Dr. Clarence Charles is an author, poet, musician, educator, and lifelong storyteller whose creative journey has spanned more than five decades and four continents. Born in Trinidad, his experiences traveling throughout the Caribbean, North and South America, Europe, and Africa—and living in St. Maarten, Curaçao, Puerto Rico, the United States, and the Netherlands—have shaped a unique artistic voice rooted in culture, memory, and the shared experiences of humanity.

His literary work extends well beyond poetry. Dr. Charles is the author of several short stories, two collections of original songs—Under the Moonlight by the Sea and Long Time Ago—the ten-volume humor series The Best Jokes Evaaah, and several academic publications. These include Music Theory Made Easy, a comprehensive guide to music theory; Assimilating Caribbean Carnivalesque Culture, commissioned and published by the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador; and his doctoral dissertation, Calypso Music – Identity and Social Influence: The Trinidadian Experience, which is archived at Leiden University in the Netherlands.

A passionate educator, Dr. Charles earned degrees from the University of Miami, Florida International University, and Leiden University. Throughout his distinguished academic career, he lectured at colleges and universities across the Caribbean, the United States, and the Netherlands before retiring from the Miami-Dade County Public School System.

Music has always remained at the heart of his life. An accomplished guitarist and steel pan musician, Dr. Charles has recorded and performed internationally with numerous bands and artists, sharing the rich musical traditions of the Caribbean with audiences around the world.

Although retired from the classroom, his creative journey continues. He remains active as a performer, songwriter, author, and poet, finding inspiration in the people, places, and experiences that have shaped his remarkable life.

His latest collection, Distance and Time, brings together poems written from 1972 onward—a deeply personal anthology reflecting on love, longing, hope, memory, and the timeless moments that connect us all