I’m pleased to announce that my book of poems for children—Ifs, a Few Buts, and Other Stuff—is out now and available from
Kelsay Books and Amazon.

Three poems from Ifs, a Few Buts, and Other Stuff:

“If All the Stars,” The Dirigible Balloon
“A Hard Lesson for King Midas,” The Dirigible Balloon
“About My Future Phone,” Lighten Up Online

Watch Charles read his poem “October Friday” HERE.

Charles Hughes is the author, most recently, of Ifs, a Few Buts, and Other Stuff, a book of poems for children, and two previous poetry collections, The Evening Sky (2020) and Cave Art (2014), both from Wiseblood Books. His poems have appeared in various journals and magazines and are included in the anthologies, Taking Root in the Heart (2023) from Paraclete Press and An Outcast Age (2021) from Little Gidding Press. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, earned undergraduate and law degrees from Augustana College, in Rock Island, Illinois, and Northwestern University, respectively, and worked as a lawyer for thirty-three years before his retirement. He received the Edgar Bowers Award for 2013 from the Georgia Poetry Society and was the 2015 River Readings poet at Augustana College. In 2016, he was a Walter E. Dakin Poetry Fellow at the Sewanee Writers Conference. He lives in the Chicago area with his wife Bunny Hughes, a Presbyterian pastor.