Thirty-nine years after her first collection of poems, Maria Ingram Braucht brings us Red Clay Gypsy, a collection that spans her life from childhood to womanhood, from home to around the world and back again. 

Praise for Red Clay Gypsy

Some travelers are restless personalities; they are tourists. Others are searching spirits; they are pilgrims. Maria Ingram Braucht is a passionate pilgrim, finding revelation in every locale, especially in her memory-laden home ground. This poet will voice soulful thought in a brisk vernacular or set down lines that flicker like fireflies. Our Red Clay Gypsy is a journeyer and a sojourner and a warm-hearted companion. I’d go with her anywhere.

—Fred Chappell, past Poet Laureate of North Carolina and author of Familiars: Poems

About the Author

Maria Ingram Braucht was born in Kernersville, North Carolina, and attended Baylor University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of Florida before receiving a B.A. in English Literature and Drama from Pfeiffer College. Her poems have appeared in various magazines and journals, including Carolina Quarterly, North Carolina Poetry, The Beloit Poetry Journal, The Oconee Review, St. Andrews Review, and Malahat Review. Her debut book of poems, Maria, was published by Red Clay Books in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1976, followed by her selection as one of five poets for inclusion in the anthology Thirtieth Year to Heaven: New American Poets, published by Jackpine Press at Wake Forest University in 1980. She operated an international specialty foods and coffee roasting shop in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, called Maria’s, for 33 years, from 1972 to 2005. During that time, her passion for traveling and experiencing different cultures was fulfilled.