Creative writing workshops can be tailored for beginner-to-advanced writers, addressing the needs of specific groups. Workshops incorporate interactive exercises to encourage students to develop skills specific to their writing goals. Students engage in various activities to improve ability and inspire confidence within a fun, nonjudgmental environment. Workshops cover fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry, exploring story and poetic elements such as plot, character, voice, dialogue, description, setting, pacing, and point of view. Some of the techniques utilized include:
Exploring events in students’ lives as inspiration
Exploring writing as a positive outlet
Examining situations through multiple points of view
Focusing on subject development
Developing a story from first draft through final revision
Chris has served as a fiction writing instructor for Writer’s Digest School and has conducted numerous workshops for continuing education programs. Chris offers free single-class workshops to K-12 public schools.
Educational presentations and musical performances on Native American flute explore the mythology, history, crafting, and music of the ancient and modern versions of the flute, dispelling popular but erroneous information of the flute’s development and true place in history.
Popular mythology portrays the Native American flute as an instrument used solely by men to court women, but the flute was and continues to be an instrument played by both men and women in numerous activities, from simple enjoyment of playing to use in fertility rituals honoring gods of harvest and more.
The presentation includes an overview of existing flute creation myths, flute history and use, crafting and structure information, and performance. Presentation length can be tailored to needs.
Chris is a craftsman and musician of the Native American flute. He has published two books on the history and crafting of the instrument and recorded/released three CDs of native flute instrumentals currently available under the WindPoem title. For more information or to arrange a presentation, please contact Chris.
~ A Vietnam veteran whose mother’s love proves worse than captivity…
~ A musician who employs music to resurrect his dead wife…
~ A boy who flees an abusive father to land in a circle of demented faeries…
~ An Iraqi War vet who discovers compassion in a tortured, decaying phooka…
~ A sexual assault victim who burns for her victimizers…
~ An angel, wounded and imprisoned by a father desperate for divine healing of his physically and mentally deformed daughter…
~ A suicidal woman who discovers salvation in a Tokyo street vendor’s box…
More than 30 years in the making, Walking after Midnight is a literary trove, collecting 61 tales of critically acclaimed 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, and light the darkest recesses of our souls.
On sale now at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle formats and soon to be available in paperback through most bookstores. Get a 20 percent discount if you order through Createspace. Use the code NA8BMLHK at checkout.
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
Ever wonder how fried cornbread came about? I did… Thus begins the story, Hush, Puppy! A Southern Fried Tale. “In celebration of good people and tasty food,” the book is appropriate for all ages, available from most bookstores.
TheiBooks version features full print-book layout AND read-along audio, perfect for iPad and other devices.
Beth Young is an award-winning artist with an extensive background in commercial, creative, and instructional art.
It can take a long time to grow up. For Josh, six centuries isn’t enough. Enabled by Big Daddy’s fast-past gadget—a 1966 Mustang—and a device for communicating with the dead, 16-year-old Josh and companion Keala flee into a bizarre future six centuries hence that ends up looking a lot like home.
“Wry wit on socio-political problems … a refreshing look through the eyes of a youngster on the verge of manhood.” ~ MyShelf.com
“A special novel that will captivate readers and linger in the mind.” ~ Two Lips Reviews
“Action alone will keep you reading. The story contains a moral, but will humanity learn its lesson? A fun read.” ~ Coffee Time Reviews
Spanning nearly three decades of C.S. Fuqua’s literary career, White Trash & Southern collects 232 poems—an exploration of life’s challenges and rewards. Download an excerpt.
“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. 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, Editor, Assisi
“White Trash & Southern is an exhaustive book of powerfully emotive poems that explore a lifetime of wounds still present and gaping. By not looking away, by taking stock and inventory of all that we’ve been through, we come to discover that we’ve become strong, hardened, and wise for all of our hardships. This is a wonderful book of poetry, and a fine achievement that will greatly enrich its readers.”~ Devin McGuire, Editor of the Unrorean and author of After the Hunt (Encircle Publications 2013)
“… gritty, insightful, humorous, tragic, and celebratory … begin anywhere, skip around, or read it from back to front … a well-written, coherent collection … however you read it.” ~Jonathan K. Rice, Editor/Publisher, Iodine Poetry Journal
“A poignant, very strongly emotional collection of poems ~ one I intend to return to …” ~ Judith B. Glad, author of Improbable Solution
In 2009, cancer took two friends. Joe had a good job that provided health insurance, but the insurance company refused to fund “experimental” procedures that might have saved his life. Rob was a waiter, working for low wages and tips, unable to afford insurance and not covered by an employee insurance program. Both men experienced inexcusable desperation and suffering–one because he had no insurance coverage, the other because he did. Many of the poems in this collection explore Joe’s experiences over the last year of his life and his family’s experiences the year following his death. All are meant to honor these two friends, both deeply cherished and missed.
Interest in crafting the Native American flute has grown steadily since the 1980s, but reliable, specific crafting instruction has been as scarce to come by as reliable accounts of its history and development. 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, to present a comprehensive history of and crafting guide to the native flute.
The Native American flute is popularly known as a “love” flute, an instrument used by males in courting, but it is much more and has been played throughout history by children, women, and men. The commonly accepted mythology of the native flute does nothing but reinforce the negative view of native women as subservient to the male. Take, for example, entries on various internet sites that claim that only men played the flute—no matter the culture or tribe—that its power is completely destroyed by the slightest touch of a woman. Such stories make for appealing chauvinistic myth, but not for accurate history. While hunting and courtship were, indeed, associated with the flute, its uses numbered many more than courting, were more diverse in intent, and certainly were not restricted to the male.
Native American Flute explores the documented history and mythology of the Native American flute, debunking the popular belief that the flute is only a man’s instrument.
Native American Flute provides an in-depth, fully illustrated, step-by-step manual for crafting one of the most stirring instruments ever invented. Learn the flute’s celebrated history and build it in all its forms, from the ancient end-blown flute to the modern two-chamber flute, drone, and more.
Native American Flute’s detailed history and thorough, easy-to-follow crafting instructions provide novice and pro alike the tools and understanding to craft personalized Native American flutes from a variety of materials, including wood, bamboo, PVC, and more while honoring the flute’s cherished journey from ancient times to present day.
Discover the true history and mythology of the Native American flute and learn to make your own, including the ancient and modern versions.
From Dexter Johnson’s garage studio to James Joiner’s “A Fallen Star,” Tune Records to FAME and Muscle Shoals Sound studios, Aretha Franklin to the Rolling Stones and the Black Keys, from the beginning to present day—Muscle Shoals: The Hit 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, first published in 1991, chronicling the 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 and enduring songs of all time.
