For decades, C.S. Fuqua has been crafting words and melodies that capture the heart of the human experience ~ celebration, loss, resilience, and remembrance. From albums of solo Native American flute and multi-instrument world jazz fusion to poetry, novels, short fiction, and historical and how-to nonfiction, Chris’s work lives at the intersection of joy, sorrow, experience, and meaning. Explore his books, hear the music, and discover the legacy in progress. For the latest news on book and music releases, click here.
Browse and purchase books in digital and paperback formats at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and more.
Books & More
Chris’s literary work spans a broad spectrum — historical, musical, instructional, and social nonfiction; dark fantasy, literary, and science fiction; and poetry. His work has appeared hundreds of international publications as diverse as Bull Spec, Main Street Rag, Slipstream, Pearl, Bogg, Chiron Review, The Year’s Best Horror Stories, Cemetery Dance, Christian Science Monitor, Honolulu Magazine, Naval History, and The Writer. His published books include Fatherhood ~ Poems on Parenthood, Native American Flute ~ A Comprehensive Guide, Walking after Midnight ~ Collected Stories, Big Daddy’s Fast-Past Gadget, Muscle Shoals ~ The Hit Capital’s Heyday & Beyond, White Trash & Southern ~ Collected Poems, and Notes to My Becca, among others. For the latest information on books and other publications, click here.
Music & Flutes
Since the early 2000s, Chris has produced nearly 20 albums of Native American flute meditations and multi-instrument world jazz fusion, with more to come. He crafts all native flutes used on his albums. His flute meditations are regularly utilized in meditation and medical treatment settings for their soothing effect. His music is featured on most streaming platforms such as Pandora, Spotify, Deezer, and more, and available from most digital sales platforms, including Apple Music, Amazon, and more. All of his music is available at the best price at his Bandcamp music site where membership purchases all available albums and upcoming releases. All Bandcamp royalties from Bonnie Lynne ~ A Tribute are donated to cancer research. Preview below. For more information about his music and flutes, please click here.
Bonnie Lynne ~ A Tribute
Bonnie Lynne comprises a small sampling of music inspired by and 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 cancer research foundations. Or make a donation of $10 or more directly to the cancer research organization of your choice, notify me, and I will provide you with a download link for a free digital copy of the album. Thank you. ~ C.S. Fuqua
Preview the full album:
Critical Praise
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 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
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 PlotsMagazine
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
[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
[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
Fuqua’s poetry is “… gritty, insightful, humorous, tragic, and celebratory …” ~ Jonathan K. Rice, editor, Iodine Poetry Journal
… 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