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

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— Everything BLR

— See what’s new with us at 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
  • Last Stop

    Last Stop

    by Daniel Pope. “Outside the train station a man lies on the concrete brick walkway, his head resting in a pool of blood. His skull is buzzed and the blood leaks brightly out of a wound above his left temple.… // continue reading

  • Parricide 

    Parricide 

    by Steve Fayer. “My father killed his mother, confessed it to me in his last year as the black dog of depression chased him toward his own grave.” // continue reading

  • Stray Gods

    Stray Gods

    by Shastri Akella. “When they play chase after, they aren’t Madhu and Boy. They’re the mythic boy gods, Krishna and Balarama, and Ajay, one of the many demons that the brothers chase and vanquish.” // continue reading

  • Obligation

    Obligation

    by Leopold Szor. “No wonder that now, on the streets of Lvov, one could see smiles on the faces looking out the windows. Theirs was a joy of expectation. The hour of revenge was coming! The Jews of Lvov already… // continue reading

  • Semantics

    Semantics

    by Rachel Hall. “We tell our kids to give it their best shot before their big exams—calculus, say, or French—or before the championship game on a crisp autumn night, the stands filled with fans in the school colors, the stadium… // continue reading

  • 71 Grams

    71 Grams

    by Nicki Porter. “At home, you unload each item with a quiet smile and feel a pinching like a tiny crab below your belly. You imagine a poppy seed nestling in, burrowing, seeking shelter within you, preparing to stay.” // continue reading

  • Shipped

    Shipped

    by John Kay. “At the end, my father took four, / long, calm breaths and died.” // continue reading

  • Moon-face

    Moon-face

    by Celeste Lipkes. “The doctor clicks his pen and says it’s just a phase. / My fat moon-face comes second to the x-rays // he pulls from a folder labeled with my room number.” // continue reading

  • The Cradles of St. Kilda

    The Cradles of St. Kilda

    by Catharine Clark-Sayles. “From 1850 to 1890 forty-one of fifty-six infants born on St. Kilda in the Hebrides died of tetanus caused by the custom of anointing the umbilical stump with oil stored in the dried stomach of a goose.” // 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