Editors’ Picks
Passager editors discuss pieces that left lasting impressions, featuring Virginia B. Anderson, Richard Frank Gillum and Kathy O’Fallon.
Roget’s Thesaurus
Language and expression, featuring poems by Stephen Cribari, Carolyn Moore, Laura D. Weeks and Keli Osborn.
Birthday Reflections
Where we’ve been and where we’re going, featuring four poems by Jean Nordhaus, David Galloway, Naomi Thiers and Jaque Reed. 7 minutes TRANSCRIPT Hi! Happy New Year! Happy return to normal life after the excitement of the holidays. In addition … Continued
The Village of New Ghosts
A peek inside Passager’s newest title, featuring poems by Morgenthau Poetry Prize Winner Winifred Hughes.5 minutes TRANSCRIPT Passager recently published its newest book, The Village of New Ghosts by poet Winifred Hughes. On this episode of Burning Bright, three of … Continued
Exploding Whale Day
Commemorating an unusual anniversary with three poems by Oregonians Catherine McGuire, Henry Hughes and Kelly Sievers.7 minutes TRANSCRIPT World Whale Day is celebrated every year on the third Sunday in February. But this is November, not February, so that’s not … Continued
Veterans Day
The personal impacts of war, featuring poems by Judith Slater, Winifred Hughes, James McGrath and Michael Miller.
“I learned to nourish myself”
Conditions, cures and coping, featuring poems by Liz Abrams-Morley, Mary Jo Balistreri and Winifred Hughes.
The Immigrant Experience
Heritage and homecomings, featuring work by Regina Dilgen, Georgia Gojmerac-Leiner and Parul Shah.8 minutes TRANSCRIPT In 1885, a French steamer arrived in New York with the crates full of steel, bronze, and other prefabricated materials. Workers spent the next year … Continued
Chopin, Music and Dance
Rapture and romance, featuring work by Leon Arden, Nora Percival, Susanna Rich and Allen C. West.7 minutes TRANSCRIPT Frederic Chopin is best known as a composer of piano music. But apparently, he was a great dancer, too! He was a … Continued
The Great Chicago Fire
Art and divinity, featuring Chicago poets Ruth Goring, Patricia McMillen and Ruth Hoberman.
Meet the 2024 Passager Poet
A special episode featuring an interview with 2024 Passager Poetry Contest winner Joyce Schmid.13 minutes TRANSCRIPT She was in a poetry workshop with Robert Lowell. And it was very hard to get into that workshop. People were hanging out the … Continued
The 2024 Poetry Contest
Selections from the brand new issue of Passager, featuring honorable mentions by Susan Zimmerman, Judith Bowles, Bonnie Jacobson, John Biggs and Mark Fryburg.
Law & Writing
From attorneys into authors, featuring work by John Glowney, Freddie Lee Wilson & Craig Hukill, and Margaret Flaherty.
The Empowered Reader
From young readers to older writers, featuring work by Bonnie Naradzay, Danuta Kosk-Kosicka and Michael Pikna.
Cape Cod
Nature and mortality, featuring poets Wilderness Sarchild, Kathy Shorr, Fran Markover and Sandy Longley live at the Wellfleet Public Library.
Moon Walk
Adventure and anthropomorphism featuring poems by Ann Howells, Ann Rayburn and Beth Paulson.
The Rosetta Stone
Language barriers and gateways, featuring work by Lee Haas Norris, Leah Johnson, Diana Anhalt, and a translation by Mary Fung and David Lunde.
Kissing
Lovers old and new, featuring work by Susan Cohen, Catherine McGeehan, Penelope Scambly Schott and Victoria Korth.
Joke Day
The silly and the serious, featuring pieces by Anne Anthony, Susan Morse and Fran Markover.
Gay Pride
Love and resilience, featuring poems by Mary Cronin, Karen Hones and Patti Ruskey.
Father’s Day
Dads here and elsewhere, featuring work by Angelo Giambra, Joyce Burd Hicks, and Susan Jo Russell.
Anne Frank and the Triple Crown
Separations and speculations, featuring work by Joseph Levy (translated by Gloria DeVidas Kirchheimer) and Peter Nash.
Daughters & Granddaughters
Play and parenting, featuring work by Juliet Emerson, Rosalie Senara Petrouske and Donald Crane.
