When Native American flute popularity exploded in the 1980s and ’90s, the public latched onto the “love flute” myth as a history-based tale, that Native Americans had used the flute strictly as a courting tool. Other myths associated with the flute — that it was a gift from the Great Spirit to set trapped souls free, that it was a gift from Woodpecker to help a lost boy find his way home — were ignored, forgotten, and the instrument was promoted distinctly as a man’s instrument.
It isn’t. It’s much more.
The flute’s documented, celebrated history is detailed in the new book Native American Flute: A Comprehensive Guide ~ History & Craft, the result of nearly three decades of researching, playing, and crafting the native flute. Native American Flute updates and combines into one volume my previous two books on the Native American flute, 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. 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.
As a freelance journalist, author, and musician, I learned to play and craft the native flute in the early 1990s, discovering its history to be extremely rich and diverse. With gender equality a way of life in native cultures before Europeans arrived in the Americas, the popular belief the flute was strictly a man’s instrument just didn’t ring true.
As accounts by early Europeans who came to North America attested, the flute played a diverse, intricate role in native life, from entertainment to fertility rituals to travel, even to courting. It had never been an instrument limited to men. instead played by all for varied purposes, but the courting aspect caught the romantic fancy of European readers.
Thanks to people like explorer Carcilaso de la Vega in 1592, Europeans focused on the flute’s courting aspect. According to de la Vega, “…[T]hey did not know how to harmonize measured verse, and were mostly concerned with the passions of love … One might say that he talked with his flute. Late one night, a Spaniard came upon an Indian girl he knew in Cuzco and asked her to return to his lodging, but she said: ‘Let me go my ways, sir. The flute you hear from that hill calls me with such tender passion that I must go toward it. Leave me, for heaven’s sake, for I cannot but go where love draws me, and I shall be his wife and he my husband.’”
As flute popularity has grown, women musicians have had to overcome discrimination and prejudice regarding their playing. Even award-winning flautists like Mary Youngblood have encountered male flautists who refuse to play on the same stage, shamans who refuse to bless a flute before an event, and venues that cancel performances by women when male performers complain.
Native American Flute sets the record straight, updating and combining the information from Fuqua’s first two books on the flute—The Native American Flute: Myth, History, Craft and Native American Flute Craft—into one volume to present a comprehensive, documented exploration of the native flute’s history and a fully illustrated, step-by-step crafting guide for making both the ancient and modern versions of the Native American flute, an instrument truly for all people.
Native American Flute is a available through most bookstores, including Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.
Infinite ~ WindPoem V ~ Native American Flute Meditations, the latest album from C.S. Fuqua in his WindPoem Native American Flute Meditations series, features 68 minutes of meditative and relaxing music, celebrating the Native American flute as a solo and World Fusion music instrument. Nine Native American flute instrumentals and four multi-instrument cuts highlight the versatility of the Native American flute. Please visit https://youtu.be/o7fpRIRIKkg for a five-minute preview of the album.
In keeping with tradition, Infinite‘s instrumentals incorporate nature and other ambient background sounds to complement the Native American flute. In addition, Infiniterepresents an expansion of WindPoemsound with the addition of multiple instruments, including guitar, koto, bass, and more on four of the instrumentals. The remaining nine cuts feature solo and multiple native flutes. A haunting instrumental arrangement of the traditional song “Amazing Grace” closes the album. Infinite features wooden and bamboo Native American flutes custom-crafted by Fuqua.
Fuqua has researched and published extensively on the history, mythology, and crafting of the Native American flute, and has authored The Native American Flute: Myth, History, Craftand the illustrated manual Native American Flute Craft. With a background as newspaper reporter, magazine editor, and author, Fuqua has published widely in nonfiction, fiction, and poetry, with fourteen books currently in print. The first WindPoemalbum was released in 2014. For more information, please visit http://csfuqua.com.
Fuqua is available for presentations the history, mythology, and music of the Native American flute. Presentations are offered free to Las Cruces area public schools and youth organizations. For more more information, please contact him at fuqua.cs@gmail.com.
Native American flutes have always been known primarily as “love flutes” or “courting flutes” and were generally played for no other reason than courting rituals by a young man serenading his intended bride, although some men played them for their wives as a sign of love.
