Charles Upton is a poet, author, and activist who has published numerous books on Sufism, Metaphysics, and other topics. He was born December 13, 1948 in San Francisco. After graduating from a Catholic High School, Upton involved himself in a number of antiwar demonstrations, and became acquainted with many influential figures of the Beat Generation, including Gary Snyder and Allen Ginsberg. He published his first two volumes of poetry at age 19.

Throughout the early 80’s, Upton became involved in the New Age movement for several years before being introduced to the study of traditional metaphysics. His increasing interest in traditional studies culminated in his initiation into a Sufi order near the end of the decade. He would later revisit his prior intellectual interests in the form of a Traditionalist critique of New Age spirituality, entitled The System of the Antichrist: Truth and Falsehood in Postmodernism and the New Age. Upton currently lives with his wife in Lexington, Kentucky.

Upton contributed the article "The Transcendent Unity of Religions and Spiritual Practice" to the forthcoming World Wisdom book, Crossing Religious Frontiers.