Waking the Whispers

MJ and Ben Discuss the book-writing process and take a bit of an astral journey to interrogate one of her book's characters to force them to justify their exitstence (Follow along with MJ as she reads her short story: Part 1 ; Part 2 ) MJ Perkins is an author and a labor lawyer living in New York, writing about love, power, and Christmas. MJ is also co-owner of a recording studio in the Catskills...

Rachel shares her poem as featured in The Summerset Review , and we discuss formal poetry and her piece. About the Author/Reader/Performer: Rachel Aguirre is a Spanish teacher and associate editor for fws: journal of literature & art . Her work appears in Passages North, Bluestem, The Summerset Review, Puerto del Sol, Glass: A Journal of Poetry, and elsewhere. In her free time, she likes to co...

Micah reads an excerpt from Emily and Other Poems , a poetry collection forthcoming from By Common Consent press in October of 2026 About the Author/Reader/Performer: Micah Cozzens graduated with a PhD in Creative Writing from Ohio University in 2024. Her work has appeared in Irreantum , Segullah , LIT Magazine , Jersey Devil Review, Ampersand , and Time of Singing magazines. She was also a finali...

Amy Harrison juxtaposes the chaos of the world and the order inside of it, in the context of the art of Jackson Pollock About the Author/Reader/Performer: Amy Harrison is a high school English teacher. She began writing angsty poetry in high school in the early 2000s, but it became a serious passion during the height of the pandemic when she found comfort in the tapping out of haiku syllables. Her...

Elizabeth previews her memoir, coming out on June 22, and we discuss her story and the memoir-writing process. About the Author/Reader/Performer: Elizabeth Wilson is a memoir writer, coach, podcaster, and mom living in Colorado whose memoir, Lonely Girl, will be published June 22nd, 2026. Lonely Girl reminds us of some of our most core human needs: to be known, to be loved, and to belong—and how s...

A bonus episode! M. Anthony C. is back, and this time, he's the host! He talks to Ben about a poem Ben wrote. I hope it fills your weekend with whimsy. Head over to @ofthepoetsheart on Instagram If you are interested in being a featured author, reach out on Instagram @wakingthewhispers, or email me at bensbloomer@gmail.com Credits: Guest Host: M. Anthony C. Guest: Ben Bloomer Music by: Solomon Blo...

M. Anthony C. (Thew) shares a poem reflecting on an interaction with a role-reversing statue. About the guest: Thew, whose pen name is M. Anthony C., produces "of the poet's heart" podcast, sharing his own formal poetry every week in short, 7-minute episodes. He has an MFA in Creative Writing (poetry) and teaches creative writing classes at his local community college. He is a whimsical fellow who...

Lilly showcases the beautiful chaos of childlike creativity. About the Author/Reader/Performer: Lilly is a silly goose who likes Paw Patrol, Pepa Pig, and Spider-Man. She likes making bracelets and is a self-proclaimed bug expert. She starts kindergarten this year. If you are interested in being a featured author, reach out on Instagram @wakingthewhispers, or email me at bensbloomer@gmail.com Cred...

Louis Urbanowski shares a short story from an upcoming anthology: In a not too distant future Britain has changed. Everyone who’s anyone takes ’The Test’ to become someone. It does one simple thing; determine their talent. Talent means employment, status, benefits and most importantly tax contribution. The government classifies different grades of talents and allows hobbyists to exist on the fring...

Stephanie Glass shares reflections about growth, creativity, a love of words, and human connections, as well as the title poem of her new chapbook, the light can be something you love all on your own . About the Author/Reader/Performer: Stephanie Glass (she/her, they/them) is a poet, activist, and educator living in rural Nebraska with her partner, Dylan, and son, Milo. Glass' work has been publis...

Suzie de-deifies mountain deities and climbs a mountain of their own. About the Author/Reader/Performer: Suzette Rivers is a writer, filmmaker, cosplayer, model, role-player and poet born and raised in Utah, fighting social norms and injustices through art. "I am a Projector. The Supporting Class. The Bard. The Giver of Inspiration. The Campaigner. This is how I make my way in the world." Head ove...

* Rae navigates family relationship, religious deconstruction, and international aid work. About the Author/Reader/Performer: Rae Reed is a trans masculine social worker, writer and storyteller who has applied his value of improving cross cultural&nb...