The above statement—paraphrased from an “authentic” Native American flute history and instrument website—is baloney, indicative of the uninformed, misogynistic belief of many, if not a majority, of modern Native American flute fans, crafters, and musicians. Rather than research and discover the flute’s rich background, they’ve adapted the love flute myth as history—that the flute was developed as a courting tool for men only—while ignoring the instrument’s true background and multitude of uses by native people. When confronted with reality, they respond with claptrap like the following halfwitted comment in an online native flute forum: “Granted, everyone had their own traditions and norms about flutes, and I’m sure someone will jump in here and say ‘oh sure, women have always played flute in my tribe.’ But as a generality women were kind of kept off the business end of a flute.”
Sadly, most Americans of both native and immigrant heritage have been brainwashed to believe certain stereotypes and false “history” of early native life, especially that of native women, stereotypes created by early European invaders and perpetuated in magazines, books, and, later, movies. When the native flute’s popularity surged in the mid-twentieth century, accepted stereotypes did what they do best—smothered the instrument’s true history with nonsense.
Before Europeans landed in the New World, native cultures were matriarchal and celebrated men and women as equals. The mother’s ancestral line, not the father’s, determined a child’s lineage. In community affairs, women became shamans, had the right to vote, could impeach a chief if a majority became dissatisfied with leadership, served in advisory positions, assisted in managing village affairs, spoke in council meetings, had the power to veto war, and even fought in battles themselves. And the flute? Yes, it was as much a woman’s instrument as a man’s.
So why are we saddled with this love flute myth malarkey as history? Gullibility and laziness. While failing to explore fact-based sources, we’ve accepted and internalized the erroneous accounts of American Indian life by European invaders. To undermine native culture, Europeans deftly exaggerated accounts of Native American life and lied about women and their status. They portrayed native women as obedient, subservient to “red devils” who attacked and scalped good Christian explorers whose only goal was to bring patriarchal European civility, social harmony, and redemption to an evil and barbaric world. In reality, Europeans could not cope with the independence, power, and equality of native women compared to the role of European women. So they set about transforming native culture into a crude version of European culture.
Pre-invasion cultures developed a deep connection to their past through stories and music, but that ended in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as Europeans forcibly took native children from their families and sent them to “Indian schools” where teachers required native children to speak only English, wear western-style clothing, and study western-based history rather than preserving native history and heritage through traditional sources and methods. As Europeans forced Native Americans to assimilate into the European, Judeo-Christian lifestyle, the cultural status and equality native women had once enjoyed vanished, and their share in power and authority disintegrated.
Erosion of women’s status extended even to the native flute. The flute had traditionally been a social instrument, used for the sheer joy of making music. Songs and music were like breath itself, an integral part of existence. Native people embraced music to honor the Creator. Shamans utilized music in medical cures. They integrated music into ceremonies to call rain and locate hunting game. Children incorporated music in their games, while adult tribal members included music in vision quests, harvest rituals, war, and death rituals. Although customs and practices differed between cultures, the flute was common to most. Plains Indian tribes could be identified from a distance by the songs they played as they traveled. Members of some tribes played flutes to announce their peaceful approach to a new village. In what’s now the southwestern U.S., the Hopi people not only valued flautists of both genders, they nurtured a flute clan responsible for developing the talents of flautists. Each autumn, a girl and boy, side-by-side, both playing flutes, would lead a procession and ceremony to honor the gods to ensure good rains and crops. Even today, despite dominance of the love flute myth, Native American flutes are used in ceremonies other than courting rituals, including weddings, worship ceremonies, and political ceremonies.
Many early Europeans noted in their writings that native people used the flute as a social instrument to make a joyful noise. In June, 1528, while exploring the west coast of Florida, Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca wrote that “a chief approached, borne on the back of another Indian, and covered with a painted deerskin. A great many people attended him, some walking in advance, playing on flutes of reed.” Had only men been playing, it’s likely the writer would have said so. In 1539, a member of the Hernando de Soto Spanish expedition to Florida wrote that “some Indians arrived to visit their lord, and every day they came out to the road, playing upon flutes, a token among them that they come in peace.” In yet another account, the same writer, describing events in what is now Alabama, wrote “the Cacique came out to receive (de Soto) … and he was surrounded by many attendants playing upon flutes and singing.” Note the writer chose the word “attendants,” not “men.”
In Pueblo country around 1540, Pedro de Castaneda wrote about his travels that “the people came out of the village with signs of joy to welcome Hernando de Alvardo and their captain, and brought with them into the town with drums and pipes something like flutes, of which they have a great many.”Around the same period, Antonio de Mendoza wrote, “The Indians have their dances and songs, with some flutes which have holes on which to put the fingers. They make much noise. They sing in unison with those who play, and those who sing clap their hands in our fashion … five or six play together, and some of the flutes are better than others.” Pedro Fages, writing about an encounter in California in 1769, described a dance for which “only two pairs from each sex are chosen to perform the dance, and two musicians,” presumably of each gender, “who play their flutes.”
