Grady Harp reviews The Masque of Marilyn in the San Francisco Review of Books:
“The New York poet Matthew Hittinger is now in that realm of `important poets of our time’. 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 fact 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. THE MASQUE OF MARILYN, the title of this newest collection published by GOSS183 Publishing House, graced with cover art by Matthew and Didi Menendez, is a collage of poems that addresses Marilyn Monroe, but not biographically – rather the influence the goddess of Hollywood created. Or as the poet’s description states, ‘through poems, dream logs, and dramatic monologues, these works conjure a kaleidoscopic pageant of voices—from Marlene Dietrich to Mae West, Montgomery Clift to Maila Nurmi to Norma Jean herself—to reimagine the Marilyn Monroe icon.’ And as Hittinger continues to grow and enjoy wide publication in many journals and anthologies his sophistication of the manner in which he honors words as thoughts grows. His other books include THE EROTIC POSTULATE, SKIN SHIFT, PEAR SLIP, and NARCISSUS RESISTS. […] Attempting to share the magic of Matthew’s superlative book with a single work is like plucking off one pearl from a strand – without the whole strand the spheres are just beads. Read him cover to cover and re-discover Marilyn Monroe.”