This is just an announcement that "Season 1" is now over and I'll be taking some time off from publishing in order to prep the episodes for Season 2, which I'll announce in a few weeks.

Laura Van Vorst reads Troublemaker and discusses her poetry and her debut collection of the same name. About the Author/Reader/Performer: Laura Van Vorst is a poet, singer-songwriter and psychologist, originally from Northern Ireland and now living in Sydney, Australia. Her debut poetry collection, Troublemaker , is available now. You can find Laura on Instagram, Threads, and TikTok @poems.by.laur...

Ben shares poetry about the story he deeply wants to still have and subtly expresses his insecurity about his ability to network while asking for additional readers. If you are interested in being a featured author, reach out on Instagram @wakingthewhispers, or email me at bensbloomer@gmail.com Credits: Guest: Ben Bloomer Music by: Solomon Bloomer Recorded, produced, edited by: Ben Bloomer Logo an...

Devon Love discusses her creative process and shares a piece in the works about the perceived flirtations from a barista. About the Author/Reader/Performer: Devon Love is a fashion designer turned award-winning soul musician from Philadelphia in the midst of writing her first album. Devon Love released her EP last year and continues to grow all aspects of her creative pursuits. You can find Devon...

Lisa Marie Farver shares two poems: One of love of self and one of love of David Attenborough. Lisa and Ben discuss creativity. Surprise, surprise. About the Author/Reader/Performer: Lisa Marie Farver is a poet and storyteller whose work has been featured at the Uptown Poetry Slam, You’re Being Ridiculous, Beast Women, That’s Poetic! and more. Lisa was a finalist in the 2025 Gwendolyn Brooks Open...

Michael Bane shares a story from 2020 about a search for family and the significance of seemingly insignificant decisions. Notably absent: a review of The Old Guard. About the Author/Reader/Performer: Michael is an attorney, a dad, and a formerly closeted nerd. He once ran marathons, but has since made peace with himself. If you are interested in being a featured author, reach out on Instagram @wa...

Paige Allphin reads a letter to her younger self and discusses her upcoming book: You Are Not Alone: A Book of Prose and Poems About the Author/Reader/Performer: Paige is 37 and lives in West Virginia with her husband, 3 cats, and a puppy. When she's not writing poetry and lyrics, she loves to cosplay for conventions. You can get in touch with Paige on Facebook or Instagram @prodigaldaughter15 * I...

Ben reads poems about his inner experience of ADHD. * If you are interested in being a featured author, discussing your creative process, or discussing the work of another author on the show and how they inspired you, reach out on Instagram @wakingthewhispers, or email me at bensbloomer@gmail.com Credits: Music by: Solomon Bloomer Recorded, produced, edited by: Ben Bloomer Logo and art by: Ben Blo...

Solomon Bloomer sings songs about dreams, depression, and the pain of depression's effect on dreams and creativity. Solomon discusses his creative process and Ben finds an even deeper appreciation of Solomon's creative depth. About the Author: Solomon is a musician, song-writer, story-teller, and expresser of the deeply connected webs that make up his imagination and self. He's hilarious, generous...

Tommy-Jay sings about the complexities of living in the midst of ICE raids in his beloved city. About the Author: Tommy-Jay Whiting is a Chicago-based singer/songwriter in the ilk of other folk Americana acts such as Jim Croce, Daniel Johnston, Dave van Ronk, and Nick Drake. When not daydreaming and falling in love with the world one person at a time through music and poetry, he’s probably in a li...

Ben reads a couple Christmas themed writings because he ran out of time to publish a proper episode. Happy holidays. If you want to be featured, reach out to @wakingthewhispers on instagram

Mercedes reads her poem about child abuse and the failures of churches to protect children Trigger warning: Child sexual abuse About the Author: Mercedes is Ben's older sister and loves her family and her crows. She is beautiful and delightful always there for her siblings. About the Thumbnail: Mercedes and Ben being adorable kids, worth protecting If you are interested in being a featured author,...

Ben talks too long about attachment theory and reads poems about his divorce. Cheers. Curious about attachment theory? Check out Heidi Priebe 's channel on youtube About the Author: Ben is a kind of silly human who recently discovered that he likes poetry and art. He also has a podcast , if you can believe it. I'd list his hobbies, but he has ADHD, so he has a new hobby every week or two. If you a...