Betty's Poems

About the Book

This collection of poetry was begun by a little girl who grew up in the foothills of the Cumberland Mountains in Kentucky. Some of Betty’s earliest memories are of her mother, a schoolteacher, reading and reciting poetry, instilling in her a love of poetry that has endured. This book is the product of a lifetime of reading, enjoying and collecting poems. In the first half of the twentieth century, poetry was published in nearly every magazine and newspaper. Many of the poems in this book are ones collected during that period. The majority were penned during the 19th century, called by some the golden age of poetry. Several poems are ones quoted or read to Betty by her mother. The poems Betty includes in this volume are ones of inspiration, hope and encouragement, and reflect a lifetime of love for beauty, joy, and people. Numerous Bible verses confirm her recognition of a loving God. Poetry was an feature of her wartime romance with Fred Grant, a World War II soldier she married in 1943. Several of the poems in this book were exchanged between them during his overseas tours of duty. Later, Betty shared her love of poetry with her three children, John, Janey, and Laura, who have passed that interest on to their own families.

About the Author

Betty Grant was born in the foothills of the Cumberland Mountains in Kentucky. Her parents, Sam and Dinksie Robinson, were of mountain heritage with roots in North Carolina and Virginia. Betty’s first eight years of schooling were in rural two-room schools. She learned to love poetry from her mother who had been a schoolteacher. Her mother recited and read poetry to Betty from her earliest age, instilling in the little mountain girl a love of poetry. This led to a lifelong activity of collecting poems. Poems that caught her interest were copied or cut from the source, usually a newspaper or magazine. The poems in this book are from that collection. Betty and her husband, Fred Grant, now live in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.