Memorial Day
War and chance, featuring pieces by David Bergman, Diane Oatley, Gary Stein and J.Philip Hysell.
The Ordinary
And anything but, featuring poems by Sandy Longley, Linda Goodman Robiner and Fran Markover.
Language Quirks
Figures of speech, featuring poems by Elizabeth Klise, Andy Macera and Conrad Hillberry.
The Athlete
Physical and personal wrestlings, featuring poems by Doug Arnold, John McKernan, Susan Okie and David Sloan.
Shakespeare’s Birthday
Celebrating with sonnets by Cheryl A. Corey and Lana Ayers, plus a peek inside Winifred Hughes’ 2024 Henry Morgenthau Poetry prize-winning manuscript.
Key Bridge
Resistance and resilience, featuring work by Roy Cheng Tsung, John Glowney and Penelope Scambly Schott.
Palindromes
Timely wordplay, with poems by Ronald Vossler, Shelley Smithson and Helen Wickes.
Peek Inside the New Issue
Working through it, with pieces from Ellie Anderson, Etta Brandt, and Nikia Leopold.
Bell and the Telephone
Longing for connection, with work from Joseph Hann, Dale Tushman and Denisha Naidoo.
Music Therapy
The power of melodies, memories and reveries, with poems by Olive Kohl Giese, Kathleen O’Toole, Diana La Com and Allen C. West.
Remember the Alamo
Mangoes, messages and unsolicited advice, with work from Texan writers Parul Shah, Viviane Vives and Janet McCann.
Valentine’s Day
Young love at any age, with work by Diane La Com, Sherman Pearl and Nancy Davidoff Kelton.
Lincoln’s Birthday
Unlikely links to Lincoln, with work by Joel Savishinsky, Betty Orr and Christine Lincoln.
Poe and His Bird
Ravens and other metaphors, with poems by Jean Chapman Snow, Kathy Mangan and Jean Connor.
Holocaust Remembrance Day
Descendants of the Holocaust, featuring pieces by Fedora Horowitz, Fran Markover and Wilderness Sarchild.
Adventure & Hope
Spirited stories for your spirits, with pieces by Margarita Meyendorff, Leslie Gabel-Brett and Russell Rowland.
Mary Azrael Turns 80!
Celebrating the milestone of this Passager co-editor with an interview. Featuring poems by Mary Azrael and Jean Connor.
Look! Up in the Sky!
Atmospheric insights, with poems by pilot Ann Darr and Carol Peck.
The 2024 Morgenthau Prize
Passager’s first book prize for a writer 70 or older, with poems by its previous winners Dennis H. Lee and Mark Elber, and judge David Keplinger.
Thanksgiving
Finding gratitude, with poems by Ida Marie Beck, Terry S. Johnson, Marya Smith and Barbara Draper.
A More Positive Spin
Threads of kindness, with poems by Elizabeth Kerlikowske, James K. Zimmerman and Larnell Custis Butler.
Veterans Day
Post-war poems by Vietnam War veterans Eric Forsbergh and Wayne Karlin.
Climate Change
This planet and our time on it, with poems by Robert Lowes, Constance Norgren and Margaret Lloyd.
Appalachian Trail
From Maine to Georgia, and other realms, with poems by Penny Altman, James Wyshynski and Memye Curtis Tucker.
Indigenous People’s Day
Pride and preservation, with poems by Catherine Allen and Andrew Brown.
Burning Bright’s 150th Episode!
Celebrating this milestone with an excerpt from Dorothy Pula Strohecker (Issue 1) and poems by Sharron Singleton and Nan Fry (Issue 50).
The 2023 Poetry Contest Issue
Featuring honorable mentions from the new issue, with poems by Joanne Holdridge, Liz Ahl, Laird Harrison and Nancy Lael Braun.
A Time to Reflect
Shana tova, with wayfinding poems by Liz Abrams-Morley, Amy White and Jean Connor.
Pets
In memory of Gracie Allen, the Passager Poodle, with poems by Ann Kolakowski, Peter Nash, Gene Grabiner and Gary McClain Gannaway.
Back to School
Core memories, with pieces by Ellen Hirning Schmidt, Maureen Murphy Woodcock, Maryhelen Snyder.
