Ghigna, Charles 1946-

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GHIGNA, Charles 1946-

(Father Goose)

PERSONAL: Surname is pronounced "geen-ya"; born August 25, 1946, in Bayside, NY; son of Charles Vincent and Patricia Ghigna; married Nancy Minnicks, June 24, 1967 (divorced, June 5, 1973); married Debra Holmes (a writer), August 2, 1975; children: (first marriage) Julie Ann; (second marriage) Chip. Education: Florida Atlantic University, B.A., 1968, M.Ed., 1969; also attended Edison Community College, 1964-66, University of South Florida, 1968-69, and Florida State University, 1973.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Random House Children's Books, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: High school English teacher in Fort Myers, FL, 1967-73; Edison Community College, Fort Myers, instructor in creative writing, 1973; National Council of Teachers of English, Urbana, IL, poetry editor of English Journal, 1974; Alabama School of Fine Arts, Birmingham, poet-in-residence, 1974-93; Samford University, instructor in creative writing, 1979. Creator, director, performer on Cabbages and Kings (children's television series), Alabama Education Television, 1976. Correspondent for Writer's Digest magazine, 1989—. Author of nationally syndicated light verse feature "Snickers" for Tribune Media Services, 1993-98. Has given hundreds of readings at colleges and secondary schools and has made hundreds of visits to elementary and middle schools.

AWARDS, HONORS: Fellowship grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Library of Congress, the Mary Roberts Rinehart Foundation, and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund; First Place, Writer's Digest National Poetry Writing Competition, 1977, for "Divers"; Pulitzer Prize nomination, 1990, for Returning to Earth; Helen Keller Literary Award, 1993; First Place, International Sakura Haiku Writing Competition, 1993, for "October"; Pick of the Lists, American Booksellers Association, 1994, for Tickle Day: Poems from Father Goose, and 1995, for Riddle Rhymes. Ghigna performed his poetry at the Library of Congress in 1978 and at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 1984; his poetry was featured on the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC-TV) program Good Morning America in 1991.

WRITINGS:

FOR CHILDREN

Good Dogs, Bad Dogs, illustrated by David Catrow, Hyperion (New York, NY), 1992.

Good Cats, Bad Cats, illustrated by David Catrow, Hyperion (New York, NY), 1992.

The Day I Spent the Night in the Shelby County Jail, Best of Times (New York, NY), 1994.

Tickle Day: Poems from Father Goose, illustrated by Cyd Moore, Hyperion (New York, NY), 1994.

Riddle Rhymes, illustrated by Julia Gorton, Hyperion (New York, NY), 1995.

Animal Trunk: Silly Poems to Read Aloud, illustrated by Gabriel, Harry N. Abrams (New York, NY), 1999.

Mice Are Nice, illustrated by Jon Goodell, Random House (New York, NY), 1999.

See the Yak Yak, illustrated by Brian Lies, Random House (New York, NY), 1999.

(With wife, Debra Ghigna) Christmas Is Coming, illustrated by Mary O'Keefe Young, Talewinds (Watertown, MA), 2000.

The Alphabet Parade, illustrated by Patti Woods, River City Publishing (Montgomery, AL), 2002.

Halloween Night: Twenty-one Spooktacular Poems, illustrated by Adam McCauley, Running Press Kids (Philadelphia, PA), 2003.

One Hundred Shoes: A Math Reader, illustrated by Bob Staake, Random House (New York, NY), 2003.

My Country: Children Talk about America, Crane Hill Publishers (Birmingham, AL), 2003.

A Fury of Motion: Poems for Boys, Boyds Mills Press (Honesdale, PA), 2003.

Animal Tracks: Wild Poems to Read Aloud, illustrated by John Speirs, Harry N. Abrams (New York, NY), 2004.

If You Were My Valentine, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2004.

Dylan the Smokey Dragon, Maris, West & Baker (Jackson, MS), 2004.

Oh My, Pumpkin Pie!, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2005.

FOR ADULTS; POETRY, EXCEPT AS NOTED

Plastic Tears, Dorrance (Philadelphia, PA), 1973.

Stables: The Story of Christmas (chapbook), Creekwood Press (Birmingham, AL), 1976.

