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
  • The Gun Goes Off and At First No One Knows Who’s Been Hit

    The Gun Goes Off and At First No One Knows Who’s Been Hit

    by Ian Baaske. “Someone’s died. I know this because of vague posts on Facebook. It can’t be anyone I know very well, or I’d have texts or phone calls or, well, something.” // continue reading

  • The Beautiful Ones

    The Beautiful Ones

    by Don Zancanella. “I grew up in a working-class suburb of Denver with a mother who was a functioning alcoholic and a father who sold office supplies and was frequently on the road. I dropped out of school at sixteen… // 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

  • Frontline

    Frontline

    by D. Liebhart. “When she was in her armchair, I brought her breakfast. She took a single bite then put down her spoon. “This is stupid,” she said. “This is only going to make it last longer.”” // continue reading

  • A Figment of Your Imagination

    A Figment of Your Imagination

    by Cynthia-Marie O’Brien. “I am a figment of your imagination. You may laugh skeptically, and I admit there is much that would seem to prove I am anything but…” // continue reading

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    by Pamela Schmid. “In the summer of ’76, my little sister and I were shipped off to Camp Rim Rock, set beside the leech-infested Capacon River in the woods of West Virginia.” // 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