In today’s episode, we meet Mary Kratt, author of the poetry collection, “Watch where you walk,” the history book, “Charlotte, North Carolina, A Brief History,” and many other books.

Fred Chappell, former North Carolina Poet Laurate says of “Watch where you walk,” that it is “clean-lined, economical, pointed, and soulful,” and that “these lyrics strike to the heart of things immediately, then linger with musical suggestion in the mind.”

Mary thinks of herself as “a poet who writes history,” because she began as a poet but was invited and led to write history. Turns out, she was innately curious and found it fascinating to dig into the past and interview characters who let her in, really in. Her book, “Charlotte, North Carolina, A Brief History” (The History Press) is an example of one search into Charlotte’s history, which is filled with interesting stories and pictures, too.

Since Mary started as a poet, we start the show with her reading her poem “Living With a Man Who Loves John Wayne” from her collection, “Watch where you walk.”