Inspired by Jami Attenberg's Why I Write Substack Post

I wrote a very long answer in my writing process journal to writer Jami Attenberg's post/question Why I Write. And I realized a practice I've been doing for ages around my writing: having book-companions for certain projects. It makes sense; I'm a librarian so books mean a lot to me. I remember going to Vermont Study Center waaaaay back in 2003 and I had to bring a ton of books with me (luckily my father let me borrow his Chevy Blazer for the 13-hour drive from Pittsburgh to Johnson, VT so I could pack a lot. I took Sharon Olds, Naomi Shihab Nye, Anne Sexton, Pattiann Rogers, books about artists Lucien Freud, Remedios Varo, Frida Kahlo, books about fractals. I remember sitting on my office floor with all of them around me. When I got to VSC, the offices at that time were very sparce, and I was so glad I had 2 shelves of books to keep me company.

My Love of Books