Each week we will be connecting with our contributors showing where they have been, where they are now, and what’s up for the future.
Name: Melissa Matthewson
Title of Piece published in Sweet: Draw Two Circles, So Joined
Issue: 7.3
Find her:
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
Melissa is based out of Apple Valley, Oregon on her organic farm, Barking Moon. She also teaches at Southern Oregon University. You can find out more about her at www.melissamatthewson.com.
What are some major accomplishments you have had since your Sweet publication?
I won the AWP Intro Journals award for creative nonfiction in 2015. I completed my MFA in creative writing in 2015 from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. I completed my first book manuscript, Tracing the Desire Line: A Lyric Memoir, which is still waiting for publication. I have had residencies at PLAYA and Art Smith. I’ve published essays and book reviews in a number of journals.
Can you tell us about a current/ongoing project that you’re excited about?
I’ve just finished my first book manuscript which explores identity, sexuality, marriage, and feminine desire. I’m excited for that! I’m now working on a new collection of essays about the intimate rural and several questions related to beauty, wildness, the feminine, home, and the rural feminine agrarian voice. The seed essay for this is coming out in American Literary Review this fall.
Who is your favorite author?
Such a hard question! Annie Dillard.
What is your favorite poem/essay/book?
Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass
What inspires you to write?
The power of expression of story. The beauty of words. The connection established between reader and writer. The intimacy of language.
What is your favorite sweet?
I love pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.
Sounds heavenly! We will be sure to try them out, maybe with this recipe we found on Food Network.
Thank you, Melissa, for taking the time to reconnect with us. We look forward to seeing more of your work in the future!
