I’m delighted you’re here. Browse around. There’s fiction (dark fantasy, science fiction, literary and mainstream), poetry, nonfiction, traditional Native American flute and jazz music, Native American style flutes, and even a few blog entries. If you have questions or comments, drop me a line. Stay up to date and receive free downloads of music and more by subscribing below to the newsletter, published about three times a year. Thank you for stopping by and for supporting my work.
New WindPoem album available now
Bonnie Lynne ~ A Tribute
Music inspired by and written for Bonnie over the last five decades
Bonnie Lynne comprises a small sampling of music composed over the last five decades, inspired by or written specifically for Bonnie, my best friend and partner since age 15 who succumbed to cancer 28 October 2022. All proceeds from Bandcamp.com sales are donated to Ora Lee Smith Cancer Research Foundation. Or make a donation of $10 or more directly to the cancer research organization of your choice, notify me with a copy of the donation receipt at fuqua.cs@gmail.com, and I will provide you with a download link for a free digital copy of the album plus extras. Thank you. ~ C.S. Fuqua
Preview the entire album through the Bandcamp player:
Poetry Collections now available
The Bridge and Politics collect new and previously published poems that present the stories of life’s common and extraordinary experiences we share in myriad ways. The books are available through most bookstores in digital and paperback formats, including Amazon, iTunes, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and many others. You can also request your local library to purchase them through distributors such as OverDrive.
Coming 2024
Home, new and previously published poems spanning 44 years of a single relationship.
Fatherhood ~ Poems on Parenthood available from UK-based Stairwell Books
There’s a beautifully composed realness that shapes C.S. Fuqua’s poetry. I reveled in his language and storytelling. I want to gift this book to all my friends and family who are new parents, older parents and all future parents, because this is about life and love. It is a layered journey and Fuqua brings us into his unique, somewhat familiar “home” through poetry that we can dwell in.
Laura Kerr, Canadian Artist & Poet
C. S. Fuqua’s latest poetry collection, Fatherhood: Poems on Parenthood, is a delightful and emotionally insightful work about the challenges and day-by-day revelations of a father who makes it his vocation to raise a daughter with grace, integrity, and much love. The poems in this volume are tightly crafted, lyrical gems, filled with learned wisdom, wry humor, and humanistic dignity, as this poet/father documents his daughter’s life from infancy to young womanhood, and shares with the reader the glorious journey of his own life lessons, attempting to be a good and nurturing parent.
Davidson Garrett, author of Arias of a Rhapsodic Spirit
Fatherhood by C.S. Fuqua is a lyrical journal of childrearing from tragedy of miscarriage to a difficult birth through childhood. Fuqua shares the growth and molding of this parent/child relationship, focusing on the joy of watching his daughter become her own person, tinged with the sad knowledge that she will eventually leave him. “When the Bird Has Flown” sums it up nicely: “Rushing through the moments, / the forgettable and the milestones, / sprinting headlong from one / to the next, / and the next, / unaware of loss, / no pause to consider or savor, / centered instead / on what mysteries lie ahead, / always ahead…” Recommended.
M. Scott Douglass, Publisher/Managing Editor The Main Street Rag, author of Just Passing Through (Paycock Press, 2017)
C.S Fuqua’s transcendent verses encapsulate the many moods and dispositions of Fatherhood. His reflections are compelling, affecting, witty and tender. A recommended read for the expectant father.
Ali Kinteh, author of The Nepenthe Park Chronicles
The power of C.S. Fuqua’s poetry lies in the relentless chronicling of real people with real sorrow, triumph, regret, and above all, the sad beauty of the human experience. Superb poetry from American poet and musician, C.S. Fuqua.
Tony Nesca, Author of About A Girl
Few have the deft touch for poetry as does C.S. Fuqua. He is not shackled by the bonds of rhyme, but is instead freed by the words of our language, weaving a complete story in just a few lines. This is what poetry is supposed to be. Take for example the phrase in the poem “Cabinet”: “…doing her damnedest to reach the bug spray.” In this last phrase of one of his introductory poems we see the oncoming future of Fuqua and his daughter as he devotes his life to keeping her safe. In the poem, “The Chant,” we have the phrase, “She sees skin as a rainbow.” The personality of his daughter is there in that one short phrase. The rest of the words beautifully support, but this one short phrase tells us everything we need to know about his beloved daughter. Sometimes Fuqua reaches for a beautiful image in a full sentence, like in the poem, “Tokyo Fabric”: “He nods at my daughter, reflecting her grin, the cat purring like soft forest rain, the universe melting under those fingers, that fur, that sound.” Fuqua says he loves poetry because it’s a challenge to write a complete story in a poem. You will read many short stories in Fatherhood.
Dick Claassen ~ Author of Sacred Native American Flute
Short Story Today is a weekly podcast produced and hosted by Jon DiSavino and features C.S. Fuqua’s song “Bad Joke” as the opening theme for each show. Each weekly episode features an audiobook-style reading of a story, accompanied by commentary about the story and author. Jon is an actor and stage director. In the last few years he has begun producing and narrating audiobooks for Audible.com. He has recently launched a YouTube channel for actors and directors titled ACT HOW, which will feature videos that illustrate a range of approaches to performing, with an emphasis on the text. Please visit his website for more information.
Native American Flute: A Comprehensive Guide ~ History & Craft updates and combines into one volume the two previous books, The Native American Flute: Myth, History, Craft and Native American Flute Craft. Explore the flute’s celebrated history and mythology and learn to build it in all its forms, from the ancient end-blown flute to the modern two-chamber flute, drone, and more.
C.S. Fuqua is a first-class [Native American style] flute builder and musician …
Dick Claassen, Native American flute musician and author of numerous native flute instruction manuals
The WindPoem ~ Native American Flute Meditations series and world jazz albums can be previewed and purchased at the WindPoem Bandcamp website.