Much has been written about the Muscle Shoals music industry and even a movie produced since publication of Music Fell on Alabama, most accounts crediting the area’s phenomenal success to some mystical power divined from the Tennessee River. Myth makes for good drama, but Muscle Shoals: The Hit Capital’s Heyday & Beyond details the true source of the industry’s success: the tenacious determination of talented individuals obsessed with the desire to make a difference in music.
And what a difference they made…
Notes to My Becca
“C. Stephen Fouquet writes about his newborn daughter with sensitivity and grace. This is a compelling, honest book.”~ Bob Keeshan, TV’s “Captain Kangaroo”
In 1995, Notes to My Becca introduced a wide audience to the societal trend of at-home fathers. NTMB is a touching, practical look at parenting on the wonder—and anxiety—of becoming a father. All editions are currently out of print, but the book may be offered as a free digital download in the future. If interested, please contact C.S. Fuqua by clicking on the email icon.
The collection of poems documents intimate moments of the author’s daughter from birth into adolescence, contemplating the challenges, sacrifices, and rewards of parenting, The Swing elicits “thoughts and feelings from many experiences. A must for any (parent).” ~ Willie Elliott for Myshelf.com.
The Swing: Poems of Fatherhood, Uncial Press, 2008, EPIC winner for Best Poetry Collection.
Embark on fantastic adventures in a whimsical universe of poetry and art where everything is possible. Explore and celebrate the wonderful and diverse world through imagination!
“…a feeling of hope and the certainty that happiness and goodness are still out there.” ~ Cynthia Harris, author
If I Were, I Would! is available in trade paperback and digital formats. The audio enhanced iBook, available from iTunes for iPad and other devices, features print-book layout and full read-along audio to assist in vocabulary expansion for young readers. If I Were, I Would! is available in print and other formats digital formats through most bookstores.
Bibliography
Selected awards & honors
The Swing: Poems of Fatherhood: Uncial Press, 2008 EPIC winner for Best Poetry Collection.
“Contact is Everything”: Honorable mention in Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror 19.
“Mama’s Boy”: Honorable mention in Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror 6.
“Mama’s Boy”: Year’s Best Horror Stories XXI selection.
“Old Lady Campbell, She is Dead”: Honorable mention, 1990 Year’s Best Horror & Fantasy.
“The Sharps and Flats Guarantee”: Year’s Best Horror Stories XX selection.
“Undertaker II: Drowning”: Honorable mention in Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror 7.
“Walking After Midnight”: Year’s Best Horror Stories XIX selection.
Novels & Fiction Collections
Walking after Midnight, Cooperative Ink, October 2016. More than 30 years in the making, Walking after Midnight is a literary trove, collecting 61 tales of critically acclaimed dark fantasy, southern gothic, science fiction, horror, and mainstream fiction
Big Daddy’s Fast-Past Gadget, Cooperative Ink, 2015. First published by Awe-Struck Publishing in eBook format as Big Daddy’s Gadgets, 2006. Republished in 2011 in paperback and eBook formats by Mundania Press. “For some, it takes a long time to grow up. For Josh, six centuries isn’t enough.” Big Daddy’s Fast-Past Gadget is science fiction social satire, set in present-day Hawaii and six centuries into the future. Available from online bookstores and most local bookstores by order.
Hush, Puppy! A Southern Fried Tale, Cooperative Ink, 2013. Ever wonder how fried cornbread came about? I did… Thus begins the story, Hush, Puppy! A Southern Fried Tale, the fictional history of how an excitable puppy and a tiny baker create the southern treat, hushpuppies. Hush, Puppy! A Southern Fried Tale is available in paperback and Kindle formats from Amazon.com and in Nook/ePub format from Barnes & Noble. Full production read-along audio for both print and eBook editions is available as an mp3 download from Amazon.com.
Rise Up, Mundania Press, 2012. C.S. Fuqua’s second collection of short fiction, collecting two dozen short stories that span nearly thirty years of Fuqua’s career, features ghosts and faeries, the macabre and mundane, rich and poor, and distraught and jubilant, exploring the motivations, actions, and consequences that force ordinary people to become extraordinary. Sometimes we recognize evil’s approach; sometimes we don’t. Rise Up explores the consequences. Out of print.
Trust Walk, short fiction collection, Mundania Press, 2010. The 35 stories collected in Trust Walk explore the motivations of the human spirit, the qualities that lead us into temptation as well as deliverance, that make even the most ordinary among us extraordinary. The unabridged audio version was published in 2013. Out of print.
Butterflies Die, audio novel, Books in Motion, 2001. Currently unavailable.
Flight of the Omni, audio novel, Books in Motion, 1998. Currently unavailable.
Deadlines, audio novel, Books in Motion, 1998. Currently unavailable.
Death in Service, audio novel, Books in Motion, 1997. Currently unavailable.
Poetry Collections
Cancer, Cooperative Ink, 2015. A collection of poems celebrating two friends who died from different forms of cancer in 2009.
White Trash & Southern ~ Collected Poems, Volume I, Cooperative Ink, 2014. Collects more than 200 previously published poems, spanning three decades of C.S. Fuqua’s writing career.
If I Were, I Would!, Cooperative Ink, 2014. (A different version, entitled If I Were, was published in eBook format by SynergEbooks, 2011.) Promoting vocabulary expansion and parental interaction, If I Were, I Would! inspires deeper awareness and respect as it takes readers on an extraordinary ride into imagination. Embark on fantastic adventures in a whimsical universe of poetry and art where everything is possible. Explore and celebrate the wonderful and diverse world through imagination! And if you see the authors there, wave!
The Swing: Poems of Fatherhood, Uncial Press, 2008, EPIC winner for Best Poetry Collection. Poems that document intimate moments of a child from birth into adolescence, contemplating the challenges, sacrifices, and rewards of parenting, The Swing elicits “thoughts and feelings from many experiences. A must for any (parent).” — Willie Elliott for Myshelf.com.
Nonfiction Books
Native American Flute: A Comprehensive Guide ~ History & Craft, Cooperative Ink, 2018. Native American Flute explores the documented history and mythology of the Native American flute, debunking the popular belief that the flute is only a man’s instrument. Native American Flute provides an in-depth, fully illustrated, step-by-step manual for crafting one of the most stirring instruments ever invented. Learn the flute’s celebrated history and build it in all its forms, from the ancient end-blown flute to the modern two-chamber flute, drone, and more. Native American Flute’s detailed history and thorough, easy-to-follow crafting instructions provide novice and pro alike the tools and understanding to craft personalized Native American flutes from a variety of materials, including wood, bamboo, PVC, and more while honoring the flute’s cherished journey from ancient times to present day.
