In “Immram Catherine Meehan (The Voyage of Catherin Meehan), I was delighted to find myself writing about my Irish great-great grandmother, imagining how she learned to read, imagining her voyage to America as a girl, connecting her story to ancient stories of heroic voyagers. In “Romancing the Book,” I describe how books are an essential part of dating, and marriage.

In “Household Gods”, which was selected as the first piece in the collection, right after the introduction and preface, I describe how books have been passed down to me and endure in my home as sacred objects. I decided to write all new work for this project, and was surprised by the 4 very different poems that emerged in the month following the invitation from Travis. Being asked to write about books, literacy, reading, reminded me that reading and writing have been loves of my life since before I could do either. Not only is Indy Reads Books my favorite bookstore in town, but their mission of supporting adult literacy is one I very much want to support in whatever way I can. I was delighted when Travis DiNicola, the editor of the book, asked me this summer if I would contribute to this project for Indy Reads Books. All proceeds from Indy Writes Books support Indy Reads’ adult literacy programs in Central Indiana.” Indy Writes Books has been made possible by a generous grant from the Margot L. “Indy Writes Books is an anthology of some of the wonderful and generous authors who have been a big part of the first two years of Indy Reads Books. Here is the description of the book from the following link, where you can go to buy a copy: The first of the books to launch was Indy Writes Books: A Book Lover’s Anthology. Both of these projects support organizations that help make people’s lives better. This December marked the launch of two new book projects I was glad to be involved in.

Indy Writes Books by M. Travis DiNicola