Charles Coe (1952-2025) was the author of three books of poetry: All Sins Forgiven: Poems for my Parents, Picnic on the Moon, and Memento Mori, all published by Leapfrog Press. He was also author of Spin Cycles, a novella published by Gemma Media. Charles was selected as a Boston Literary Light by the Associates of the Boston Public Library and was a former artist fellow at the St. Botolph Club in Boston. He was an adjunct professor of English at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island and Bay Path University in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, teaching in both MFW writing programs until his passing.
A short film by filmmaker Roberto Mighty, “Peach Pie,” was based on his poem, “Fortress” has been shown at film festivals nationwide. Another short film, “Charles Coe: Man of Letters,” also by Roberto Mighty was named “Outstanding Documentary Short” at the 2020 Roxbury Film Festival.
Charles was a 2017 artist-in-residence for the city of Boston, where he created an oral history project focused on residents of Mission Hill. He was poetry editor of “Multiplicity,” an online literary journal published by Bay Path University in Longmeadow, Mass, and associate editor of “About Place,” an online literary journal published by Black Earth Institute.
He served on the Steering Committee of the Boston Chapter of The National Writers Union, a labor union for free-lance writers and editors. Charles also helped establish the Convergence Ensemble and served on its Executive Committee.
