Tracing the Desire Line – A Memoir in Essays

TRACING THE DESIRE LINE– A MEMOIR IN ESSAYS

MATTHEWSON, MELISSA

JANUARY 23, 2020 AT 7PM

Chaucer’s Books is very pleased to welcome Melissa Matthewson from southwest Oregon, as launches her new book entitled Tracing the Desire Line–A Memoir in Essays.

This memoir-in-essays follows the narrator’s journey as a pirate radio DJ, writer, mother, and organic farmer exploring identity, sexuality, and feminine desire through opening her marriage with her husband. The book looks closely at what happens when the narrator runs the edges of desire by questioning the nature of monogamy and freedom within a conventional marriage. Along the way, the book detours into memory and meditations on various subjects that frame the narrator’s story including music, religion, love, and wildness.

“In Tracing the Desire Line, Melissa Matthewson creates an achingly honest and raw portrait of a woman and a marriage traveling through a difficult season of growth and change. This beautiful memoir, smart and open and gorgeously written, marks the debut of an important literary voice.”–Cari Luna, author of The Revolution of Every Day

Matthewson’s essays have been published in numerous places including DIAGRAM, Mid-American Review, Guernica, River Teeth, and Bellingham Review, among others. She holds a BA in Environmental Studies from UC Santa Cruz and an MS in Environmental Studies and Writing from the University of Montana. She earned an MFA in creative nonfiction from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She currently teaches at Southern Oregon University.