Then came the turning point in flute accounts when artist George Catlin in 1832, capturing the European desire to romanticize and diminish native life, described the flute as strictly a courting instrument. Writing about the Plains flute while in Upper Missouri, Catlin said, “In the vicinity of the Upper Mississippi, I often and familiarly heard this instrument, called the Winnebago courting flute, and was credibly informed by traders and others in those regions that the young men of that tribe meet with signal success, oftentimes, in wooing their sweethearts with its simple notes, which they blow for hours together, and from day to day, from the bank of some stream—some favorite rock or log on which they are seated, near to the wigwam which contains the object of their tender passion until her soul is touched, and she responds by some welcome signal, that she is ready to repay the young Orpheus for his pains with the gift of her hand and her heart.”
Europeans latched onto the courting aspect while ignoring that marriage and courtship rites varied from culture to culture, that the courtship period itself could last more than six years, that the girl had the power of choice, that the genealogical line was through the mother’s family, that women were held as equal individuals within the culture, unlike women of Western society, that the flute certainly was not a courting requirement. The flute became an effective tool in the Europeans’ determination to assimilate native peoples and erase native women’s status. The first Europeans to migrate to North America, especially those steeped in Puritan, Catholic, and Quaker Christian traditions, did not tolerate women in prominent positions of government or societal decision-making. Portraying indigenous society as barbaric and the people as savages, Europeans systematically eliminated indigenous women’s power within tribes and clans. Portraying the flute as a man’s-only instrument helped achieve that goal.
In last few decades, native women have begun to regain their rightful places in tribal life. Even female deities and original matriarchal native mythologies have enjoyed a resurgence among many native peoples. A quarter of federally recognized tribes are now chaired by women. In 2014, 147 native women were elected to serve as tribal leaders—26 percent of 566 federally recognized tribes. Female tribal leadership in 2015 decreased slightly to 24.5 percent.
Nevertheless, the resurgence of power doesn’t thrill everyone in the Native American community. Since Wilma Mankiller became the first female chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma in 1985, some male candidates in various tribal races have continued to ridicule female opponents as inept, unable, and too female to make the important decisions required of a chief—as if men have proved themselves more qualified than women in anything. Women are changing the face of tribal governments as they become administrators, teachers, and community organizers, regaining positions of authority like those held by their ancestors. And they’re playing the flute, demonstrating once again that it is not a man’s instrument, that it’s an instrument of the people—all people.
The Native American flute has grown so popular today that it has taken on mystical qualities with some claiming it will help lead the world into salvation. For those who prefer to leave mysticism to the mystics and simply enjoy an instrument solely for its music, the native flute is a welcomed addition, finding itself in the capable hands of both male and female artists. Rather than wrongly claim the flute has served only a courting function for native men, we should accept the fact the instrument is no more masculine or feminine than life or death. It is now, as it always has been, an instrument that adds beauty and dimension to music without regard to the musician’s gender.
For a comprehensive list of references from which the above information was taken, please refer to the bibliographies of The Native American Flute: Myth, History, Craft and Native American Flute Craft, both available from Amazon.com, iTunes, Books-A-Million, Barnes & Noble, and other online and local bookstores.
Ancestors ~ WindPoem IV ~ Native American Flute Meditations is now available through Bandcampand coming to other CD and digital music stores, including Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, and others. It will soon be streamable through internet music services, including Pandora, Deezer, and more. The album features nine Native American flute instrumentals—53 minutes of music—perfect for meditation and relaxation. View the trailer below. Preview the entire album at Bandcamp.
Ancestors instrumentals feature Tegan Fuqua on percussion and C.S. Fuqua on wooden and bamboo Native American flutes, both single-barrel and double-barrel (drone) flutes custom-crafted by C.S. Fuqua. In keeping with tradition, some tunes incorporate nature and other ambient background sounds. “Grandfather” also features a Hang tank drum. Several cuts include contrabass flute that may not be rendered adequately through laptop speakers and some earbuds due to speaker low frequency limitations.
Ancestors is available today from Createspace in CD format for $10.95 plus shipping and Kunaki for $5 plus shipping. Available soon at Amazon. If you want the best CD price, Kunaki is the place to go—the total less than the Amazon and Createspace base price before shipping!
