25 years of creative writing on health, illness, and healing

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— Everything BLR

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— A new set of great reads with each click —

  • fiction
  • nonfiction
  • poetry
  • Bird Season

    Bird Season

    by Daniela Garvue. “After he brushed his teeth, he raised his wings in the bathroom to examine his smoky gray underfeathers.” // continue reading

  • Failed Treaties

    Failed Treaties

    by Sahar Mustafah. “Danny used to open the door and let me into his apartment downstairs at seven a.m. every Saturday. My mother would already be up, stooped over the kitchen table in our upstairs apartment, wearing her pale-blue nightdress, spreading tangy lebanah… // continue reading

  • In Lieu of a Better Plan

    In Lieu of a Better Plan

    by Elizabeth Downs. “One otherwise pleasant evening at the asylum, I—a known murderess and recently declared Vice President of Ward G—escape through a partially opened, third-story window.” // continue reading

  • Askew

    Askew

    by Esther K. Willison. “It gets hold of me, I wrote less than a year after her death. Somehow  it creeps up.” // continue reading

  • Displacement: Illness & Health

    Displacement: Illness & Health

    by Barron Lerner. “To be ill is to be displaced—displaced from health, displaced from one’s former self, displaced from the community of the well.” // continue reading

  • A Nigerian Attempts Therapy

    A Nigerian Attempts Therapy

    by Ucheoma Onwutuebe. “I am a Nigerian woman, plagued by Nigerian womanly problems. When I moved to America for graduate school last summer, I believed this new country would shield me from those nagging afflictions.” // continue reading

As featured on PBS News Hour’s CANVAS Series

Watch PBS News Hour’s Jeffrey Brown report on BLR’s 25th Anniversary, featuring BLR Editor Danielle Ofri and past BLR writers reflecting on why poetry, storytelling, and writing matter, especially in moments of illness.

Whiting Award Winner

BLR was awarded a Whiting Literary Magazine Prize for “excellence in publishing, advocacy for writers, and a unique contribution to the strength of the overall literary community.”

Praise & Recognition