Cockroach (one-act play), Contemporary Drama Service (New York, NY), 1977.

Divers and Other Poems, Creekwood Press (Birmingham, AL), 1978.

Circus Poems, Creekwood Press (Birmingham, AL), 1979.

Father Songs, Creekwood Press (Birmingham, AL), 1989.

Returning to Earth, Livingston University Press (Livingston, AL), 1989.

Wings of Fire, illustrated by Patricia See Hooten, Druid (Birmingham, AL), 1992.

The Best of "Snickers," Best of Times (New York, NY), 1994.

Speaking in Tongues: New and Selected Poems, 1974-1994, Livingston University Press (Livingston, AL), 1994.

Plastic Soup: Dream Poems, Black Belt (Montgomery, AL), 1999.

Love Poems, Crane Hill Publishers (Birmingham, AL), 1999.

Haiku: The Travelers of Eternity, River City Publishers (Montgomery, AL), 2001.

Works represented in anthologies, including Confront, Construct, Complete, Hayden Book Co. (Rochelle, NJ), 1979; Contemporary Literature in Birmingham, Thunder City Press (Birmingham, AL), 1983; Anthology of Magazine Verse, Monitor Book Co. (Beverly Hills, CA), 1985; Italian-American Poets, Fordham University (Bronx, NY), 1985; This Sporting Life, Milkweed Editions (Minneapolis, MN), 1987; American Sports Poems, Orchard Books (New York, NY), 1988; Light Year, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, Bits Press (Cleveland, OH), 1989; North of Wakulla: Poets of Florida State, Anhinga Press (Tallahassee, FL), 1989; Alabama Poets: A Contemporary Anthology, Livingston University Press (Livingston, AL), 1990; Creative Writer's Handbook, Prentice Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1990; Mixed Voices: Poems about Music, Milkweed Editions (Minneapolis, MN), 1991; A New Geography of Poets, University of Arkansas Press (Fayetteville, AR), 1992; (With X. J. Kennedy and Richard Kostelanetz) Sticks, Sticks Press, 1992; Poetry Works!: The First Verse Idea Book, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1992; If We'd Wanted Quiet, Meadowbrook Press (Deephaven, MN), 1994; The Funny Side of Parenthood, Meadowbrook Press (Deephaven, MN), 1994; Familiarity Breeds Children, Meadowbrook Press (Deephaven, MN), 1994; The Runner's Literary Companion, Breakaway Books (Halcottsville, NY), 1994; For Better or Worse, Meadowbrook Press (Deephaven, MN), 1995; Fighting Words, Black Belt Press, 1995; Age Happens, Meadowbook Press (Deephaven, MN), 1996; Holidays and Seasonal Celebrations, Teaching & Learning Co. (New York, NY), 1996; Enjoy!: Invitations to Literacy, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1996; My Buddy, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1996; Leading Kids to Books through Puppets, American Library Association (Chicago, IL), 1997; Work and Other Occupational Hazards, Meadowbrook Press (Deephaven, MN), 1998; Advent Cookbook, Advent Episcopal School, 1997; McDonald's Cookbook, Ronald McDonald House (New York, NY), 1998; Lighten Up!, Meadowbook Press (Deephaven, MN), 1998; Creative Writer's Handbook, 3rd edition, Prentice Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1999; A Twentieth Century Treasury of Poetry for Children, Alfred A. Knopf (New York, NY), 1999; Leading Kids to Books through Crafts, American Library Association (Chicago, IL), 1999; Laugh Twice and Call Me in the Morning, Meadowbrook Press (Deephaven, MN), 1999; Knock at a Star: A Child's Introduction to Poetry, Alfred A. Knopf (New York, NY), 1999; Harcourt Brace Reading Program, Harcourt Brace (New York, NY), 2000; Urban Nature, Milkweed Editions (Minneapolis, MN), 2000; Hidden Surprises, Grade 3, Harcourt Brace (New York, NY), 2000; Becoming One with the Lights, National Council of Teachers of English (Urbana, IL), 2001; Books Day by Day: Anniversaries and Anecdotes, Heinemann (New York, NY), 2001; Our Bundle of Joy, Meadowbrook (Deephaven, MN), 2001; Eat Their Words: Southern Writers and Recipes, Fairhope Literary Council, 2001; Rolling in the Aisles: Kids Pick the Funniest Poems, Meadowbrook Press (Deephaven, MN), 2002; Language Arts Program, Grade 1, Harcourt Brace (New York, NY), 2002; Stories from the Blue Moon Café II, MacAdam/Cage (San Francisco, CA), 2003; and Read a Rhyme, Write a Rhyme, Alfred A. Knopf (New York, NY), 2005.

