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
  • Periscope

    Periscope

    by Anne Elliott. “Caroline listened to the bellows under her bed, drawing and blowing air. The room asserted itself, always, its rhythmic hiss and pop of machinery, the anti-lullaby of metal cocoons, rows of them, each containing a complicated person.” // continue reading

  • Sisters of Mercy

    Sisters of Mercy

    by Joan Leegant. “The surgeon came into the O.R. chewing gum.  This was how we knew there’d be a problem. God have mercy, we mutter under our breaths…” // continue reading

  • Pale Unhappy Dog

    Pale Unhappy Dog

    by Angie Sijun Lou. “Li has never seen a kidney, but he imagines a flesh-colored ball the size of a fist. He wonders how he will transport it on his motorcycle, whether he will seal it inside a plastic bag… // continue reading

  • Mending Petals

    Mending Petals

    by Mary Arguelles. “I don’t even know why I want a tattoo. Maybe to commemorate the missing breast. Maybe to re-define beauty. Maybe just to cover the scar. All I know is something about the space screams canvas.” // 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

  • Sisters

    Sisters

    by Sheila Kohler. “For a moment my sister seemed to hesitate, standing in the ghostly light of the moon, as though she were considering going back.” // 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

  • Power and Light

    Power and Light

    by Paula Sergi. “She’d toss a quilt made from our outgrown skirts / over the faded couch and lie there, / holding the ache, rocking it to sleep…” // continue reading

  • Mood Swings

    Mood Swings

    by Erica Funkhouser. “Sadness calls for inadequate outerwear. / Exhilaration for ultra violet. / All feelings are unhealthy.” // 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