Burning Bright
Books & Literature
About
Passager’s weekly podcast, presenting poetry and prose by writers over 50. Hosted by Jon Shorr.
Episodes
- Picks by Passager Interns
Celebrating our spring semester interns with poems by Gilbert Arzola, Fran Markover, Ruth Goring, and Wilderness Sarchild. Support the show
- Morgenthau Prize Winner
A three-poem preview of Proof of Life by Kathy O’Fallon, winner of the 2026 Henry Morgenthau III First Book Poetry Prize. Support the show
- Vietnam War
Commemorating the anniversary of the capture of Saigon, with excerpts from Jeffrey Minch, Michael Miller, and Gary Lark. Support the show
- Earth Day
Poems that take place outside, from Maura High, Beverly Osband, Sam Schmidt, and Jean Connor. Support the show
- Play Ball!
Celebrating the start of baseball season with work from Bea Epstein, Barry Nemett, John Kimmey, and Jennifer Wallace. Support the show
- Siblings
Celebrating National Siblings Day with pieces from Perie Longo, Helen Vo-Dinh, and Gail DiMaggio. Support the show
- Organ Recital
Pieces on aging body parts by Harry Bauld, Michael Brodin, and Katherine Briccetti. Support the show
- Issue 80
A sneak peek into the new issue with Richard Jacobs, Hania Qutub, Mary Alice Dixon, and Robbie Gamble. Support the show
- Sylvia Beach
An appreciation of literature and writers with poems by Mark Brooks, Judy Ireland, Florence Weinberger, and Bonnie Naradzay. Support the show
- Peace Corps & Volunteering
Writing on the desire to be of service, from Judith Chalmer, Diana Woodcock, and Andrew Brown. Support the show
- John Keats
Commemorating John Keats with odes by John Philip Drury, Myra Shapiro, and Mark Elber. Support the show
- Space
To the moon and beyond with poets Colleen Gibbons, Mark MacAllister, and Ruth Mota. Support the show
- Periodic Table
Elemental tangents, with poems by Jim Nawrocki, Kay Cash-Smith, and Susan Haroutunian Cunningham. Support the show
- Black History Month
Poems and excerpts on learning about Black history, by Kevin Nance, Elizabeth Esris, Kathleen O’Toole, and Melvin Douglas Williams. Support the show
- The Holocaust
Recognizing International Holocaust Remembrance Day with pieces from Rachel Heimowitz, Claire Kahane, Fran Markover, and Rosanne Singer. Support the show
- Ben Franklin and Philadelphia
Poems from Philadelphian writers Joy Gorson, Beth Brown Preston, and Bill Buskirk. Support the show
- It’s Cold!
Celebrating Robert Service’s Birthday, with poems by Rebecca Leet, John J. Hohn, and Pamela Wynn. Support the show
- New Year's Hope
Poems about small hopes, from Kathleen Hellen, Becky Sakellariou, Paula Sergi, and Martin Steyer. Support the show
- Christmas 2025
Pieces about Christmas and New Year's, from Nancy Smith Harris, Patric Pepper, and Liz Abrams-Morley. Support the show
- The 2025 Passager Poet
Four sonnets from 2025 Poetry Contest winner Angie Minkin. Support the show
- Morgenthau Prize
Poems from Henry Morgenthau III and past Morgenthau Prize winners Dennis Lee, Mark Elber, and Winifred Hughes. Support the show
- The Evils of Drink
Featuring excerpts and poems about drunkenness from Andrew Brown, Terri Steel, and Rick Rohdenburg. Support the show
- The Bill of Rights
The right of peaceful assembly, with excerpts and poems from Esther Cantu, Judy Callarman, and Tillie Friedenberg. Support the show
- World Kindness Day
Recognizing the kindness of others, with poems from David Bergman, Henry Morgenthau III, and Rhett Watts. Support the show
- Women in Medicine
Featuring pieces from Dr. Denisha Naidoo, Dr. Beverly Greenspan, and Dr. Michelle Morouse. Support the show
- College
Writing about College from Joyce Abell, Terry Miller, and Winifred Hughes. Support the show