Contributor of hundreds of adult and children's poems to magazines and newspapers, including Harper's, McCall's, Good Housekeeping, Ladies' Home Journal, Kansas Quarterly, Texas Quarterly, Christian Science Monitor, Highlights for Children, Cricket, Ranger Rick, Jack and Jill, Children's Digest, Hopscotch, Children's Playmate, Crayola Kids, Guideposts for Kids, Humpty Dumpty, Ladybug, Lollipops, New York Times, Pockets, Poem Train, Pre-K Today, Turtle, and Child Life. Some of Ghigna's poems have been translated into Italian, German, French, and Russian.

SIDELIGHTS: Charles Ghigna, sometimes known as Father Goose, is a popular poet for children and adults. Ghigna divides his time between writing poetry and making personal appearances at schools from the elementary level through college. He is equally adept at entertaining the youngest listeners and enlightening adult would-be writers who solicit his advice on creating and publishing books. In the realm of juvenile literature, he is best known for his rhyming books that offer amusing portraits of animals and holidays. In an interview published on his Web site, he said: "Writing, especially for children, is one of the most honorable professions in the world. It is one of the few professions that allows you to dream, that encourages you to dream, and to capture those dreams on paper and to make them come alive in the minds and hearts of others."

Ghigna was born on Long Island but moved to Fort Myers, Florida, as a five-year-old and has lived in the South ever since. In his interviews he describes himself as a happy child who earned notice for his writing skills as early as third grade, when he wrote an essay about a talking freckle on a boy's face. He began keeping a journal as a teen but told no one, so that when he began publishing poetry many years later he seemed like an overnight success. In fact he wrote obsessively for years before seeing any of his work in print, and his first sales were of adult poetry to magazines such as Harper's. Between 1967 and 1993 he worked as a school teacher. Since 1993, "Father Goose" has primarily been a full-time writer.

Ghigna's verse for adults is free-form, but when he writes for children he employs rhyme. His first two books, Good Dogs, Bad Dogs and Good Cats, Bad Cats, are upside-down books. If a reader chooses to read about the good dogs first, the good dogs and their behavior comprise the first half of the book. At the center the reader must turn the book upside down to continue with the other half, depicting the bad dogs. The same form animates the volume about cats. Ghigna's rhymes work in concert with illustrations by David Catrow that literalize the humorous absurdity of such commonplace notions as the ideas that dogs defend those they love and cats always land on their feet. A Publishers Weekly reviewer found both volumes "witty," adding: "By turns slapstick and sophisticated, the humor here will snare adults as well as children."

Tickle Day: Poems from Father Goose collects some of the many poems Ghigna has contributed to children's magazines. The collection reveals its author's interests that will find further coverage in future books: animal behavior, holidays, weather, and childhood antics. A Publishers Weekly critic liked the book's "flashes of personality." Riddle Rhymes combines two popular genres of children's literature to "appealing" effect, according to Julie Corsaro in Booklist. By joining the fun of riddles to the playfulness of rhymes, Ghigna has produced "a lighthearted guessing game about everyday objects in a young child's life," noted Pamela K. Bomboy in School Library Journal. The topics covered by Ghigna's riddles include shadows, mirrors, leaves, rainbows, and kites. "And because they are in verse, the riddles are especially fun to read out loud," remarked Campbell Geeslin in the New York Times Book Review.

