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

  • Issue 51
  • Issue 50
  • Issue 49

  • all
  • news
  • events
  • interviews

— Everything BLR —

— See what’s new with us at BLR —

— Come join us, online, or in person —

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

— A new set of great reads with each click —

  • fiction
  • nonfiction
  • poetry
  • 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

  • The Hardest Parts

    The Hardest Parts

    by Fernando Álvarez-Perez. “Victor has evaded physical activity with crafty excuses his whole life, but he decides that boxing could be an acceptable diversion. He doesn’t have to hit anyone. There’s something thrilling about hammering away at the heavy bag… // continue reading

  • Free Love

    Free Love

    by Allegra Hyde. “At Free Oaks, I perched in the laps of transient poets and tugged at the robes of bilingual maharishi, collecting nuggets of enlightenment like stones.” // continue reading

  • Blood/Shed

    Blood/Shed

    by Alanna Weissman. “You know what they say—never trust anything that can bleed for a week without dying.” // 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

  • Every Day Anew

    Every Day Anew

    by Pia Jee-Hae Baur. “I dislike switching doctors, primarily because every time I have to recount my medical history, I have to decide how much I should lie.” // 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