By Cansu Waldron

Raymond Giuffrida is a multidisciplinary artist, screenwriter, songwriter, and founder of Compass Charlatan Publishing, a creative hub where he writes screenplays, books, and songs while also producing digital art. His visual works, often crafted from photographs and digital paint programs, come to life during road trips or periods of introspection at home. For him, creativity is both grounding and exploratory — a way to stay balanced while questioning how art shapes (or escapes) our personal biases.

Compass Charlatan, his long-standing artistic moniker, reflects that same mix of direction and rebellion. Whether through his poetry anthology The Hypothetical Poet – My Life in Lyrics So Far (2006–2024) or his vivid digital compositions, Raymond’s work embraces imperfection, curiosity, and mood.

We asked Raymond about his creative journey, the meaning behind Compass Charlatan, and how his multidisciplinary practice continues to evolve.

You wear many hats — screenwriter, songwriter, poet, visual artist. How do these creative worlds overlap for you?

I really feel lately that the creative process is essential to keeping my head balanced and focused. Whether I'm creating visual arts, writing screenplays, or illustrating children's books, I am primarily concerned with merely forming some cool stuff and staying away from my own bubble-wrapped biases. Is all art propaganda or am I able to create atmospheres that lead the audience away from their own personal, status-quo mentalities? I don't really have an answer to that but I do love the entire creative process (although it can be painful at times) and am satisfied to just let my thoughts and moods flow out onto the page whether through screenwriting, digital paintings or music. Sometimes I sound bratty and angry or insane or just nonsensical but if the work is good I am happy to expose my many personalities to the public.

What first inspired you to start Compass Charlatan Publishing, and what does that name mean to you?

Compass Charlatan became my artistic moniker about a decade ago or longer, as I don't really remember the details anymore. It's a name that I stayed with through my more manic periods of creation between 2020 and 2024 but I also like other names as well. For example, when I write punk songs I prefer the band name Wild Serpico, as I imagine playing in a high-energy trio with Kim Gordon and Carrie Brownstein.

The publishing/production idea came much later in my life (likely just a few years ago) when I decided that my ultimate goal would be to create a company consisting of a book department, music department and film department. Of course this is a scope of business that is highly out of my league (as I cannot even seem to make a dollar from any of my endeavors) but I like to think in terms of big goals and this is about as lofty as I can imagine for myself in the future. Plus, I could help other struggling artists that cannot seem to catch a break either.

You’ve been writing and creating for decades. How has your creative process evolved since you first started?

In terms of songwriting, the main element that clicked was when I had a few near-death experiences in 2020 during COVID and I then decided to just go with the flow no matter how crazy and traumatic my life had become. I don't fully understand where the muse leads me most of the time and I'm sure that some of these spirits just want to shame and/or make me look even more of an idiot than I naturally am already. Going with the flow is still how I operate as an artist though and has allowed me to create over 450 songs over the last twenty years or so, which is really the side of the business that I am most passionate about exploring in solitude if I can construct my own home studio. Will any of these songs ever hit the airwaves or will they only reside within my head? I can't say but I know the path to get here had to be for a reason, and hopefully it's a free journey of peace and love that allows me to bring my creations to life in the near future without worrying about public perception or critical receptions.

Can you tell us about your experience creating digital art while fasting?

I experimented with fasting around 2020 and still like to do so at times for better mental clarity and to escape from my material world. My life over the last decade has been pretty isolated and simple and I also kind of went all Daniel Plainview in terms of the focus I spent on trying to create a DIY publishing/production company. It's not a pipe dream for me anymore because writing my anthology of songs a few years ago was the hardest thing I ever accomplished, even though nobody has likely read any of it up to now. But... back to fasting. I usually lean towards visual arts when refraining from food and water for up to a week, and I have numerous digital painting projects available on Amazon that I crafted during my fasts. Maybe this sacrifice opens up new avenues of creation in my already eccentric brain? Or maybe I just need something to take my mind off of food and art became that outlet? Either way, I believe I will continue to fast at times, for the purpose of art or to improve my mental and physical health, as I just did this about a week ago for two days, when I felt like I was living too much in the haze.

What role does technology play in how you express emotion or tell stories visually?

