Mary Dederer was born in St. Louis and at thirteen moved to Stockton, California, where she went to high school. After attending Stanford, she never left the Bay Area, teaching at the old Mountain View High School, at Los Altos High School, and at the new Mountain View High School. In 1986, she began teaching writing at San Jose State and worked with California Poets in the Schools. In 2003, she retired from teaching and worked part-time in a used bookstore and as a rater of online essay tests. In 2004, she was invited to join a poetry group and has been enjoying their company and their poetry ever since. This is her first book.