Salamander Morning

Nadine Hitchiner's Salamander Morning is a tender, deeply contemplative, and meticulously wrought study of the self over the course of a life. "Everything is / moveable, even us..." we are told, and what a miracle this might be: the ability to accumulate experience-to witness, to learn, to adjust. Though, instead, encounter a speaker steady in her sadness. "[W]hat have I done, but put grief / into joy's chariot?" she asks, continually troubled by her life's fruition: "I don't trust time / does much difference." But enter the poem, which figures as her most well-intentioned gesture, "...a shoelace of breath / and a cape of love..." she offers to those she holds dear, hopeful she might match their affections: "I am not writing this without tears," she says. And later: "What if I did? Bring you coffee / tomorrow and all of our- / what if all of our / hydrangeas turned blue?" Oh, the sincerity of this collection. Oh, the accountability. Oh, the hyper-vigilance that reveals a radiantly worthy self.

-Susan L. Leary, author of Dressing the Bear

Melodic and ripe with sharp allusions and tantalizing imagery, Nadine Hitchiner is a master of her craft. The elusive way Hitchiner bends and braids language is reminiscent of great contemporaries Anne Carson and Natalie Diaz, yet is uniquely hers.

-Rachael Moorthy, author of RIVER MEETS THE SEA

Salamander Morning is a mesmerizing collection of poems that captivates the senses with its exquisite depth and lyricism. Drawing inspiration from the natural world, Nadine Hitchiner weaves together experiences from fauna, ever-shifting seasons, and vivid settings to explore the wild vastness of the human experience. Each poem is grounded in rich detail and showcases Hitchiner's undeniable gift for language and form. Touching on love and marriage, loss, growth, and personal history, these poems are as transient as they are timeless. In the tradition of Mary Oliver, Salamander Morning invites readers to contemplate impermanence, our relationship with the world around us, and ultimately, confront our own fragility. Equally universal and personal, this perceptive collection should not to be missed.

-Katy Luxem, author of Until It Is True