I have a love/hate relationship with tech because I often speak of social media like it's mainly a social cancer, but maybe this is just because I have not been able to utilize it for any financial gains as of yet. Many of my screenplays also center on the role of tech and the troll element that is apparent when surfing the web. I used to get more emotional about what I now term as "digital witchcraft," but now I am just going with the flow because weird stuff is bound to happen whether in real life or within the digital universe.

Your poetry anthology The Hypothetical Poet spans nearly twenty years. How does it reflect your life’s different chapters?

Like I said, writing my anthology of lyrics was painfully productive, as I not only had to organize decades of old music files but write lyrics for hundreds of songs as well. My usual creative process involves jamming on my acoustic for a few hours whenever I get the urge and then hopefully creating concept albums when I think I have enough interesting music. The lyrics always take a back seat and I usually don't even try to write any until months or years later. When I began organizing the songs for my 54 concept albums, I realized I would have some trouble writing lyrics or poetry for themes from decades ago, but I just penned whatever words came to me first and edited them over and over and over until they seemed intelligible.

I really don't like calling myself a poet because that is too weird and vague of a term and I don't think you can make money in the realm of poetry (at least I cannot figure out how to at this point). My preference is to just use the term songwriter because that is more understandable to a wide audience and takes some pressure off of the artist to portray themselves as some deep person that (in my case) I really really really am not. Writing songs and stories is just what I do, whether I make money or not. But do I wish I could make a living off my art so I can survive in this world as a forty-three-year-old man? In the words of Stone Cold - Hell Yeah!!!

What’s next for you creatively — any projects you’re particularly excited to explore?

I got evicted from my apartment a few weeks ago and couldn't even make it two nights sleeping on park benches. It was a dark time for me and I kind of had a complete breakdown, physically and mentally since I really thought my life was over, but I am trying to turn those tough moments into a positive by utilizing my "just go with the flow" mentality. My vision was to head to the southwest to transform a shipping container into a music studio and live as green as possible, but maybe my path isn't meant to go there just yet. Anyway, I bring this up to help others who are experiencing some tough streaks, as I have never been more appreciative about food, water and shelter than I am now. Music (and art in general) might be up there with those bare necessities, but not knowing where to eat or drink is a feeling I truly don't know how to deal with (and I will never comprehend how homeless people can survive on the street for extended periods, which is why I am going to devote my time and energy to volunteer work in the coming weeks).

I don't think this story is really answering your question, but to continue with this stream, my parents took me in after a long time not connecting and supplied me with food, water and a room, and the opportunity to start a new chapter. While living in an over 55 community right now might seem a bit weird, I am hopeful that I can become independent again and get an income somewhere, whether it involves art or just cleaning gutters at this point. Anyway... since moving in with the 'rents I still was able to write 18 more songs and explore funk music, which is a genre that I never tried composing before. So I guess this is my thanks to my parents and for the inspiration and help I have received from police officers, hospital staff, and Red Cross workers, as I don't think I really deserved any of their help but hopefully I can pay them all back someday.

What is a profound childhood memory?

The best memory I have as a kid is really just going to the library in Pennsauken, NJ and reading Where the Sidewalk Ends and other fun poetry and adventure books. I think I even got in the paper once because I had a funny dog puppet that I called "Cat," and for some reason they found that fit to print due to the idiotic cuteness I guess. This really shows that every community needs a well-funded library and arts department, as I don't think I would have gotten through the darker parts of my life if it wasn't for the escape of a good book or learning how to play guitar or watching a captivating documentary.

What else fills your time when you’re not creating art?

I kind of get scatterbrained when I am not working on something, but right now I am just devoting my time to praying/meditating (believe it or not) and getting my body healthier with exercise. This is not usually the case, but this is where I am being led internally at the moment. When I pray now, (which I haven't really done for decades), I begin by saying that I have love for Muslims, Jews, Christians, Atheists, Communists, Satanists, Buddhists, Russians, Ukrainians, Palestinians, Israelis, etc... so I don't feel like I am only expressing peace and love for one tribe or religion. Lately I say the rosary about four times a day because I don't have much else to do to keep my thoughts in order and pure (plus it's the only prayer I really remember) and it has kept my mind calm and balanced.

I also love all Philadelphia sports teams, whether they win or lose, as that competitive spirit is a good way to get some frustrations out while also having some fun watching professional athletes do their thing. If I wasn't devoted to art I would have wanted to be a NBA player as dunking must be the coolest thing to ever do in front of 30,000 people.