Juneteenth
This episode celebrates Juneteenth, with pieces by Mary Carter Smith, Lucille Clifton and Larnell Custis Butler.
First Anniversary
A look back to Passager’s beginnings back in 1990, with poems by former US Poet Laureate Josephine Jacobsen and Judson Jerome.
Shakespeare’s Birthday
Celebrating Shakespeare’s birthday with four pieces about writing, by Sarah Yerkes, Ruth Moose, Elizabeth Kerlikowske and James McGrath.
Poetry Contest
Passager’s annual poetry contest closes April 15. On this episode, poems from past Poetry Contest issues.
Mother’s Day
Four poems paying tribute to our mothers, by Wilderness Sarchild, Mary Lou Rife, Diana Morley and Ilene Millman.
Immigrants: What We Carry With Us
On this episode, the old country and the new country, with pieces by Diana Anhalt, Zeina Azzam and Judith Krummeck.
Guys and Sports
A look at sports and fans, with pieces by Bill Smoot, Gilbert Arzola and Kathy Mangan.
Memorial Day
Views of becoming a soldier, living through war and remembering with pieces by James P. Hanley, Tom Buchanan and Pantea Amin Tofangchi.
The 17-Year Locusts
Ok, not locusts — cicadas! If you’re in much of the eastern part of the United States these days, you’ve probably had the mixed blessing of dodging them, stepping on them, listening to them, and sticking their shells to your nose or eyebrows. Poems by Sophia Rivkin, Mary Azrael and Barbara Crooker.
Father’s Day
Four pieces about fathers and food, by Ruth Holzer, Greg Moglia, Shirley J. Brewer and Roy Cheng Tsung.
Women’s History Month
Three poems for Women’s History Month, by MaryAnn Miller and Ellen Schmidt (2018 Passager Poetry Contest) and Mary Stone Hanley (2017 Passager Poetry Contest).
More from the New Issue!
Two more pieces from the new Passager Open Issue, from Marc Morgenstern and Anne Sheldon.
Poetic Forms
Examples of three specific poetic forms, with poems by Philip Allen (2021 Open Issue), Sarah Yerkes (Days of Blue and Flame) and Clarinda Harriss (2018 Open Issue).
A Peek at the New Issue
Two pieces from the forthcoming issue of Passager, from Elaine Logan and Michael Salcman.
Chinese New Year
An excerpt from Beyond Lowu Bridge by Roy Cheng Tsung to commemorate the Chinese New Year.
Groundhog Day
Three poems about animals that generally stay out of sight during the winter, by Lisa Bellamy, Judith Bernal and Stuart Chalfant.
The Quarantine 15
Three poems about food, by Miles Coon (2010 Passager Poetry Contest), Peter Harris (2012 Passager Open Issue) and Shirley J. Brewer (A Little Breast Music).
New Orleans Bound
Excerpts of an essay by Virginia writer Joyce Abell, from her memoir Prickly Roses, published by Passager Books in 2017. Meet Abell in a video interview.
It Pleases Me No End
Three poems to celebrate the season, from Steve Matanle (Nightbook), Sarah Yerkes (Days of Blue and Flame), and Jean L. Connor (A Cartography of Peace).
Trying to Come Home
Excerpt of a memoir by Chinese-American writer Roy Cheng Tsung, from his new book Ox Horn Bend, just released from Passager Books.
Hunger & Faith
Two poems by poets Kathy Mangan (Taproot, 2019) and Harry Bauld (The Uncorrected Eye, 2018).
Thanksgiving
Excerpts from Illinois writer Julie McCracken’s memoir “Lord, Please Let Me Live Until Strawberry Season,” published in Passager in 1992.
Battered Wife
Excerpts from Iowa writer Pam Kress-Dunn’s memoir “Love and Fury in a Plastic Box,” from the 2019 Passager Open Issue.
Lizzie the Coyote
Excerpt of an essay by Oaxaca writer Robert Joe Stout called “Laughing at the Moon,” published in the 2017 Open Issue of Passager.
Back to School
Two poems by New York poet Harry Bauld from his book, The Uncorrected Eye, and Indiana poet Gilbert Arzola, from his book, Prayers of Little Consequence.
