Charles is a poet, retired litigator and visual artist.  A third generation Californian, he attended Stanford University and Hastings College of the Law in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Since 1980 he’s lived in Connecticut where he practiced trial law and was honored with membership in Best Lawyers in America.  He began writing poems and painting during a long, mid-life illness. Since then his poems have been published in many magazines and journals, including Garrison Keillor's Writer's Almanac, and his paintings have been widely exhibited.  Charles’ book Blue for Oceans was awarded the 2011 PEN New England Award as the best book of poetry published that year by a New England author.  In 2019 he received an MFA in Fine Arts from Warren Wilson College.  Charles’ son Ross is an author and columnist for the New York Times.  His daughter Jeanne is a film producer at Made Up Stories, a production company in Los Angeles.  He lives in a small town in Connecticut and is married to the artist, Julie Leff.