A Braided Story for My Irish Great-Great Grandmothers

In this new work, Liza Hyatt draws from family history records describing the lives of her Irish immigrant great-great-grandmothers. Tracing their journey from 19th century Ireland to pioneer life on the Wabash and Erie and the Whitewater Canal, Hyatt braids together one story from three strands. She inter-weaves her great-great grandmothers’ stories with her own; how rediscovering these strong women changed her life. To further honor her heritage, hyatt’s performance will include Celtic harp accompaniment in the tradition of Irish bards.

Liza is an art therapist at the Charis Center for Eating Disorders, and she teaches at herron School of Art and St. Mary of the Woods College. In 2003, Liza received her first Frank basile Emerging Stories fellowship to develop the story Through John Muir’s Eyes. She is the author of several books, including The Mother Poems (Indianapolis, IN: Chatter House Press, 2014), which she wrote during the last five years of her mother’s life. Most recently, she received a 2017 creative Renewal Fellowship for the Arts Council of Indianapolis.