The digital album is available for immediate download from Bandcamp and Kunaki for $8 and will soon be available from iTunes, Amazon, Soundcloud, and many others.
Ancestors will soon be streamable at Pandora, Deezer, Spotify, and a host of other streaming services.
Please spread the word!
Popular mythology portrays the primary historical use of the Native American flute as a courting instrument used by men, but the courting aspect was only one of the flute’s functions, much like a guitar or any other instrument, and it certainly was not an instrument limited to use strictly by men. Men and women played the native flute for entertainment, in fertility rites, during celebrations and mourning rituals, and simply as a distraction. WindPoem albums celebrate the flute’s rich and inclusive heritage.
For more information on the history, mythology, and crafting of the instrument, check out Chris’s books, The Native American Flute: Myth, History, Craft and Native American Flute Craft, available through most local and online bookstores.
WindPoem III was slated to be final album in the WindPoem series to feature strictly native flute meditations. Plans obviously changed. I hope you enjoy the results.
Chris is available for musical and historical presentations regarding the Native American flute. For more more information, please contact him by clicking the email icon.
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.
Explore. Craft. Play.
Music now available in CD and digital download
Besides his work as a professional author, C.S. Fuqua is also a multi-instrumentalist and craftsman of Native American flutes. His custom flutes are available in wood, bamboo, and PVC and are played by musicians around the world. Contact him for more information if you’re interested in purchasing a custom flute. Scroll to the bottom for a price list and an instructional video to make your own F# Native American flute in PVC.
New 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.
Ancestors ~ WindPoem IV ~ Native American Flute Meditations available
Ancestors ~ WindPoem IV ~ Native American Flute Meditations, Infinite ~ WindPoem V, and Simplicity ~ WindPoem VI are now available through Bandcamp,Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, and others. WindPoem albums are streamable through internet music services, including Pandora, Deezer, Spotify and others. All WindPoem albums feature more than an hour of Native American flute instrumentals perfect for meditation and relaxation. Preview the entire albums at Bandcamp.
Ancestors instrumentals feature Tegan Fuqua on percussion and C.S. Fuqua on wooden and bamboo Native American flutes, both single-barrel and double-barrel (drone) flutes custom-crafted by C.S. Fuqua. In keeping with tradition, some tunes incorporate nature and other ambient background sounds. “Grandfather” also features a Hang tank drum. Several cuts include contrabass flute that may not be rendered adequately through laptop speakers and some earbuds due to speaker low frequency limitations.
WindPoem albums are available from Amazon.com in CD and digital formats and from Bandcamp, iTunes, CDBaby, GooglePlay, and other online music sellers. The albums can be streamed at Spotify, Pandora, Youtube Music, and other online streaming services.
Spread the word!
Popular mythology portrays the primary historical use of the Native American flute as a courting instrument used by men, but the courting aspect was only one of the flute’s functions, much like a guitar or any other instrument, and it certainly was not an instrument limited to use strictly by men. Men and women played the native flute for entertainment, in fertility rites, during celebrations and mourning rituals, and simply as a distraction. WindPoem albums celebrate the flute’s rich and inclusive heritage.
For more information on the history, mythology, and crafting of the instrument, check out Chris’s books, The Native American Flute: Myth, History, Craft and Native American Flute Craft, available through most local and online bookstores.
WindPoem III was slated to be final album in the WindPoem series to feature strictly native flute meditations. Plans obviously changed.
Chris is available for musical and historical presentations regarding the Native American flute. For more more information, please contact him by clicking the email icon.
EP Sinner’s Suite, a musical metaphor of life
Announcing release of Sinner’s Suite, a work encompassing five instrumentals that symbolize the stages of a lifetime by combining elements of jazz, New Age, meditative, progressive, Americana, and indigenous styles, utilizing guitar, Native American flute, bass, percussion, and synthesizer.
Thanks to Tegan R. Fuqua for the cover image. Full preview of songs and purchase available now at BandCamp. Also available from iTunes, Amazon.com, and GooglePlay, and streamable through Pandora and other music streaming services.
WindPoem I, II,III, IV ~ Native American Flute Meditations
WindPoem I, II,III, and IV are now available. WindPoem instrumentals, perfect for meditation and relaxation, feature wood and bamboo Native American flutes accompanied by Hang drum, traditional drum, and nature sounds. WindPoem V is in pre-production. Chris’s music can be licensed directly from himor throughPond5.