Growing Up in Traumatic Times
A poem by 2020 Passager Poet Liz Abrams-Morley, from the 2020 Passager Poetry Contest issue.
Before you write from the heart
Three poems from New Jersey poet Dennis H. Lee, 2020 winner of the Henry Morgenthau III First Book Poetry Prize for his collection, Tidal Wave.
Remembering Life in Mexico
Two poems from Georgia poet Diana Anhalt, from her book Because There Is No Return, published by Passager Books in 2015.
Auld Lang Syne
A look back on the last year at Passager and a peek ahead, with poems by Mark Elber, Sandy Longley, Christine O’Leary Rockey, Joyce S. Brown and Jo Miles.
An Interpretation of Dreams
Excerpts of a short story by Baltimore writer Stephen Dixon from the 2016 Passager Open Issue.
The Approximate Weight of My Responsibility
Two poems by Cape Cod poet Wilderness Sarchild, from her book Old Women Talking, published by Passager Books in 2017.
The Last Act
Two poems by D.C. poet Henry Morgenthau III from his book, A Sunday in Purgatory, published by Passager Books in 2016.
Holding On
Excerpts of a memoir by Massachusetts writer Lynette Benton from the 2020 Passager Open Issue.
Persecution
Excerpt of a memoir by Chinese-American writer Roy Cheng Tsung, from his book Beyond Lowu Bridge, published by Passager Books in 2014.
Lyric Compression
Two poems by Baltimore poets Joseph Harrison (2020 Passager Open Issue) and Fay Ashby (2019 Passager Poetry Contest).
Eye Openers
Excerpt of a memoir by New York writer Nancy Davidoff Kelton, from her book Finding Mr. Rightstein, published by Passager Books in 2016.
Vive la Marilyns!
Poems by Marilyn Churchill, Marilyn Wallner, and Marilyn McConnell, in memory of Marilyn Shorr.
Bastille Day
Retrospect, with poems by Susan Lilley and Claudia Van Gerven, plus a peek inside the new issue with thoughts from contest winner George Drew.
The Redeemed
A poem by Baltimore poet Kathy Mangan, from her book Taproot, published by Passager Books in 2019.
After Vacationing in Maine
Two poems by Vermont poet Jean L. Connor, from her book A Cartography of Peace, published by Passager Books in 2005.
The Chugalug King Goes Down the Road
Excerpts from Baltimore writer Andrew Brown, from his book The Chugalug King & Other Stories, published by Passager Books in 2016. Meet Brown in a video interview.
Pygmalion and Galatea
A poem by Washington, DC poet Sarah Yerkes, from her book Days of Blue and Flame, published by Passager Books in 2019. Meet Yerkes in a video interview.
In the Fields
A poem by Indiana writer Gilbert Arzola, from his book Prayers of Little Consequence, published by Passager Books in 2020. Meet Arzola in a short video interview.
How I Got to College
Excerpt of a memoir by Virginia writer Joyce Abell, from her book Prickly Roses, published by Passager Books in 2017. Meet Abell in a video interview.
Pie Maker Ellen Emily Matthew
Two poems by Baltimore artist and poet Larnell Custis Butler, from her book Improvise in the Amen Corner, published by Passager Books in 2007.
4th of July
Two very different takes on fireworks, with pieces by Jack Ritter and Victoria Wyatt.
2021 Contest Issue
Four poems from the new poetry contest issue, by Marie Fochios, Gail Newman, Colleen Anderson and Jan Mordenski.
2021 Passager Poet
Highlighting the 2021 Passager Poet Gail DiMaggio with two of her contest-winning “mettas.”
July 4
This holiday’s other implications, with pieces by D.R. James and Roy Cheng Tsung, plus a peek inside the new issue with a poem by Keli Osborn.
To My Fellow Poets
Excerpts of an essay from Baltimore poet Tillie Friedenberg, who wrote in 2008 about joining the protest movement in the 60s, published in the Martin Luther King Jr. special release issue of Passager Journal.
Give Me Liberace or Give Me Death
Two poems by Baltimore poet Shirley Brewer, from her book A Little Breast Music, published by Passager Books in 2008.
Classical Surprises
Detention, indigestion, and other muses with pieces by Leon Arden and Dennis H. Lee.
You Can Count On It
Three pieces about numbers from Wilderness Sarchild, Christine O’Connor and Marie Anderson.
