As a child it was a natural thing to be read to, or read to myself, the many poems and stories written by my maternal grandmother, Mary Cora Estella Van Ness Bickham. It was only in my adulthood that the true value of these writings became apparent to me.
My grandmother’s talent was carried on by my mother, Mabel Bickham Marquis, who wrote with that same inspiration. Although I have written some compositions of my own through the years, only recently have I rediscovered my predecessors’ writings and became inspired to join them, and it seems only logical to combine our efforts into an anthology of poetry. So it is with great pleasure that I present to you, my family and friends, this Bickham/Marquis/Dunnigan anthology, Not Far from the Tree.