With Homeward, Fuqua returns to the soulful power of solo native flute that made his first six WindPoem albums favorites among those seeking relaxing, meditative music. Although a return to the traditional sound of solo flute, Homeward selections are more structured than earlier WindPoem instrumentals, combining traditional sound and harmonies with modern structure and percussion. Stream the album on most streaming platforms, including Pandora, Deezer, and Spotify, or purchase it from Bandcamp, Amazon, iTunes, or many other online music retailers.
Preview, stream, or purchase all WindPoem/C.S. Fuqua albums on Bandcamp or stream on Pandora.
Within the Mystic, the eighth WindPoem release in July 2021, features Native American flute on most of the twelve cuts. The album is an eclectic conspiracy of musical styles and genres, ultimately blending into what can be best called world jazz, comprised of acoustic, electronic, and electric instruments and featuring the indigenous Native American flute on numerous cuts. It is a compilation of contemplative, playful, and heartening music. I hope you enjoy the album and find as much value in listening to the different pieces as I found in writing and recording them. Available from Bandcamp, Apple Music, Amazon.com, and more, and streaming via Spotify, Pandora, Deezer, and most other music streaming services. Thank you for supporting my work.
License WindPoem music for your project
Need good music for your media project or promotional campaign? License WindPoem/C.S. Fuqua music from Pond5. Visit my storefront by clicking on the Pond5 logo. Or contact me at fuqua.cs@gmail.com for licensing information.
Good horror … isn’t about gore but about the unexpected … Fuqua is a master of prose. I found his writing crisp, filled with details that make a story come to life.
Diabolical Plots Magazine
Fuqua’s, then, is a mind that’s not mired in or bogged down by horror, but one that appreciates the possibilities dark fantasy provides in terms of language and ideas, symbol and emotion.
David Bain, author/editor
…thought-provoking and interesting …
Suanne Schafer, author, A Different Kind of Fire
[R]eminded me a bit of Manly Wade Wellman’s Silver John stories. I can think of no better praise than that.
SFRevu
…a lasting impression on the reader.
Sensawunda
More than 30 years in the making, featuring eight Year’s Best selections, Walking after Midnight is a literary trove of 61 critically acclaimed tales of dark fantasy, southern gothic, science fiction, horror, and mainstream fiction that mine the depths of character—how we fail and triumph, accept and reject others and ourselves, how we light the darkest recesses of our souls.
[C.S. Fuqua] writes … with sensitivity and grace … compelling, honest.
Bob Keeshan, TV’s original Captain Kangaroo
C.S. Fuqua’s [poetry] paints an entire story with a Tom Waits brush. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, google it.
Ken S., editor, Spank the Carp literary magazine
With an eye for the particular and an ear for the music of everyday life, C. S. Fuqua shares with readers his brave and lyrical view of human experience.
Dr. Wendy Galgan, former editor, Assisi Literary Magazine
… gritty, insightful, humorous, tragic, and celebratory …
Jonathan K. Rice, editor, Iodine Poetry Journal
White Trash & Southern ~ Collected Poems collects more than 200 poems published in international literary journals over a 30-year period, poems that tell stories of hope, despondency, humor, love, and loss—stories of life. “An unflinching examination of the sorrows and joys we experience while moving through the world, White Trash & Southern is a fine collection of poems.” ~ Dr. Wendy Galgan, former editor, Assisi
a feeling of hope and the certainty that happiness and goodness are still out there.
Cynthia Harris, author
If I Were, I Would! takes young readers on fantastic adventures through a whimsical universe of poetry and art where everything is possible, designed to elicit smiles, understanding, and tolerance, reassuring readers that every living thing matters, that we are all connected.
“…a charming and heart-warming journey.” ~ Joanna Dreiling, M.Ed., reading specialist
Hush, Puppy! A Southern Fried Tale: “Who doesn’t love a good children’s book encompassing a sweet message, exquisite color imagery, and a dog gifted with the ability to whip up southern cuisine! Not only is [Hush, Puppy!] a delightful read of fantasy and enchantment, but [readers] will be astounded by the illustrations provided by Beth Young, who uses brilliant color to enhance the author’s story.” ~ Suzie Canale, Three Lights in the Attic book reviews
… a wonderful job of creating compelling, well-drawn characters…
Mike Suchcicki, author/editor/digital designer & producer
Wry wit on socio-political problems …
MyShelf.com
C.S. Fuqua handles the themes of love and death with beautiful simplicity: what else is there to life?
Kalyna Review
Big Daddy’s Fast-Past Gadget is a science-fiction social satire in the tradition of Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle and Walter M. Miller, Jr.’s A Canticle for Leibowitz. Set in Hawaii in the present and six centuries into the future, the novel details the adventures of a boy surviving Armageddon with the help of his grandfather’s “fast-past” time-travel gadget which happens to be attached to a 1965 Ford Mustang.
From Dexter Johnson’s garage studio to to FAME and the Muscle Shoals Sound, Aretha Franklin, and the Black Keys, Muscle Shoals ~ The Music Capital’s Heyday & Beyond is an updated, expanded version of Music Fell on Alabama, the original book-length history of the Muscle Shoals music industry, chronicling the passionate cooperation of black and white producers and artists during one of the most volatile times in U.S. race relations, cooperation that produced many of the most celebrated, memorable, enduring songs of all time.
Different Direction is the seventh WindPoem album release, representing a different direction in WindPoem music. The first six albums feature Native American flute meditations. Different Direction takes the Native American style flute in new directions, featuring multi-instrument compositions, blending the music styles of Native American flute, rock, bluegrass, blues, jazz, and folk into an inspirational World Music sound.