- Words for Webster
Celebrating Noah Webster with poems about words from Jennifer Pratt-Walter, Sherri Stepakoff, Sarah Yerkes, and Hal Grinberg. Support the show
- Indigenous Peoples' Day
Poems about Indian Schools from Red Hawk and Joel Savishinsky, and a painting from Alma Roberts. Support the show
- World Teachers’ Day
Tributes to teachers from Roy Cheng Tsung and Maureen Murphy Woodcock. Support the show
- October is for Oceans
Recognizing October is for Oceans month, with pieces from Passager’s Pandemic Diaries series from Mark Tochen, Johan Fremling, Isabel Learza, and Suzanne Iuppa. Support the show
- National Cooking Day
Poems about food from Wendy Hoffman, Christine Higgins, and Fran Markover. Support the show
- A Peek Inside the New Issue
Selections from the forthcoming 2025 Poetry Contest issue, featuring poems by Philip Stern, Buffy Shutt, Susan Miller, and Byron Hoot. Support the show
- National Grandparents’ Day
Honoring the memory of Marian McQuade, with poems and a letter by Richard Levine, Alice Duggan, and Sue Marcus. Support the show
- An Interview with Susan Baur
A special episode of Burning Bright , featuring an interview with Susan Baur, founder of Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage (OLAUG) and author of "In the Company of Turtles." Support the show
- Nature
Observing the beauty of nature, featuring four poems by Catherine Young, Deborah Casillas, Robert Tremmel and J. I. Kleinberg. Support the show
- International Kissing Day
Celebrating International Kissing Day with romantic poems by John Davis, Clarinda Harriss and Terry S. Johnson. Support the show
- Outgoing Interview with Editor Kendra Kopelke
A special episode of Burning Bright , featuring an outgoing interview with founding editor Kendra Kopelke. Support the show
- Summertime
Welcoming summer's arrival, featuring poems by Mary Jo Balestreri, Margaret Hoehn, Kirby Olson and Sarah Yerkes. Support the show
- Father’s Day
Commemorating family history, featuring work by Dan Shiffman, Roberta Schine and Nicholas Samaras, plus excerpts from an interview with Roy Cheng Tsung. Support the show
- The Pandemic Diaries
Anxiety and writing, featuring diary entries by Judith Beth Cohen, Kurt Schmidt and Cindy Cramer. Support the show
- Walt Whitman
Celebrating the American poet with long-lined poems by Matt Hohner, Lisa Couturier and Mark Elber. Support the show
- Water: An Ode
Harbor and danger, featuring four poems about water by Winifred Hughes, Sandy Longley, B. Morrison and Colin McKim. Support the show
- Florence Nightingale and Nursing
Three poet-nurses, featuring work by Marilee Pritchard, Laura Secord and Mary Hennessy. Support the show
- Freud & the Mental Health Trades
Turtles, poems and other coping mechanisms, featuring work by Susan Baur and Kelly DuMar. Support the show
- Audubon & Birds
Birds and guidance, featuring work by Anne Frydman, Gordon Grilz and Sandy Longley. Support the show
- David Bergman: Interview
A special episode of Burning Bright , featuring an interview with David Bergman, author of Plain Sight . Support the show
- Spring Holidays
Questions for God, featuring poems by James Littwin, Anastasia Vassos, Maryhelen Snyder and Wilderness Sarchild. Support the show
- Fountain of Youth
Three poems on aging, featuring centenarians Henry Morgenthau III, Sarah Yerkes and Jean Connor. Support the show
- Marriage
Routines or rites? Featuring poems by Kathy Mangan, David J. S. Pickering and Ann McGovern. Support the show
- Arianna's Picks
The pieces that impacted Passager intern Arianna D'Italia, featuring work by Maureen Murphy Woodcock and Nancy Jean Hill. Support the show