Fire imagery abounds in music, literature, art, and scripture. It thrives at the center of ceremony and ritual around the world. We associate fire with sentiments of passion, anger, transformation, purity, and even evil itself.

Some say our fascination with fire is owed to the fact that, of all creatures, we alone possess the ability to create and control it.

They say at its center, fire burns hottest. So stand back and listen close, for this hour, we journey straight to its core. It's one heck of a hot topic, and we're guessing it'll spark your interest.

GUESTS:
Steve Pyne - Author of Moved by Fire: History's Promethean Moment and Fire: A Brief History
Eric Rabkin - Professor emeritus of English language and literature and of art & design at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Gary Snyder - Poet
Christian Tryon - Assistant professor of anthropology at Harvard
Charles Wright - The 50th Poet Laureate of the United States

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Greg Hill, Jonathan McNicol, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired January 14, 2015.

Fire imagery abounds in music, literature, art, and scripture. It thrives at the center of ceremony and ritual around the world. We associate fire with sentiments of passion, anger, transformation, purity, and even evil itself.
Some say our fascination with fire is owed to the fact that, of all creatures, we alone possess the ability to create and control it.
They say at its center, fire burns hottest. So stand back and listen close, for this hour, we journey straight to its core. It's one heck of a hot topic, and we're guessing it'll spark your interest.
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li>Steve Pyne&nbsp;- Author of&nbsp;Moved by Fire: History's Promethean Moment&nbsp;and&nbsp;Fire: A Brief History</li>
<li>Eric Rabkin&nbsp;- Professor emeritus of English language and literature and of art &amp; design at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor</li>
<li>Gary Snyder&nbsp;- Poet</li>
<li>Christian Tryon&nbsp;- Assistant professor of anthropology at Harvard</li>
<li>Charles Wright&nbsp;- The 50th Poet Laureate of the United States</li>
</ul>
Join the conversation on&nbsp;<a href="https://facebook.com/ColinMcShow">Facebook</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/wnprcolin">Twitter</a>.
Colin McEnroe, Greg Hill, Jonathan McNicol, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired January 14, 2015.

The Colin McEnroe Show is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called The Nose for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.

<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/the-colin-mcenroe-show/about">The Colin McEnroe Show</a> is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/tags/the-nose">The Nose</a> for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.

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