Charles Ghigna

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Charles Ghigna (Father Goose) (born August 25 1946) is an American children's author, poet, speaker and nationally syndicated feature writer who helps promote the love of children’s literature throughout the world.

He is the author of more than 5,000 poems and forty award-winning books from Random House, Knopf, Disney, Hyperion, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, Running Press, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., and other publishers. His books have been featured on ABC-TV’s "Good Morning America" and NPR, selected by the Book-of-the-Month Club and awarded the Parents' Choice Book Award.

He lives in Homewood, Alabama (U.S.) with his author-wife, Debra Ghigna, and their son, Chip.

Ghigna served as poetry editor of The English Journal for the National Council of Teachers of English (1973-1974) and as poet-in-residence for the Alabama School of Fine Arts (1974-1993). He has presented poetry readings and programs at the Library of Congress, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the American Library in Paris, the International Schools of South America and at hundreds of other schools, colleges, conferences, libraries, book fairs, and literary events throughout the U.S. and overseas.

Ghigna's poems for children appear in Cricket, Ladybug, Highlights for Children, Ranger Rick, Children's Digest, Children's Playmate, Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill, Child Life, Guideposts for Kids, Lollipops, Hopscotch, Pockets, Pre-K Today, Storyworks, Turtle. and in many anthologies including The 20th Century Children’s Poetry Treasury (Knopf), Knock at a Star: A Child’s Introduction to Poetry (Little, Brown), and Read A Rhyme Write a Rhyme (Knopf), as well as in the national SAT and ACT tests, and hundreds of anthologies, textbooks, newspapers, journals and magazines.

Ghigna's poems for adults have appeared in many popular magazines including The New Yorker, Harper's, Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Good Housekeeping, Ladies' Home Journal, McCall's, Writer's Digest, The Saturday Evening Post, Guideposts, as well as in many other magazines, literary journals, anthologies and textbooks.

Ghigna's poem Paul "Bear" Bryant appeared in the Birmingham Post-Herald, December 29, 1983, as a memorial to the legendary coach. A limited edition of signed and numbered prints of the poem with a photograph by Clifford Byrd of Coach Bryant in his classic pose leaning against the goal post appear in the Paul W. Bryant Museum at the University of Alabama and in Birmingham at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

Ghigna is the author of Snickers, a daily newspaper feature for Tribune Media Services. More than 2,000 of his light verse poems appeared in newspaper syndication from 1993 to 1998, as well as in many popular magazines. A book of The Best of Snickers was published in 1994.

Publications: Books

• Bibliography of Books
• Ghigna, Charles (2008) Snow Wonder, Random House
• Ghigna, Charles (2008) SCORE! 50 Poems to Motivate and Inspire, Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
• Ghigna, Charles (2006) Poems 1974-2005, Pudding House
• Ghigna, Charles (2005) Oh My, Pumpkin Pie!, Random House
• Ghigna, Charles (2005) If You Were My Valentine, Simon & Schuster
• Ghigna, Charles (2005) Dylan the Smokey Dragon, Maris, West & Baker
• Ghigna, Charles (2004) Animal Tracks: Wild Poems to Read Aloud, Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
• Ghigna, Charles (2003) Halloween Night: Twenty-One Spooktacular Poems, Running Press
• Ghigna, Charles (2003) A Fury of Motion: Poems for Boys, Boyds Mills Press
• Ghigna, Charles (2002) One Hundred Shoes, Random House
• Ghigna, Charles (2002) The Alphabet Parade, River City Publishing
• Ghigna, Charles (2001) Haiku: The Travelers of Eternity, River City Publishing
• Ghigna, Charles and Debra Ghigna (2000) Christmas is Coming!, Charlesbridge Publishing
• Ghigna, Charles (1999) Animal Trunk: Silly Poems to Read Aloud, Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
• Ghigna, Charles (1999) Love Poems, Crane Hill Publishers
• Ghigna, Charles (1999) Mice are Nice, Random House
• Ghigna, Charles (1999) Plastic Soup: Dream Poems, Black Belt Press
• Ghigna, Charles (1999) See the Yak Yak, Random House
• Ghigna, Charles (1995) The Day I Spent the Night in the Shelby County Jail, The Best of Times
• Ghigna, Charles (1995) Riddle Rhymes, Disney/Hyperion
• Ghigna, Charles (1994) Speaking in Tongues: New & Selected Poems 1974-1994, The University of West Alabama, Livingston Press
• Ghigna, Charles (1994) Tickle Day: Poems from Father Goose, Disney/Hyperion
• Ghigna, Charles (1994) The Best of Snickers, The Best of Times
• Ghigna, Charles (1992) Good Cats/Bad Cats, Disney/Hyperion
• Ghigna, Charles (1992) Good Dogs/Bad Dogs, Disney/Hyperion
• Ghigna, Charles (1992) Wings of Fire, Druid Press
• Ghigna, Charles (1989) Returning to Earth, The University of West Alabama, Livingston Press
• Ghigna, Charles (1989) Father Songs, Creekwood Press
• Ghigna, Charles (1979) Circus Poems, Creekwood Press
• Ghigna, Charles (1978) Divers and Other Poems, Creekwood Press
• Ghigna, Charles (1977) Cockroach, Contemporary Drama Service
• Ghigna, Charles (1975) Stables: The Story of Christmas, Creekwood Press
• Ghigna, Charles (1973) Plastic Tears, Dorrance & Company

Publications: Textbooks & Anthologies

• Bibliography of Anthologies

Publications: Magazines & Journals

• Bibliography of Magazines

References

• "Charles Ghigna (Father Goose)" An explication and bio-bibliographical guide. The Contemporary Authors Series. Volume 137. Thomson-Gale, 2005.

External links

• The Father Goose website
• Charles Ghigna Papers / University of Southern Mississippi
• The World's Shortest Poem
• NPR Interview
• Interview