poem:

Posing with my sisters:

Poem in the 2008 (Volume 7) issue of Center: A Journal of the Literary Arts

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 02:44:00 +0000

Check out the new Center: A Journal of the Literary Arts where I have the lead poem, “Mothers Eating Other Mothers' Young".

Reading at the Moravian Book Shop Saturday, April 26 from 5-6pm

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:16:00 +0000

Hello Pennsylvania friends.

I wanted to let you know about an upcoming reading in my hometown, Bethlehem:

Event: Moravian Book Shop Poetry Day
Date: Saturday April 26, 2008 05:00PM
Location: Moravian Book Shop, 428 Main Street, Bethlehem, PA, United States
Description: Poetry Day at the Moravian Book Shop to celebrate National Poetry Month.

I'm reading from 5-6, but here is the day's complete schedule:

11am-12noon: Lynnel Jones
12noon-1pm: Barbara Crooker
1pm-2pm: Ann Michael
2pm-3pm: Ann Borger
3pm-4pm: Art Freeman
4pm-5pm: Elizabeth Bodien
5pm-6pm: Matthew Hittinger
6pm-8ish: Open mic (open to guest poets and the public)
8pm-10pm: Open mic at Wired Gallery and Cafe (about a block up Main St)

Would love to see many of you if you can make it! Spread the word. Friends at Muhlenberg, feel free to encourage your poetry students/classes to come out to Bethlehem as there will be an open mic night that evening.

Poem in March/April "Nature in the Cracks" issue of qarrtsiluni

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 02:28:00 +0000

Click HERE to read and hear me read "Grafted" in the March/April "Nature in the Cracks" issue of qarrtsiluni.

I also love the meaning of qarrtsiluni; it comes from an Iñupiaq word that means "sitting together in the darkness, waiting for something to burst."

Anne Carson Follow-up: Watch “Possessive Used As Drink (Me): A Lecture on Pronouns in the Form of 15 Sonnets” on the 92nd Street Y Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:26:00 +0000

Check out a video of Anne Carson and company performing the beginning of “Possessive Used As Drink (Me): A Lecture on Pronouns in the Form of 15 Sonnets” on the 92nd Street Y blog.

"the heart strobed superimposed"

noreply@blogger.com (Matthew) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 01:42:00 +0000

As I mentioned in a previous post, my friend and coworker Liz Stephens commissioned me to write a poem in response to a short experimental film she recently completed with the composer Matt Sargent. The poem is called "Moving Image #1 [the heart strobed superimposed]" and is the first poem in a series I've been sketching out called "At the Museum of the Moving Image." Liz has titled the film the heart strobed superimposed after that last line in the poem.

The film was screened the evening of April 1st during the "Music and the Moving Image" program at the Hartt School in Hartford. The event was part of the Hartford Sound Alliance and Liz mixed in the audio of us reading the poem text while Matt Sargent performed the soundtrack he composed during the screening. You can check out more of Matt Sargent's compositions here.