Native American Flute Craft ~ Ancient to Modern, Cooperative Ink, 2015. Interest in crafting the Native American flute has exploded since the 1980s, but reliable, specific crafting instruction has been as scarce to come by as reliable accounts of its history and development. In 2012, Cooperative Ink published C.S. Fuqua’s The Native American Flute: Myth, History, Craft, which explored the instrument’s true history and mythology while also providing a section on crafting, geared primarily to experienced woodworkers. In response to the continuing success of that book, Fuqua has written Native American Flute Craft, an in-depth manual for crafting the Native American flute in all its forms, from the ancient Anasazi flute to the modern two-chamber flute, from the traditional to the drone and more. Easy-to-follow illustrated instructions provide thorough instruction on crafting personalized instruments from a variety of materials, including wood, bamboo, and PVC.
Muscle Shoals ~ The Music Capital’s Heyday & Beyond, Cooperative Ink, 2014. From Dexter Johnson’s garage studio to James Joiner’s “A Fallen Star,” Tune Records to FAME and Muscle Shoals Sound studios, Aretha Franklin to the Rolling Stones and the Black Keys, from the beginning to present day–Muscle Shoals: The Hit 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, first published in 1991, chronicling the 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 and enduring songs of all time.
Notes to My Becca, Second Edition, Cooperative Ink, 2013, features an update, new photographs, and expanded entries, offering a touching, practical, and thoughtful look at parenting from a dad’s viewpoint while addressing the miracle, anxiety, fear, and wonder of becoming a parent. Notes documents the fear of a possible third miscarriage, tumultuous extended-family situations, and normal post-birth parenting stress. But more, the book describes the joy of father regarding his new daughter, from first breath to first feedings, first words, and first steps.
The Native American Flute: Myth, History, Craft, Cooperative Ink, 2012, separates flute myth from flute fact to provide a better understanding of the Native American flute’s true place and function in history and in today’s culture. The book details the development and use of the native flute by both women and men, as well as the myths that have grown up around its use. The book’s final section provides readers with detailed instruction on crafting both the ancient, end-blown native flute and the modern native flute.
Alabama Musicians: Musical Heritagefrom the Heart of Dixie, The History Press, 2011. Alabama Musicians details the history of “musical” Alabama, from the state’s contributions to folk music, jazz, country, rock and more from the 1800s through the present, featuring biographies of dozens of Alabama music stars who have had and continue to have profound effects on music. Although much of the book’s information is now outdated, the publisher refuses to take it out of print or contract an update.
Notes to My Becca, First Edition, Fairview Press, 1995, charts a new father’s concerns, feelings, and hopes during his wife’s pregnancy and through the first year of their daughter’s life. The late Bob Keeshan, TV’s “Captain Kangaroo,” wrote, “C. Stephen Fouquet [C.S. Fuqua] writes about his newborn daughter with sensitivity and grace. This is a compelling, honest book.”
Divorced Dads: Real Stories of Facing the Challenge, Fairview Press, 1996, is an unusual glimpse into the lives and relationships of some extraordinary divorced fathers, providing an intimate portrait of fatherhood beyond marriage, an exploration and examination of post-divorce failures and successes as “Dad.” Out of print.
Music Fell on Alabama, Crane Hill Publishers, 1991; reprinted by New South Books, 2007. The first book-length history of the Muscle Shoals, Alabama, recording industry from its inception through the 1980s. These two editions are now out of print. The content has been updated and expanded, published as Muscle Shoals ~ The Hit Capital’s Heyday & Beyond
Short Fiction
“The Addict,” 3PBS Radio, Melbourne, Australia; Rick Kennett, producer; 1986.
“Contact is Everything,” Bare Bone, 1742 Madison St., Kingsport, TN 37665; Issue 8, 2005. (Honorable mention in Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror 19, 2005, edited by Ellen Datlow.)
“Graduation,” Grue, P.O. Box 370, Times Square Station, New York, NY 10108; No. 12, Winter1991. Also appeared in the on-line magazine Creatio Ex Nihilo, April 1997.
“Hope,” Cabal Asylum, P.O. Box 24906, Denver, CO 80224; 1998.
“Hunting,” Pinehurst Journal, P.O. Box 360747, Milipitas, CA 95036; Spring 1992.
“Hurricane,” Theme of Absence, June 6, 2015; includes author interview.
“Interview with the Witch,” Cyber-Psychosis Aod; P.O. Box 581, Denver, CO 80201; Issue 3, February 1993.
“Interview with the Witch,” Goblin Muse webzine (Defunct), Australia; Issue 2, 2000.
“Interview with the Witch,” 3PBS Radio, Melbourne, Australia; Rick Kennett, producer; 1989.
“Mama’s Boy,” Cemetery Dance, P.O. Box 18433, Baltimore, MD 21237, Spring 1992. (Honorable mention in Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror 6, edited by Ellen Datlow.)
“Mama’s Boy,” Internet electronic magazine Knightmares, an MDG Publications publication; April-May 1997.
“Mama’s Boy,” Tall Tale TV; Youtube and Podcast, September 14, 2018.
“Mama’s Boy,” Year’s Best Horror Stories XXI, edited by Karl Edward Wagner, Box 1064, Chapel Hill, NC 27514; October 1993.
“Modesto 60,” Co-authored with Michael Kelly; Thirteen Stories, c/o Twilight Writers,102-1111 Jervis Street, Vancouver, BC CANADA V6E 2C5; Issue 10, June 2003.
“Obon,” The Big Book of Erotic Ghost Stories, hardback, Suspect Thoughts Press, 2215-R Market Street PMB #544, San Francisco, CA 94114-1612, on behalf of Bookspan and Venus Book Club; 2004.
“Obon,” The Big Book of Erotic Ghost Stories, trade paperback, Suspect Thoughts Press on behalf of Blue Moon Books, Avalon Publishing Group Incorporated, 245 West 17th St., New York, New York; 2005.
“The Occasional Demon,” Terminal Fright, P.O. Box 100, Black River, NY 13612; Number 6, 1994.
“The Occasional Demon,” Three Lobed Burning Eye, 3LBE; online issue 7; Three Lobed Burning Eye, annual print edition; 1918 NE 48th Ave., Portland, OR97213; Annual Volume II, December 2004.
“Old Lady Campbell, She is Dead,” 2AM, P.O. Box 6754, Rockford, IL 61125-1754; No. 12, Summer 1989. (Honorable mention, 1990 Year’s Best Horror & Fantasy, edited by Ellen Datlow.)
“Old Lady Campbell, She is Dead,” Gothic.net webzine, 431 Holloway San Francisco, CA 94112; 2003.
“The Pinpoint Tune,” Over My Dead Body!; P.O. Box 1778, Auburn, WA 98071-1778; Vol. 2, Issue 4, Spring 1994.
“The Pinpoint Tune,” Writers On The River, Mid-South Writers’ Association, Memphis, TN; 1994 issue.
“Playing the Notes,” Cabal Asylum, P.O. Box 24906, Denver, CO 80224; Summer 1996.
“Side-Road Shack,” Nøctulpa, P.O. Box 5125, Long Island City, NY 11105; No. 1, 1987.
