Meredith Holmes was raised in a small Quaker town in southern New Jersey, the daughter of parents who were avid readers--particularly history, politics, and Russian novels--who enjoyed discussing what they were reading. Thus to Meredith, reading and writing always seemed like the two most natural things in the world. She began writing poetry in high school, graduated from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, with a B.A. in English and, during the 1970s, was part of a poetry writing and performing group called "Big Mama." The group published two books and performed at universities, theaters, and women's centers in Ohio, New York, and New Jersey. In 1979, Meredith moved to Cleveland Heights and began working as a writer and editor. In 2003, Pond Road Press published a collection of her poems, Shubad's Crown, and in 2005, Meredith was named Cleveland Heights' first poet laureate. Her work, which often focuses on familiar places such as city streets, movie theatres, or classrooms, has been featured in several anthologies, including Cleveland in Prose and Poetry (League Books), Awake at the End (Bottom Dog Press and HeightsArts), and Good Poems for Hard Times (Viking).