“Carter swings effortlessly from dizzy yearning to quirky playfulness to diamond-sharp psychological insight.”
— Bren Booth-Jones, author of Open Letters to the Sky
Charles K. Carter (they/he) is a queer, disabled poet and amateur artist from Iowa, now living in Oregon. They share their home with their artist husband and their spoiled pets. They enjoy film, yoga, and live music. Melissa Etheridge is their ultimate obsession. Carter has an MFA in writing from Lindenwood University. Their work often explores grief, trauma, identity, and environmentalism. Their poems have been featured in a variety of literary journals and anthologies. Charles K. Carter has received a Best of the Net nomination and has been named a finalist in several poetry contests. They are the author of four collections of poems, including Follow This Blood to Find a Dead Thing (Fernwood Press, 2026), The God of Loneliness (Rebel Satori Press, 2024), If the World Were a Quilt (Kelsay Books, 2023), and Read My Lips (David Robert Books, 2022). Carter has penned seven chapbooks, including No More Half-Love (Ethel, forthcoming), To Flash & Flutter (Bottlecap Press, 2026), and Artificial Sweetness (Finishing Line Press, 2023). They created and hosted three seasons of the video podcast series #SundaySweetChats, which can be found on YouTube. Expected to be Carter’s final collection, Heartbreaks & Human Destruction: New & Selected, will be released in 2027 from Seed Bed Press.
“…a similar level of intimacy found in Clifton’s and Limón’s poems.”
— Shareen K. Murayama, author of Housebreak
“Carter walks the line between monk and magician.”
— Bryan Borland, author of DIG, founding publisher of Sibling Rivalry Press
Selected Poems
- Anti-Heroin Chic / April 2020 / “Werewolf Mask” “The Bones of a Dancer” “Chasing Sunshine” “There are Two Types of Gay Characters in Blockbuster Movies”
- Broadkill Review / April 2022 / Two poems [“Tongue” “Time Bending”]
- Dodging the Rain / June 2020 / Lost to the Sea [“When I Dream of the Ocean” “Tribe” “Father”]
- Emerge Literary Journal / September 2022 / “Uncoiled” “Flying in Dreamland” “Interloper“
- Fevers of the Mind / July 2023 / Poetry Showcase [“Omens of 99E” “The Tinman” “Marked” “Revamp” “Resilience”]
- Fifth Wheel Press / May 2023 / “On Creation”
- Impossible Archetype / August 2024 / “Birds on a Wire”
- Ink Pantry / January 2021 / Poetry Drawer [“French Fries” “Read My Lips” “Shower Drain Lovers” “Searching” “Gepetto”]
- Limp Wrist / July 2022 / 2 Poems [“Survival of the Fittest” “Baptism”]
- One Art / April 2022 / “Omen”
- One Art / February 2023 / Two Poems [“Barter” “In Response to Alex (Pencil & Oil Pastels, 2007)”]
- One Art / August 2024 / Two Poems [“The Impact of Gravity” “The Gift”]
- Sage Cigarettes / October 2022 / “Howl”
- Snowflake Magazine / August 2024 / “The Leftovers”
- Stone Pacific / September 2023 / “Christening” “Cloudy Fragments (Notes App After Hookup on May 3, 2022)” “Anything But”
- Tilted House / February 2023 / “Quarantine Lover”
- Under a Warm Green Linden / June 2023 / “When She Shines”
“…lyrical vulnerability…”
— Emanuel Xavier, author of Love(ly) Child