“The Simple Sound of Dead Trees Singing,” Co-authored with Michael Kelly, All Hallows, Ghost Story Society, PO. Box 1360, Ashcroft, British Columbia, Canada V0K 1A0; Issue 42, 2007.
“The Stain,” Barbaric Yawp, 3700 County Route 24, Russell, NY 13684; March 2001.
“The Tenor’s Wife,” Shock Treatment, Peak Output Press, Box 325, Stacyville, IA 50476; Anthology, 1988.
“Time Now,” Queered Fiction Science Fiction Anthology; P.O.B. 732, Gillitts, 3603, KZN, South Africa; September 2009.
“Towels,” Arabesques, Agence de Presse et de Communications, Société Arabesque, Case Postale 75, Ctr. de TRI, Chlef 02000, Algeria; August 2006.
“Trust Walk,” Grue, P.O. Box 370, Times Square Station, New York, NY 10108; No. 8, 1988.
“Trust Walk,” Sounds Of The Night, Sam’s Dot Publishing, P.O.B. 782, Cedar Rapids, IA. 52407; August 2009.
“Undertaker I: Ashes and Dust,” Rictus, 2712 Wisconsin Ave. NW #408, Washington, DC 20007; No. 7, 1996.
“Undertaker II: Drowning,” Cyber-Psychosis Aod, P.O. Box 581, Denver, CO 80201; No. 7, Autumn 1997. (Honorable mention in Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror 7, edited by Ellen Datlow.)
“The Urinal,” Bohemian Chronicle, P.O. Box 387, Largo, FL 34649-0387; February 1994.
“Walking After Midnight,” Figment, P.O. Box 3566, Moscow, ID 83843-0477; No. 5, October 1990.
“Walking After Midnight,” DAW Books’ Year’s Best Horror Stories XIX, edited by Karl Edward Wagner, Box 1064, Chapel Hill, NC 27514; October 1991.
“Walking After Midnight,” Dunesteef audio podcast; http:/www.dunesteef.com; 2010.
“Walking After Midnight,” online magazine Other Dimension (Defunct); March 21, 2002.
“What We Do,” Big Pond Rumours, P.O. Box 182, Acton, Ontario, Canada L71 1117, Volume 2, Issue 7, March 2007.
“When I See You Again,” Space And Time, 138 W. 70th St., Apt. 4B, New York, NY 10023-4432; Issue 83, Spring 1994.
Poetry [Duplicate titles, in most cases, refer to different works.]
“2 Haiku,” Birmingham Arts Journal, Birmingham, AL; July 2012.
“Bass,” Poet Magazine, Box 54947, Oklahoma City, OK 73154; Summer 1991.
“The Bayou at Your Back Door,” Confetti, Peak Output Press, P.O. Box 325, Stacyville, IA 50476; 1988.
“Beach,” CaKe, A Journal OF Poetry & Art, Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL; 2010.
“The Beat,” RE:AL,The JournalofLiberal Arts, College of Liberal Arts, Stephen F. Austin State University, Box 13007-Sfa Station, Nacogdoches, TX 75962; Issue 30.2, Fall/Winter 2005.
“Crane,” In the Eye anthology by Thunder Rain Publishing Corp., P.O. Box 87 Alamogordo, NM 88311-0087; 2007. Proceeds from this anthology went to “Habitat for Humanity” to benefit those affected by Hurricane Katrina.
“He Said Wishes are as Good as Prayers, but His Friend Has Walked a Thousand Dreams,” U.S. 1Worksheets, U.S. 1 Poets’ Cooperative, P.O. Box 127, Kingston, NJ08528; Volume 51, Spring 2006.
“Hidden Inside,” Protea Poetry Journal, P.O. Box 894, Pine Grove, CA 95665; Vol. 7, Spring, 1991.
“Strains,” The Blotter, 1010 Hale Street, Durham, NC 27705; August 2008.
“Stranger, We’ve Changed the War,” Paisley Moon, P.O. Box 2373, Santa Cruz, CA 95063; Volume II, No. 3, Summer 1991.
“Strangers,” Licking River Review, Northern Kentucky University, Northern Kentucky Univ., Highland Heights, KY 41099, Volume 42, 2011.
“Studebaker,” Poet Magazine, Box 54947, Oklahoma City, OK 73154; Summer 1991.
“Studebaker,” A Contemporary American Survey: The Unitarian–Universalist Poets; Pudding House Publications, 60 N. Main St., Johnstown, OH 43031; March 1996.
“A Clown Around Project for Fun,” CreativeCrafts, P.O. Box 700, Newton, NJ 07860; Vol. 7, No. 11, Oct 1981.
“Adding A Machine Shop Transforms this Jobber into a One-Stop Service Center,” EasternAutomotiveJournal, P.O. Box 373, Cedarhurst, NY 11516; March/April 1981.
“A Florida Wholesaler Says No to Walk-in Trade,” EasternAutomotive Journal, P.O. Box 373, Cedarhurst, NY 11516; July/Aug 1981.
“Alabama Edisons,” BusinessAlabamaMonthly, P.O. Box 66200, Mobile, AL 36660; Aug 1989.
“Allen’s Christian Store,” ChristianBookseller, 396 E. St. Charles Rd., Wheaton, IL 60187; Aug 1981.
“Aloha from Aiea,” ThePetDealer, 567 Morris Ave., Elizabeth, NJ 07208; Nov 1983.
“A Primer on Painting,” Maintenance & BuildingManagement, 287 Mokauea St., Honolulu, HI 96819; Aug 1983.
“Atlanta Wholesaler Prospers in Tough Market,” BeerWholesaler, 75 SE 4th Ave., Delray Beach, FL 33444; Jan/Feb 1982.
“Australia’s First Naval Casualty Remains a Mystery,” Warship, Conway Maritime Press Ltd, 101 Fleet Street, London, England EC4Y 1DE; 1992.
“Australia’s Stake in America’s Civil War,” NavalHistory, US Naval Institute, Annapolis, MD 21401; Vol. 3, No. 2, Spring 1989.
“Back to Basics Groceries,” BusinessAlabamaMonthly, P.O. Box 66200, Mobile, AL 36660; Feb 1989.
“Barn Style Increases Sales,” Western & EnglishFashions, 2403 Champa St., Denver, CO 80205; Oct 1980.
“Beyond Star Wars,” BusinessAlabamaMonthly Magazine, P.O. Box 66200, Mobile, AL 36660; April 1989.
“Big Island Automotive Trades Association,” HawaiiAutomotiveNews, 1177 Kapiolani Blvd., Suite 201, Honolulu, HI 96814; June 1984.
“Bonus Bucks mean extra sales,” Tack ‘N’ TogsMerchandising, P.O. Box 67, Minneapolis, MN 55440; Nov 1980.
“Boots, Bucks, Boost Two Stores,” Army/NavyStore & OutdoorMerchandiser, 567 Morris Ave., Elizabeth, NJ 07208; July 1981.