WindPoem Flutes ~ Simplicity for the Musician’s Sake
C. S. Fuqua has been researching, playing, and crafting Native American flutes for nearly three decades, authoring two books—The Native American Flute ~ Myth, History, Craft and Native American Flute Craft which have been combined into Native American Flute ~ A Comprehensive Guide ~ History & Craft—and marketing his bamboo, wood, and PVC flutes under the WindPoem banner. Flutes are custom-handcrafted from naturally-downed bamboo, budget-priced PVC pipe, and sustainable wood. WindPoem flutes are available in a variety of keys.
Though the origin of the Native American flute is shrouded in mystery, flutes were common to Native American nations and played by women and men in various activities. Unlike ancient native flutes, crafted and tuned uniquely by the craftsman, modern Native American flutes are tuned in the standard pentatonic scale. The Native American Flute: Myth, History, Craft and Native American Flute Craft, available through most bookstores and online book dealers, provide a detailed account of the Native American flute’s history and include complete instructions for crafting both ancient and modern versions of the flute.
Chris concentrates first and foremost on sound quality. Most of his flutes are functional in design, but he will craft specially requested artistic flutes with custom-carved fetishes if desired. Although specially-carved fetishes will increase the cost of the flute considerably, the sound quality will prove no better than the sound of a standard flute with a simple fetish.
WindPoem Multi-Barrel Flute System
After years of making Native American flutes, Chris wondered if a system of interchangeable flute barrels utilizing one head would offer a quicker, more cost-effective method for Native American flutes crafted with PVC. The PVC system he developed utilizes a single head for two or more interchangeable barrels of different keys. The system provides key versatility while cutting costs and time expended on the more tedious construction of a fipple/fetish/head for each flute. The system he crafts includes the keys of E, F, F#, and G. With early models, he crafted a slide-on PVC fetish like that pictured in the graphic below, but he prefers a conventional tie-on fetish for a cleaner, stronger sound. The system pictured above is typical of those he now crafts. Many thanks to good friend, writer, and musician Dick Claassen for creating the flute system chart below.
Sample Flutes & Sounds
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PVC Flute System
High D Bamboo
Low D Bamboo
F# Bamboo
E Wooden Drone
A Bamboo
G Bamboo
G# Bamboo
F Bamboo
Low D# Bamboo
Low B Bamboo
E Wooden
Flute Pricing
Custom fetishes add to the costconsiderably, in many instances doubling it. The sound quality is the most important factor in all flutes. Flutes with a basic fetish sound as good as flutes with a custom-carved fetish. The goal is to craft instruments that sound their best, whether they are basic or ornate in design. Prices below include only the basic fetish.
Wooden flutes available in the keys of E, F, F#, and G. Prices begin at $100 plus shipping for basic design flute and fetish.
Bamboo: I am now located in New Mexico, no longer have direct access to a bamboo grove to select bamboo appropriate for flute crafting, and have, at least for now, depleted my stock of bamboo. I will again offer flutes in bamboo when I establish a relationship with a reliable supplier of appropriate quality bamboo. Standard prices for past bamboo flutes ranged from $45 to $175, plus shipping. Please inquire on availability to fuqua.cs@gmail.com.
PVC standard flute in E, F, F#, G, A—Start at $40 plus shipping
PVC Low C#, D, D#—$50 plus shipping
PVC single head/multi-barrel system—available barrel keys E, F, F#, and G:
2-barrel system: $60 plus shipping
3-barrel system: $80 plus shipping
4-barrel system: $100 plus shipping
Orders & Inquiries
To inquire about flute availability or to place an order, contact me. I do not accept pre-payment. Flutes are made to order. Upon completion, sound and image files will be provided. If you’re happy with what you see and hear, payment is then accepted and the flute shipped.
Make your own flute!
For those who want to make their own instrument, please check out the video below, providing complete instruction for crafting an F# PVC Native American flute. Please note that the sound hole placement listed in the video is incorrect. Sound hole placement should be 14 centimeters from the blowing end, not 40 centimeters as listed. I apologize for the typographical error.
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.
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.
When Native American flute popularity exploded in the 1980s and ’90s, the public latched onto the “love flute” myth as a history-based tale, that Native Americans had used the flute strictly as a courting tool. Other myths associated with the flute — that it was a gift from the Great Spirit to set trapped souls free, that it was a gift from Woodpecker to help a lost boy find his way home — were ignored, forgotten, and the instrument was promoted distinctly as a man’s instrument.
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