Poems or Girdles?
Two form poems, by Antoinette Kennedy and Lynn Dizard.
Puttin’ It All on Hold
Summer break, with poems by Jennifer Wallace and Judith Arcana.
Things in Trees
Apples, birds and wishes, with poems by Jean Connor, Fran Markover, Pat Anthony and Jennifer Wallace.
Veterans Day
The people that survived, with pieces by James McGrath and Mark G. Carter.
Allusions to Shakespeare
Inspired reading, with pieces by Leon Arden and Shirley J. Brewer, plus a peek inside the new issue with a poem by Charles Kesler.
Thanksgiving
Cooking and expectation, with pieces by Maureen Hossbacher, Jim Taylor and Larnell Custis Butler.
Kindergarten at 60
Back to school, with an excerpt by Dian Seidel.
Grandfather’s Mandolin
Ancestors traveling their paths to the future, with excerpts from Grandfather’s Mandolin by Fran Markover.
The Solitude of Memory
Empathy and experience, with poems about love, war and blindness, from The Solitude of Memory by Michael Miller.
Ox Horn Bend
Fathers and long-awaited answers, with excerpts from Ox Horn Bend by Roy Cheng Tsung.
The Poets of Ingleside
Celebrating new passions in old age, with poems by the Poetry Salon of Ingleside at Rock Creek.
In Memory of Jean Connor
A tribute episode to the remarkable poet.
Three Sonnets and a Pantoum
Well and lesser-known forms, with poems by Lee Warner Brooks, Elinor Horwitz, Norma Chapman and Bonnie Naradzay.
Winter Animals
The Groundhog, the Mouse and the Crow, with pieces by Laura Wisniewski, Alene Bricken and Jean Connor.
Updating Religion
Reformations, with poems by Curt Sloan, Jesse Arthur Stone and Joyce La Mers.
Memorial Day
Honoring our late loved ones, with poems by Mark Elber and Fran Markover.
Mothernest
Four poems in the spirit of mother-ness, introducing a new collection by Sandy Longley.
Mothers
Mother memories, with poems by Gilbert Arzola, Wilderness Sarchild, Wendy Elizabeth Ingersoll and Daniel Carpenter.
May Day
Contemplating what helps us bloom, with poems by Kathy Mangan, Sarah Yerkes and Catherine DeNunzio.
Music
It’s the soundtrack to our lives and the rhythmic telling of our destinies with poems by Diana la Com, Ruth Moon Kempher and Harry Bauld.
Words
The things we use to say what we need and how we feel, with poems by Tony Howarth, Sophia Rivkin and Tim Gillespie.
Birth and Rebirth
Enjoying all that came before, what is here now, and what will be with poems by John Glowney, Sharron Singleton, Maryhelen Snyder and Henry Morgenthau.
Marching into April
Witness the blooming of April’s expectations and memories with poems by Rochelle Jewel Shapiro, Jim Zafris, Mike Jurkovic and April Lindner.
The Trauma Issue
Taking a deeper look into our invisible, innermost scars, with poems by Tonia Dixon, Kelly Madigan and Diane Fusting.
The Ides of March
Diving into the month that has transfixed history, with works by Julie Cadwallader Staub, Julia Carter Aldrich and Julie LeMay.
Poetic Forms
Appreciating the form and flow of words, with poems by former Wells Burgess, John Ridland, Nancy Carlson and Nan Fry.
Valentine’s Day
Embracing the sweet, and sometimes bitter, temptation of love this season, with poems by Michael Schneider, John Davis and Rachel Michaud.
Poems in Protest
Remembering those lost to racial injustice while hoping for a brighter tomorrow, with poems by Art Cohen, Robert Nelson and Ted Lockhart.
The Morgenthau Prize
Recalling memories and faces, with works from Henry Morgenthau, Dennis Lee and Mark Elber.
Two Reptiles and a Mammal
Memories of childhood and the curious experience of our changing bodies, with works by Nancy Davidoff Kelton, Susan Okie and Wendy Taylor Carlisle.
Another Year Older
Another year, another lesson with poems by Maxine Gibson, Doris Watts and Melanie Dubose.
Holiday Light
Late December, lights shining in the darkness, with inspiring words from Andrew Brown and Gilbert Arzola.