“Bryson, Inc. of Oklahoma,” BeerWholesaler, 75 SE 4th Ave., Delray Beach, FL 33444; Jan/Feb 1982.
“Building the Prime Corner in Calhoun County,” BusinessAlabamaMonthly, P.O. Box 66200, Mobile, AL; Vol. 4, No. 10, Oct 1989.
“Cashing in on the Tourist Trade,” Western & EnglishFashions, 2403 Champa St., Denver, CO 80205; May 1986.
“Circle H Carried Through Hard Times,” Western & EnglishFashions, 2403 Champa St., Denver, CO 80205; Feb 1986.
“Colonial Creates a Huntsville Skyline,” BusinessAlabamaMonthly, P.O. Box 66200, Mobile, AL; Vol. 4, No. 10, Oct 1989.
“The Dark Side of Aloha,” Honolulu Magazine, P.O. 36 Merchant St., Honolulu, HI 96813; Vol. Xxi, No. 4, Oct 1986.
“Dressing Up Friends,” Western & EnglishFashions, 2403 Champa St., Denver, CO 80205; Feb 1987.
“Fort Book,” WilsonLibraryBulletin, 950 University Ave., Bronx, NY 10452; Vol. 63, No. 6, Feb 1989.
“Growing Alabama Wholesaler Diversifies to Meet Retailers’ Needs,” BeerWholesaler, 75 SE 4th Ave., Delray Beach, FL 33444; 4th Qtr, 1979.
“Hawaii Store Marches with Military Market,” Army/Navy Store & Outdoor Merchandiser, Elizabeth, NJ; April 1983.
“Hawaii Wholesaler Promotes Imports,” BeerWholesaler, 75 SE 4th Ave., Delray Beach, FL 33444; March/April 1983.
“Hawaii’s Country Corner: Hard Times Success in a Limited Market Area,” Western & EnglishFashions, 2403 Champa St., Denver, CO 80205; May 1983.
“Hawaiian Shop Owner Profits by Using Direct Mail Advertising,” Brake & Front End, Akron, OH; Vol. 54, No. 1, Jan. 1984.
“High Rolling in Huntsville,” BusinessAlabamaMonthly Magazine, P.O. Box 66200, Mobile, AL 36660; Sept 1987.
“Hiking DeSoto State Park,” TheGreatAmericanOutdoors, P.O. Box 10069, Huntsville, AL 35801-3670; May 1987.
“Horne’s Country Store,” Western & EnglishFashions, 2403 Champa St., Denver, CO 80205; July 1984.
“The Huntsville Law Rush,” BusinessAlabamaMonthly, P.O. Box 66200, Mobile, AL 36660; May 1989.
“Is One Town Big Enough for Them?” BusinessAlabamaMonthly, P.O. Box 66200, Mobile, AL 36660; April 1988.
“The Knockoff Pros,” BusinessAlabamaMonthly, P.O. Box 66200, Mobile, AL 36660; March 1989.
“Knowledge: The Key to Triangle C,” Western & EnglishFashions, 2403 Champa St., Denver, CO 80205; Mar 1982.
“Mazy Dazy,” KidsFashions, 210 Boylston St., Chestnut Hill, MA 02167; Sept 1983.
“Mobile Practice Helped This Young Doctor Keep “Mobile Rolling,” Veterinary Economics, Edwardsville, KS 66113; Dec 1983.
“Mocking as a Business,” BusinessAlabamaMonthly, P.O. Box 66200, Mobile, AL 36660; Aug 1989.
“Moving Management In House,” Maintenance & BuildingManagement, 287 Mokauea St., Honolulu, HI 96819; July 1983.
“Neural Networking,” Ad Astra, 922 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, DC 20003; Vol. 1, No. 4, April 1989.
“The Soft Touch,” Bath & Domestics, 75 SE 4th Ave., Delray Beach, FL 33444; 3rd Qtr, 1980.
“Sparking Revolution,” BusinessAlabamaMonthly, P.O. Box 66200, Mobile, AL 36660; Oct 1988.
“Suppository,” The Writer’s Exchange “Favorite Faux Pas,” The Writer, posted on the magazine’s website, September 2008.
“Staying Country in the Country,” Western & EnglishFashions, 2403 Champa St., Denver, CO 80205; Jan 1981.
“This Alabama Wholesaler Works on a First Name Basis,” BeerWholesaler, 75 SE 4th Ave., Delray Beach, FL 33444; 2nd Qtr, 1979.
“Triumph’s First Postwar Roadster,” CarCollector/CarClassics, Box 28571, Atlanta, GA 30328; Vol. IV, No. 3, March 1981.
“Unattended Children: An Engagement Policy that Works,” Wilson Library Bulletin, Bronx; Vol. 62, No. 10, June 1988.
Various basic reading stories; CriticalVocationalReadingSeries, Instructional/Communications Technology, Inc., Huntington Station, NY 11746; Sets VA*A, VA*B, VA*C, 1981.
“Water Heating in the 1980s,” Maintenance & BuildingManagement, 287 Mokauea St., Honolulu, HI 96819; May 1983.
“When One Man’s Hometown Changes,” HometownPress, 2007 Gallatin St., Huntsville, AL 35801; March/April 1988.
“Yagoda: 45 Years of Success,” BeerWholesaler, 75 SE 4th Ave., Delray Beach, FL 33444; 4th Qtr 1978.
“Youth and Experience Pay Off at New Orleans Beer Wholesaler,” Beer Wholesaler, Delray Beach, FL; Sept/Oct 1980.
Selected Nonfiction Periodicals
The Writer; Ad Astra; The Old Farmer’s Almanac; Honolulu; Business Alabama Monthly; The Wilson Library Bulletin; Alabama Magazine; Hometown Press; Hawaii Remodeling; Naval History; Freelance Writer’s Report; Hawaii Foodservice News; Hawaii Automotive News; Apparel Industry Magazine; Hawaii Real Estate Investor; Brake and Front End; Eastern Automotive Journal; Army/Navy Store & Outdoor Merchandiser; Professional Housing Management Association “Pronotes,” Kids Fashions; Tack ‘n’ Togs; Western & English Fashions; Christian Bookseller; Bath & Domestics; Beer Wholesaler; Veternarian Economics; Pet Dealer; Pet Business; Car Collector/Car Classics; Creative Crafts; Play Meter; Hawaii Maintenance & Building Management; Hawaii Building Industry Digest; Hawaii Food Show Guidebook; Social Issues Resources Series, Inc.; Critical Vocational Reading Series; Hawaii Filipino News.
With four decades of experience in every facet of the publishing industry—writing, editing, layout, design, finished product—I can assist you in making your current project the best it can be. If you need coaching, proofreading, detailed editing, ghostwriting, layout and design, or publication of your project, contact me to see how I can help.
