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

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— A new set of great reads with each click —

  • fiction
  • nonfiction
  • poetry
  • What They Will Say

    What They Will Say

    by Fabienne Josaphat. “Marielle’s sisters and cousins were all born with judgment in their mouths, always throwing stones at women who stepped out of line or into the fire.” // continue reading

  • Still Life 

    Still Life 

    by Marpessa Dawn Outlaw. “From the moment my friend George stepped from his loft to his death at the bottom of the building’s elevator shaft, there’s been one thing I can say I’ve known for sure—that love is dangerously overrated.” // continue reading

  • Beenie at Fourteen

    Beenie at Fourteen

    by Margaret Buckhanon. “While I wait for him to pull the trigger, I drive to the grocery store. Pick up milk, chewing gum, sponges. Drop off the dry cleaning: the dress I splattered with a spaghetti stain at Shana and… // continue reading

  • Untitled post 19754

    by Sunny Teich. “My sister and I are resting in our cabin on the Botel. We got excited when we saw the reviews on TripAdvisor. People did not mince words: it was a hotel inside of a boat, and the… // continue reading

  • Still Life with Sisters

    Still Life with Sisters

    by Kat Moore. “At the Guggenheim in June of 2018, on what would become my penultimate visit to my sister, Lanie and I walk the curve of the building until we find the luminous face of Candy Darling.” // continue reading

  • You Imagine Death

    You Imagine Death

    by Justine Payton. “Just five months ago, you hiked to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, whitewater rafted down the Nile, climbed volcanoes in Rwanda. Now, from the neck down, your body is unresponsive.” // continue reading

  • Irrigation

    Irrigation

    by Martha Serpas. “we steal water when we make rain, the way / everything I have is from somewhere else, / from someone else, what I am…” // continue reading

  • “Silence = Death”  

    “Silence = Death”  

    by Rafael Campo. “His worn-out T-shirt, black as mourning, black / as countless deaths, surprises me— it screams…” // continue reading

  • The Castle

    The Castle

    by Rebecca Ellis. “The way I remember it is different / from the way I dream it. / The memory, over years, / becomes rounded at the edges.” // 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