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

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— Read interviews with BLR authors, editors, readers, and more —

— A new set of great reads with each click —

  • fiction
  • nonfiction
  • poetry
  • Examining Rooms

    Examining Rooms

    by Midge Raymond. “These future doctors need to make a personal connection, to take the time to discuss next steps, to listen . . . Expressing the symptoms of pain is one thing—judging people on their performances is another.” // continue reading

  • ALMOST THEIDES

    ALMOST THEIDES

    by Manini Nayar. “Ammu has never known anyone who died. Not a grandparent or a rickety neighbor or anyone struck by what Ammu’s tightlipped mother, Nina, referred to (after six months of her own successful chemotherapy) as the C word.… // continue reading

  • 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

  • IN THE MARGIN

    IN THE MARGIN

    by Ha Jin. “For many years I refused to be an exile, claiming that I am an immigrant, someone who chose to move to a new country voluntarily.” // continue reading

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    by Pamela Schmid. “In the summer of ’76, my little sister and I were shipped off to Camp Rim Rock, set beside the leech-infested Capacon River in the woods of West Virginia.” // continue reading

  • Drawing Blood

    Drawing Blood

    by Laura Johnsrude. “I spent a lot of time thinking about blood during my training years—hoping I could get enough of it, wondering which vein would yield the best supply of it, wishing the patients had more of it, calling… // continue reading

  • Brighter When Wet

    Brighter When Wet

    by Kai Coggin. “I remove the day, strip myself / of the expectations and the pain, / the way my soul strives and my flesh endures…” // continue reading

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    by Rachael Trotter. “The air is iron-rich like good potting soil / here, where the sun won’t ever reach, only / the exam light beam boring down / on the life raft of a gurney, the patient / barely afloat… // continue reading

  • Surrender, A Prayer for My Mother

    Surrender, A Prayer for My Mother

    by Lindsay Wilson. “Listen, dark one, as the sun sets, / the boxelder beetles come down / from the west wall to fly back…” // 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