Ready-to-submit electronic and print file creation
Indie author vendor accounts setup
Basic Services
Writer Coaching
Determine clear objective and goals
Define remedy and plan of action to overcome obstacles
Assist in organization, defining timeline for completion (research, first draft, revisions, completed manuscript)
Assist in developing clear plot, voice, tone, etc., for intended audience
Assist in adapting personal experience into creative process
Basic Manuscript Evaluation
The basic evaluation will assess a manuscript’s overall readability, addressing:
Strengths and weaknesses
Characterization
Plot structure
Voice
Dialogue
Action/pacing
Point of view
Overall grammatical structure
Proofreading and Editing
Proofreading
Grammar, spelling, punctuation
Line editing
Grammar, spelling, punctuation
Mechanics of style
Consistency
Basic manuscript formatting
In-depth book editing
Grammar, spelling, and punctuation
Mechanics of style
Consistency and logic (plot and characterization)
Dialogue
Manuscript standard submission formatting
Basic reorganization and/or rewriting of content
Narrative clarification
Elimination of jargon and/or cliché language/phrases
Other non-mechanical editing as needed
Research (optional), writing original material, checking or correcting reading level, and/or creating/reformatting tables and figures
Rewrite editing
Create new manuscript from client’s rough draft, utilizing client’s research and content
Ghostwriting
Develop client’s idea into marketable manuscript, utilizing client’s research
Manuscript Evaluation
Basic Manuscript Evaluation
The basic evaluation will assess a manuscript’s overall readability, addressing:
Strengths and weaknesses
Characterization
Plot structure
Voice
Dialogue
Action/pacing
Point of view
Overall grammatical structure
Detailed Fiction Manuscript Critique
Evaluate and offer specific critique on strong and weak areas, with suggestions for improvement regarding:
Plot
Subplots
Conflict
Characterization and character development
Dialogue
Point of view
Setting
Mechanics (grammar, spelling, punctuation)
Detailed Nonfiction Manuscript Critique
Evaluate and offer specific critique on strong and weak areas, with suggestions for improvement regarding:
Organization
Topic development
Fact-checking
Voice
Sources
Indexing
Formatting
eBook Formatting & File Creation
Formats include Nook, Kindle, Kobo, iBooks, etc. (price dependent upon length of book and use of tables and/or illustrations; query for specific price quote for your project)
Audio iBooks creation (optional cost dependent on scope, audio source, and length)
Cover creation
Vendor account setup and publication through Amazon, B&N, Kobo, iBooks, and partnered distributors (optional service, cost dependent upon selected vendors)
Print Book Formatting & Creation
Cover creation
Full formatting (price dependent upon use of tables, illustrations, and other specialty design requirements)
Printer-ready formatted file
Optional publication and distribution through CreateSpace/Amazon (channels for worldwide distribution to online and brick-and-mortar bookstores and libraries)
Cover Design/Creation
Full cover design specific and unique to your book, using graphic or photographic background
Miscellaneous Services
Résumés
High school and college class essay editing: I will not research or write a class essay. That would be cheating. I will only edit to improve a paper’s appearance and readability. In some cases, I will make suggestions for further research and expansion to improve content.
Public relations and other business writing
Advertising pamphlets, booklets, and flyers, cost dependent upon project scope; includes printer-ready formatted file
Other services: Have a need? Let me know, and we’ll discuss possibilities.
Payment
Small projects, payment accepted at beginning of assignment.
Major projects/services, 50 percent down payment, 50 percent upon completion (payment plans available)
Payment via conventional check, PayPal, or (preferred) Dwolla
Background & Qualifications
I began writing professionally in 1979 while still in college, freelancing for magazines. In 1980, I became a newspaper journalist and later moved into magazine staff writing and editing. In the late 1980s, I turned to full-time freelancing, publishing nonfiction, fiction, and poetry in regional, national, and international publications. Please click here for a publishing bibliography. Click here to open and download my press kit.
Nearly two dozen books published by traditional large and small publishers, including novels, poetry collections, short fiction collections, and nonfiction books
Professional Background: Chris has worked as a newspaper reporter, magazine editor, book editor, English tutor, substitute teacher, janitor, respiratory therapy technician, gas station attendant (when such things existed), salesclerk, musician in a Mexican restaurant, writing instructor, and more. After graduating college and a few stints as a daily and weekly newspaper reporter, Chris moved to Hawaii where he served as a magazine writer/photographer, both on-staff and freelance. In the mid-1980s, he turned to full-time freelance writing, specializing initially in nonfiction before transitioning primarily to fiction and poetry.
Chris’s work spans a broad spectrum—historical, musical, and social nonfiction, and dark fantasy, literary, and science fiction and poetry—appearing in hundreds of publications worldwide 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 Native American Flute Craft ~ Ancient to Modern, The Native American Flute ~ Myth, History, Craft, Trust Walk and Rise Up fiction collections, The Swing: Poems of Fatherhood, Big Daddy’s Fast-Past Gadget, Muscle Shoals ~ The Hit Capital’s Heyday & Beyond, Cancer, White Trash & Southern ~ Collected Poems, and Notes to My Becca.
Birth: 1956 in Andalusia, Alabama, City Hospital, a two-story building on East Watson Street near the intersection of South Cotton Street, built in the early 1900s, later named Covington Memorial Hospital before being abandoned in the early 1960s. The hospital’s now gone, razed, nothing remaining, not even a splinter. Chris swears he is not responsible.
Education: BA in communication arts/journalism from University of West Florida where he learned to write news articles shortly before 24/7 cable and internet “news” annihilated journalistic ethics, reliability, and professionalism.
Other Pursuits: Chris is an accomplished musician of several instruments, primarily guitar and Native American flute. He has recently produced the WindPoem series of CDs, featuring Native American flute meditations and World Fusion compositions. Other music projects are in pre-production. His music can be licensed through Pond5.com for use in other creative projects. He also crafts Native American flutes. For more information about his flutes and music, please visit the WindPoem page.
Latest release: 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 features multi-instrument compositions, blending the music styles of Native American flute, rock, bluegrass, blues, jazz, and folk into an inspirational World Music sound. Available from Bandcamp, iTunes, Amazon.com, and more, and streaming via Spotify, Pandora, Deezer, and most music streaming services.
