Charles Ghigna

Charles Vincent Ghigna (Father Goose) (born August 25, 1946) is a children's author and poet. He served as poetry editor of the English Journal for the National Council of Teachers of English and has written thirty books of prose and poetry for both children and adults.

Ghigna was born in Bayside, Long Island to Charles Vincent and Patricia (Pelletier) Ghigna. The family moved to Fort Myers, Florida in 1951 where he grew up keeping a journal of writings and poems. He began his teaching career at Cypress Lake High School in 1967, earning his Bachelor of Arts in English the following year at Florida Atlantic University. Two years later he received his Masters of Education, also from FAU. During his time in Florida, Ghigna was active in local theater, acting in several productions and writing a stage play, Cockroach (1977)

He accepted the post of poet-in-residence at the Alabama School of Fine Arts in 1974 and published his first poem in Harper's the same year. His 1993 poem "Returning to Earth" was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

In the late 1980's, Ghigna turned to children's poetry, accepting the nickname "Father Goose" from his audiences at readings. He authored the Snickers syndicated newspaper feature from 1993 to 1998.

Ghigna's books have been selected by the Book-of-the-Month Club, featured in the Scholastic Book Club, received the Parents' Choice Book Award, SEBA Book Award, the Chickadee Books Award, the Helen Keller Literary Award, and the Alabama Library Association Book Award.

His poems for children have appeared in numerous periodicals and have been anthologized in 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).

His 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, and The Saturday Evening Post, as well as in The Creative Writer’s Handbook (Prentice Hall).

Ghigna currently lives in Homewood with his second wife, Debra, and son, Chip.

Publications

• Ghigna, Charles (2002) The Alphabet Parade. Montgomery: River City Publishing.
• Ghigna, Charles (2001) Haiku: The Travelers of Eternity. Montgomery: River City Publishing.
• Ghigna, Charles (2002) One Hundred Shoes: A Math Reader. New York: Random House.
• Ghigna, Charles and Debra Ghigna (2000) Christmas is Coming!. Watertown, Massachusetts: Charlesbridge Publishing
• Ghigna, Charles (1999) "Animal Trunk: Silly Poems to Read Aloud." New York: Harry N. Abrams.
• Ghigna, Charles (1999) Love Poems Birmingham: Crane Hill Publishers.
• Ghigna, Charles (1999) Mice are Nice. New York: Random House.
• Ghigna, Charles (1999) Plastic Soup: Dream Poems. Montgomery: Black Belt Press.
• Ghigna, Charles (1999) See the Yak Yak. New York: Random House.
• Ghigna, Charles (1995) The Day I Spent the Night in the Shelby County Jail. Birmingham: Best of Times, 1995
• Ghigna, Charles (1995) Riddle Rhymes. New York: Hyperion Books for Children.
• Ghigna, Charles (1994) Speaking in Tongues: New and Selected Poems, 1974-1994. Livingston: Livingston University Press.
• Ghigna, Charles (1994) Tickle Day: Poems from Father Goose. New York: Hyperion Books for Children.
• Ghigna, Charles (1992) Good Cats/Bad Cats. New York: Hyperion Books for Children.
• Ghigna, Charles (1992) Good Dogs/Bad Dogs. New York: Hyperion Books for Children.
• Ghigna, Charles (1992) Wings of Fire. Birmingham: Druid Press.
• Ghigna, Charles (1989) Returning to Earth. Livingston: Livingston University Press.
• Ghigna, Charles (1978) Divers and Other Poems. Birmingham: Creekwood Press.
• Ghigna, Charles (1973) Plastic Tears. Philadelphia: Dorrance & Co.

External links

• Charles Ghigna (Father Goose) website
• Charles Ghigna papers at the University of Southern Mississippi.