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

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— Everything BLR —

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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
  • Revolutions in Time

    Revolutions in Time

    by Elizabeth Lee. “…she is still young and doesn’t know postpartum depression, sleepless nights shredded by my wails, white suburban mothers’ pursed red lips as she picks me up from school in her laundromat clothes.” // continue reading

  • You’re Home Now

    You’re Home Now

    by Rachel Rose. “Earl was always chasing pussy when he was alive, so it was no big surprise when he came back as a weiner dog.” // continue reading

  • Housekeeping

    Housekeeping

    by Ryan Pollard. “I was coasting along like every other rudderless late adolescent…My particular drift happened to be tied to a disability I had yet to face, and it would be a while still before I finally found my footing.” // continue reading

  • The Consolation of Anatomy

    The Consolation of Anatomy

    by Kurt Magsamen. “Cadavers don’t look much like anatomy drawings. They don’t smell much like anatomy books. The drawings are clean, ordered, the striations of muscle cells combed out tight and smooth, like the strings of a harp…” // continue reading

  • Solitude

    Solitude

    by Joan Kip. “I am back with the ‘who’ of me, the self I left behind through the seasons of my years. The ultimate prize is this reconciliation with the original, unvarnished self.” // continue reading

  • The Wills of Twenty Strangers

    The Wills of Twenty Strangers

    by Anna Mirer. “It is eleven o’clock at night, and I am stomping around with half a skull in my hand.” // 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