Great stories, good music ~ no more, no less
[C.S. Fuqua] writes … with sensitivity and grace … compelling, honest. ~ Bob Keeshan, TV’s original Captain Kangaroo
Working on the [New Mexico Review] is such fun as I get to read and review such great work like the poem “Gibson” from issue 7 by C.S. Fuqua. Just as the subject of the poem speaks out about life, line by line, so, too, does it speak to me. ~ Christina Litherland, New Mexico Review
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
…[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
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
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, Editor, Assisi Literary Magazine
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
…a feeling of hope and the certainty that happiness and goodness are still out there. ~ Cynthia Harris, author
… gritty, insightful, humorous, tragic, and celebratory … ~ Jonathan K. Rice, Editor, Iodine Poetry Journal
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
… a wonderful job of creating compelling, well-drawn characters…Mike Suchcicki, author/editor/digital designer & producer
C.S. Fuqua is a first-class [Native American] flute builder and flute musician … ~ Dick Claassen, Native American flute musician and author of numerous Native American flute instructional manuals
5-time winner Year’s Best short fiction
4-time winner Year’s Best “honorable mention” short fiction
EPIC winner Year’s Best Poetry Collection
New Mexico Music Awards Finalist ~ WindPoem V ~ Infinite
Bestsellers & more:
Native American Flute: A Comprehensive Guide ~ History & Craftupdates and combines into one volume the two previous books, The Native American Flute: Myth, History, Craft and Native American Flute Craft, to present a comprehensive history of and crafting guide to the Native American flute.
Walking after Midnight ~ Collected Stories, with eight “year’s best” honors, has something for every reader in your life, from dark fantasy, horror, and science fiction to slipstream, southern gothic, and literary.
Stream C.S. Fuqua’s WindPoem albums and Sinner’s Suite EP on Pandoraand Spotify.
Get free downloads by signing up for the newsletter, packed with information about current and coming releases and free downloads of fiction, poetry, music, and more in every issue.
No matter the effort to avoid it, personal experience—from the drama of relatives to political shenanigans—creeps into every writer’s work, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction. The Confederate flag hoopla and the fight for and against the rights of people of color, women, and homosexuals are examples of issues that have proved provocative, disruptive, even destructive in interpersonal relationships and a godsend for the political powers who use division as a control device. Buying into the propaganda of political and media organizations, we make extreme decisions that affect our interpersonal relationships for the rest of our lives. When those decisions involve a writer, you can bet the effects will be reflected in the writer’s work.
Politics is naturally contentious, each generation viewing its own political tomfoolery as more contentious than what came before. Since the advent of 24/7 “news” channels, whose primary purpose is not to report news, but to stoke fear, frustration, hatred, and anger, politics has been exploited fully as a tool to divide and punish rather than to find compromise and serve the common good. I’m not so naïve to believe this use of politics is something new, but its in-your-face nature has strengthened exponentially in recent decades, thanks to technology. We’re assaulted relentlessly through our televisions and radios, computers, smartphones, tablets—umbilically connected to designer “news” sites that feed our prejudice and fear to the point we lose grip on reality and rationality and strike out at all who differ in opinion, worldview, gender, sexuality, religion, lifestyle, or race.
I grew up in South Alabama and Northwest Florida during the late 1950s through the early 1970s. The region wasn’t then nor has it become one of the most tolerant of diversity. Flaming midnight crosses lit up country pastures. Robed, hooded figures gathered like kids at a mega weenie roast, singing angry, hateful campfire songs about folks born of different race or religion, preaching the end of the world was nigh if lesser races acquired the same rights whites already enjoyed. Oh, save us, Jesus! It’s Armageddon! Color me silly, but I don’t think Jesus the Jew would be welcomed at such an event.
A close relative was then and remains a man of the white robe, flames flickering in his eyes, despite his interaction over the decades with a variety of people of color and cultures, thanks to his public sales business. He has never felt a need or desire to question the region’s prevalent stereotypes and fears of people who’re different, to overcome the hatred, to grow. Why, I don’t know. To my knowledge, he’s never suffered physically, financially, or mentally due to malicious acts by any person of color. And he certainly hasn’t lost his rights to groups or individuals gaining their own. He has, however, been a willing, unquestioning consumer of the Wallace/Thurmond/Trump/Helms/Cruz/Santorum/Fox/et.al. stream of fear and hate mongering, never once seeking objective verification to even the most extraordinary claim, never once attempting to understand any issue through a viewpoint other than his own bigotry.
During a phone conversation four years ago, I voiced support for the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. “Don’t you tell me,” he growled, “you like what that communist nigger’s done.” I wasn’t shocked by his response. We’d debated his use of such small-minded epithets on numerous occasions, especially this particular word which he uses not only in reference to anyone black, but also to persons of Middle Eastern, Mexican, and other cultural and racial backgrounds. I suspect he used the word this time simply to anger me as he began a litany of irrational charges against President Obama, that the President had “ruined” the economy, that he’s Muslim, that he’s waging war against Christians, that he’s not even American—all the batty, right-wing talking points and conspiracy theories that even reality can’t counter in the true believer’s mind. Then he asserted that the U.S. should have never pulled out of Iraq, that Obama had secured the destruction of America by doing so.
“We never should have invaded Iraq in the first place,” I said.
He took a breath. “That’s something we agree on,” he said. “We should’ve nuked the hell out of them because them A-rabs ain’t even human.”
That was it.
We were done.
After a lifetime of shared, reluctant tolerance, our relationship had abruptly come to an end.
Earlier this week, my spouse received an email from one of her relatives, an email purporting that the factual histories of the Civil War and Rebel battle flag are instead myth, that the war had little to do with slavery, that the flag is a symbol of only southern heritage, not racism. The sender did not copy me on the mail, perhaps because she understands my view of such bigotry and did not want to risk rebuttal. When my spouse replied to the mail, she copied all to whom the original had been sent, and she copied me as well, addressing the original mail as though her relative had offered it as an example of how gullible people are when something supports their bigoted worldview:
“People will believe anything rather than admitting that it’s been 150 years since the end of the Civil War and we still have racism. How sad and disappointing. As a nation we have made progress, but we still have far to go.”
A day later, the following landed in my mailbox, thanks to my spouse’s relative who hit “reply to all.” It’s presented unaltered:
“No one living today is a slave or has owned a slave, am I wrong in not liking group of people who have different views of life than I do? I have always been told ‘your rights end when they intruded on mine’ how much longer do we as Americans need to bend over and take it up the as…before these people realize they need to start to take care of themselves? This crap has been going on for years. The American public has, in my opinion done way too much to make amends for what has happened in the past and they still want more, work for it like the rest of us have done and quit asking for a hand out.”
It would have been wise not to reply to the rant, but I’m not a wise man. I thought that, by engaging the writer in a rational, fact-based discussion, he might look beyond the hyperbole of pundits, might change his mind. So I responded, copying all on the list:
“Thanks for your entertaining mail. If you would like to engage in a rational debate on specific issues, backing your points with objective, valid sources (not political organizations such as Fox News or DailyKos), I’d be happy to debate you. However, specifics are required. For example, instead of generalizations such as ‘these people,’ define whether they are black, of Mexican descent like yourself, Jewish, Middle Eastern, East Indian, Asian, etc., since the average southern white lumps all races of color into the same lesser-than category. Another example would be ‘handouts’ and the group to which the so-called handout is provided–social security, Medicare, food stamps, housing assistance, etc.–and how it affects you and how or why it is right or wrong. Back your argument with objective sources. Another example is ‘your rights end when they intrude on mine.’ Be specific. For example, do you mean you have the right to fly a Nazi flag on your property, but you don’t have the right to demand government or public entities to fly the flag on their buildings or property since that property represents all people? Or I have the right to worship the Flying Spaghetti Monster but not to force you to say my prayers in school?