The holidays offer children's writers ample ideas for picture books, and Ghigna has written two rhyming texts on the subject. Halloween Night: Twenty-one Spooktacular Poems takes a holiday that frightens some youngsters and makes it silly, reassuring children that the goblins and ghosts are made larger by the imagination. Christmas Is Coming!, written with wife Debra Ghigna, describes how a family prepares for the favorite holiday, from readying decorations and buying gifts to packing all away again at the season's end. Shelley Townsend-Hudson in Booklist concluded that the verses and illustrations by Mary O'Keefe Young "reflect the holiday excitement."

Ghigna has also written A Fury of Motion: Poems for Boys, recognizing that boys sometimes have a difficult time enjoying verse. The spare rhymes in this volume aim at a young adult audience, covering such topics as sports, feelings, vacation activities, and even haircuts. In her School Library Journal review of the work, Donna Cardon noted that the poems would be appropriate for the intended age group as well as younger boys. Cardon praised A Fury of Motion as "the perfect book for boys who might not want to advertise the fact that they are reading poetry."

Animal Tracks: Wild Poems to Read Aloud searches through the animal kingdom for silly behavior and word-games that relate to familiar creatures. Some of the poems rely upon puns for their humor, while others describe the animals in question with light verse, easily read or memorized. Carolyn Phelan in Booklist liked the way Ghigna's poems "draw connections between animals and people or things," and Susan Scheps in School Library Journal called the title "charming," with "significant appeal."

In an interview with Tracy Hoffman in Word Museum online, Ghigna commented: "My ideas [for poems] come from everywhere! They pop into my head when I least expect them. Many poem and story ideas come to me while I am driving or mowing or taking a shower! I also do thirty to forty school visits each year. Sometimes ideas come to me while I'm around children, especially while I'm playing with my son and his friends. Ideas also come to me while looking out the window of my upstairs office. My son and I often spend time after school jumping on his trampoline. Sometimes after jumping we collapse on the trampoline and lie still looking up at the clouds and watching Mother Nature's movie screen. We always find something new to think about while looking toward the sky. Other ideas for poems and stories also come from memories of my childhood—which still hasn't ended!"

Ghigna once commented: "I hope my poems offer children the opportunity to explore and celebrate the joys of childhood and nature, and to see some of the wondrous ironies all around them. I also hope my humorous poems tickle the funny bone of their imaginations. I usually do not sit down to write a poem with a preconceived 'goal.' I like to enter each poem with a sense of wonderment and discovery. My favorite poems are those that contain little surprises that I did not know were there until I wrote them."

In his spare time, Ghigna enjoys collecting things. In addition to baseball cards, letter openers, and kaleidoscopes, he has a growing collection of geese that fans have sent him over the years in honor of "Father Goose." In an interview published on his Web site, he said of his geese miniatures: "At night when I turn out the lights and go downstairs they sneak around the room and visit each other. . . . Most of the time they are well-behaved."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, November 15, 1995, Julie Corsaro, review of Riddle Rhymes, p. 562; October 1, 1999, Hazel Rochman, review of Mice Are Nice, p. 364; September 1, 2000, Shelley Townsend-Hudson, review of Christmas Is Coming!, p. 132; May 1, 2004, Carolyn Phelan, review of Animal Tracks: Wild Poems to Read Aloud, p. 1560.

New York Times Book Review, April 7, 1996, Campbell Geeslin, review of Riddle Rhymes, p. 21.

Publishers Weekly, August 24, 1992, review of GoodCats, Bad Cats and Good Dogs, Bad Dogs, p. 78; September 12, 1994, review of Tickle Day: Poems from Father Goose, p. 91; September 27, 1999, review of Animal Trunk: Silly Poems to Read Aloud, p. 103; August 4, 2003, review of Halloween Nights: Twenty-one Spooktacular Poems, p. 78; March 29, 2004, "Earth Day," p. 65.

School Library Journal, September, 1994, Kathleen Whalin, review of Tickle Day, p. 208; November, 1995, Pamela K. Bomboy, review of Riddle Rhymes, p. 89; October, 2000, review of Christmas Is Coming!, p. 59; October, 2003, Donna Cardon, review of A Fury of Motion: Poems for Boys, p. 192; April, 2004, Susan Scheps, review of Animal Tracks, p. 132.

Writer's Digest, August, 1999, Brad Crawford, "Charles Ghigna: Our Baseball Coach Made Us Take Ballet," p. 6.