The Night Sky
On flight and nightly trips, with poems by Scott Ward, Arne Weingart and Paula Colangelo.
Sagittarius
The season of the centaur, with pieces by Joyce Abell, Alan C. West, Nancy Davidoff Kelton and Dennis H. Lee.
Veterans Day
The people that survived, with pieces by Charles West, Freddie Lee Wilson, Craig Hukill, David McAleavey and Michael Miller.
More from the New Issue
More honorable mentions from the new issue of Passager, Lenett Partlow-Myrick, Len Freeman, Bob Shapero and Jerome Gagnon.
Headstone by Mark Elber
Introducing the Mark Elber’s prize-winning book, featuring selected poems from the just-released Headstone.
2022 Passager Poet David Bergman
Four poems from 2022 Passager Poetry Contest Winner David Bergman.
The Diaries
Reflections from Judith Beth Cohen, Maureen Woodcock, Gloria Kropf, Lynn M. Knapp, Rich Bates, Wendy Watson, Martha Graham-Waldon, Amy Cotler, Mary Alice Dixon, Ellen Reichman, Tricia Knoll, Pia Wood, Susan Milord and Dayana Moreno.
The 2022 Contest Issue
Honorable mentions from the new issue of Passager, with poems by Joyce Schmid, Julie Pratt and James McGrath.
National Ampersand Day
Honoring the ampersand and the bridges between ideas, with poems by Marilyn Wallner, Anne Myles, Patricia Zylius and Sarah Yerkes.
Summer
Sunny and seasonal, with poems by Pat Hale, Dorothy Riehm, John O’Dell and Ed Minus.
The Centenarians
On this 100th episode of Burning Bright, poems by 100-year-olds Jean Connor, Henry Morgenthau III and Sarah Yerkes.
Living on the Cusp
Growing pains, with excerpts by Sarah Dabney and Timothy Reilly.
The 1950s and 60s
Mid-century childhoods, with pieces by Judy Lee Green, Marianne Patty and Rosanne Singer.
Memorial Day
Three women of WWII, with poems by Diane Dees, E. Laura Golberg and Shirley Brewer.
Mother’s Day
Memorable mothers, with pieces by Maureen Hossbacher, Margaret Osburn, Nancy Davidoff Kelton and Chris Carbaugh.
Baseball
Opening Day, with pieces by Harry Bauld, John Kimmey and Jennifer Wallace.
6 minutes
Coupla Old Men
Meet Bert and Callum, with pieces by Kathy Shorr and Kirk Wareham.
Spring Miracles
Birth, new beginnings and miracles, with poems by Beth Paulson, Liz Abrams-Morley and Wendy Hoffman.
Women’s History Month
Celebrating women, with pieces by Wilderness Sarchild, Gilbert Arzola and Joyce Abell.6 minutes TRANSCRIPT At the beginning of her book Old Women Talking, Wilderness Sarchild says, “In our culture, old age often indicates invisibility, but the old women I know … Continued
Pandemic Retrospective
Two years of COVID, with excerpts from Juliet Wilson, Orman Day, Patrick Hansel, Elaine Lambert and Liz Abrams-Morley.7 minutes TRANSCRIPT Two years ago, in March, 2020, the World Health Organization declared Covid a pandemic, and President Trump declared a national … Continued
Near Death Experience
Life and death and curiosity, with poems by Joyce La Mers, Maureen Murphy Woodcock, Pat Hurley and Fran Markover.
The New Issue!
A peek inside the 2022 Open Issue, with excerpts from Rhett Watts, Jayne Brown and Patrick J. Murphy.
Presidents’ Day
Presidential namesakes, with poems by Rossme Taylor, Tom Buchanan and Leah Johnson.
Valentine’s Day
Love and romance, with poems by Denise Rue, C. W. Emerson, Marge Piercy, Chuck Madansky and Dorothy Weil.
Valentine’s Day
Three poems about love, from Sheila Golburgh Johnson, Virginia Anderson and Ebby Malmgren.
A Conversation with Henry Morgenthau III
The first time we Passagerians visited Henry Morgenthau at his home at Ingleside Retirement Community in Washington, DC this past June, we were touched by his hospitality; he even had lunch prepared for us when we arrived. We were awed … Continued