“You get the idea.
“If you and the others in this mail exchange do not desire a rational debate but would prefer to vent anger and frustration over issues based on the ‘factual’ nonsense regarding the Confederate flag that began this exchange, I prefer to be left out of the loop.\
“Take care…”
A few moments later: “Fuck you.”
My response: “Okay.”
Then: “Just forget my email address and I don’t ever want to see you or any of your family again. Chris you are a looser.”
“For future reference,” I replied, “it’s ‘loser,’ not ‘looser.’”
When we refuse to engage in rational discussion, when we set our minds so rigidly based on irrational hatred and fear, when we refuse to consider another point of view unless it agrees with our own, when we refuse to grow, all of us are losers.
From fiction to poetry, creative nonfiction to straight reporting, personal experience colors my work in some way. One example of experience influencing my nonfiction work began with intervention in three on-the-street domestic violence incidents in Hawaii in the early1980s, which led to an article for Honolulu Magazine on the state’s problem of domestic violence, what police termed “local love.” The article helped in a small way to push a mandatory arrest bill through the state legislature to become law, requiring police to arrest aggressors when responding to domestic violence calls. In fiction and poetry, the above relatives, as well as others, have provided models for characters in stories such as “Side-Road Shack” and “Luau,” the novel Big Daddy’s Fast-Past Gadget, and in many of the poems in White Trash & Southern ~ Collected Poems, Volume I.
We writers are grateful to the relatives who manufacture drama, the politicians who stir the pot of fear and hatred, the citizens in our communities who fuel suspicion and discontent. By simply being who they are, these people prove an ironic benefit to writers. We thank them for helping us to explore the irrational, the hateful, the destructive through the characters they inspire. If, by chance, our work benefits the reader or society at large in any measure, we owe them that much more gratitude.
Recent heinous acts by extremists, motivated by intense critical rhetoric, have set the media abuzz, with pundits defending and condemning critics for denying responsibility for their words. Critics have come a long way, applying their observations to every facet of private and public life with strident rhetoric that has elevated them to a level of prominence and power never before possessed. American journalist and satirist H.L. Mencken warned long ago that “Criticism is prejudice made plausible,” something that every writer with work to come under a critic’s damning gaze had already realized by the time of Mencken’s observation. “Asking a working writer what he thinks about critics,” English playwright John Osborne confessed, “is like asking a lamppost what it feels about dogs.”
Plato may be the one responsible for infecting society with criticism as a profession when he condemned poets and poetry in his work The Republic. Aristotle didn’t help matters with his critical counter response in Poetics. He, instead, ensured someone would write a counter-counter-response, which ensured a counter-counter-counter-response, which ensured a—well, you get the idea—until a good number of complainers figured out that, by condemning or praising someone else’s work, they could make a buck. Critics have since gnawed their way through the arts to infiltrate every aspect of life with the blather of critical analysis and condemnation twenty-four/seven.
Lucky us.
Critical analysis, whether the topic is literary, musical, political, social, or whatever, is made through and delivered from a specific person’s worldview of reality, just as this essay is written from my own personal and quite prejudiced viewpoint. The problem arises when the critic expects or, increasingly, demands that the audience accept critical analysis without question or examination, to see and judge the subject of the analysis through only the critic’s narrow viewpoint.
My book Divorced Dads: Real Stories of Facing the Challenge explored how divorced fathers in uncommon and extreme circumstances maintained close and positive relationships with their children, offering pointers and solid, productive advice to fathers in less extreme situations. The point, as detailed in the book’s foreword, was to provide perspective for divorced fathers and examples of fathers who, in uncommon challenging circumstances, maintained healthy relationships with their children, no matter the forces working against them. The intent escaped one critic who called the book the best gift a vindictive divorced woman could present to her ex-husband if she wanted to finish him off emotionally. The critic was certainly entitled to his opinion and to his inability to comprehend the book’s message, even when stated outright, but was he entitled to inflict his views on others, to mislead and prevent some fathers from improving their situation by learning from the fathers detailed in the book? Yes, he was. It wasn’t his responsibility to be honest or fair. It was the reader’s responsibility to think independently.
An extraordinary genre magazine debuted last year, featuring some up-and-coming authors whose stories proved extraordinary. Every critic reviewing the magazine admitted as much, but each felt compelled to point out something “wrong” with the magazine and/or the stories, no matter how far-reaching. While one admitted that the technique of flashback worked extremely well for a particular story, he didn’t like the technique personally and, thus, concluded the story suffered because of that. Another suggested that the premises for most of the stories were thin, sacrificed for the sake of plot and characterization. Perhaps the critic thought the same about classics that employed such thin premises as persons physically transformed into wolves by a full moon, or the presence of gravity on starships zipping through a weightless void, or impressive kabooms when death stars explode in the vacuum of space, or some alien monster uncovered after centuries under arctic ice, able to change its cell structure to match its dinner, or maybe some mad scientist whose potion turns him into Piltdown Man. Thin premises, it appears, result in extraordinarily entertaining stories, critical analyses notwithstanding.
Critics today have surpassed the danger level with their analyses, threatening to lose any ability to provide unbiased or sound guidance about their subject. The majority of today’s critics cheat, fool, berate, and belittle listeners and readers into believing and thinking as they tell us to, suggesting and even convincing us that their views, sound or warped, are our own views. We forget we have choice. We forget we have voice. We forget we are individuals.
Remember the 1976 movie Network? It accurately predicted the demise of journalism, particularly television journalism, into a clown act of entertainment, audacity, and critical extremism. Peter Finch’s character, Howard Beale, the veteran journalist who became the movie’s messiah of broadcast news, upon realization of the social harm being perpetrated by the new “news media,” urges his huge TV audience to go to their windows and scream, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!” And he tells them to turn off TV, to turn him off, to think for themselves.
It’s time we listened to Howard Beale, even if he is a fictional character. We all benefit by turning off the critic—TV, radio, print, internet. Eliminating the relentless palaver of negativity can decrease the acts inspired by insipid and vitriolic critical rhetoric. By using our own intellect, we can better choose our entertainment, our politicians, our brand of body lotion, our cars, our futures. We can contemplate, comprehend, and decide on our own once again, defining likes and dislikes based on our personal and individual realities and worldviews, not the views of others.
At the same time, we must put the challenge to critics to tone down their rhetoric, to approach subjects calmly, rationally, to take the same advice as Thumper took in the 1942 movie Bambi: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all.” Or, at the very least, be constructive and respectful.