Born in San Francisco, Charles Upton grew up in Marin County, California. He attended Catholic schools through high school. He attended UC Davis for only four days.
In San Francisco, he met the poet Lew Welch, who became his mentor. Although much younger than most of the Beat poets, Upton's first two volumes of poetry were also published by City Lights. It was associated with many of the earlier Beat poets.
After his first two volumes of poems were published, Upton became involved with the Sanctuary Movement for Central American refugees. He produced and distributed a video, Through the Needle’s Eye, containing testimonies of refugees.
In the late 1980s he was briefly involved with the "magical populism" of the New Age peace movement. He studied group dreamwork and dream networking.
In 1988 he joined a traditional Sufi order. Under his wife's influence, Upton became interested in the metaphysics of the Traditionalist or Perennialist School (the followers of Rene Guenon, Ananda Coomaraswamy and Frithjof Schuon). He continues to be partly identified with this school.
Panic Grass (epic poem) City Lights Books, 1968; ASIN B001FSYIPE
Time Raid, (poems) Four Seasons Foundation, 1968; ASIN B0006BVUOS
Doorkeeper of the Heart, Versions of Rabi’a (poems), Threshold Books, 1988; Pir Press, 2004; ISBN 1879708205
Hammering Hot Iron: A Spiritual Critique of Bly’s Iron John (metaphysics and social criticism), Quest Books, 1993; Sophia Perennis 2005; ISBN 1597310433
The System of Antichrist: Truth and Falsehood in Postmodernism and the New Age (metaphysics and social criticism), Sophia Perennis, 2001; ISBN 0900588306
Legends of the End: Prophesies of the End Times, Antichrist, Apocalypse, and Messiah from Eight Religious Traditions, Sophia Perennis, 2005; ISBN 1597310255
Cracks in the Great Wall: UFOs and Traditional Metaphysics, Sophia Perennis, 2005; ISBN 1597310247
The Virtues of the Prophet: A Young Muslim's Guide to the Greater Jihad, the War Against the Passions, Sophia Perennis, 2006; ISBN 1597310514
Knowings, in the Arts of Metaphysics, Cosmology and the Spiritual Path, Sophia Perennis, 2008; ISBN 9781597310741
Reflections of Tasawwuf: Essays, Poems and Narrative on Sufi Themes, Sophia Perennis, 2008; ISBN 9781597310789
Who Is the Earth? How to See God in the Natural World, Sophia Perennis, 2008; ISBN 9781597310796
Folk Metaphysics: Mystical Meanings in Traditional Folk Songs and Spirituals, Sophia Perennis, 2008 ISBN 9781597310772
Shadow of the Rose: The Esoterism of the Romantic Tradition (with his wife Jennifer Doane Upton), Sophia Perennis, 2008; ISBN 9781597310796
Findings in Metaphysic, Path and Lore, With a Response to the Traditionalist/Perennialist School, Sophia Perennis, 2010; ISBN 9781597310963
The Wars of Love (epic poem, in press)
Editor
False Dawn: The United Religions Initiative, Globalism and the Quest for a One-World Religion, Lee Penn Charles Upton (ed); Sophia Perennis, 2005; ISBN 159731000X
Anthologies
Mark in Time, Glide Publications, 1971; ISBN 0912078162
