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
  • Admonition

    Admonition

    by Benjamin Kessler. “They’ve formed a barricade…Mountain goats stand shoulder to shoulder across the narrow two-lane. They appear unbothered by the idling of my car’s engine, content to simply stand and chew dry grass sprouted between asphalt cracks.” // continue reading

  • Responsibility

    Responsibility

    by Alok A. Khorana. “Vivek prided himself on bringing order to chaos. Lowly intern that he was, Vivek was the face of Ward 10.” // continue reading

  • 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

  • A Nigerian Attempts Therapy

    A Nigerian Attempts Therapy

    by Ucheoma Onwutuebe. “I am a Nigerian woman, plagued by Nigerian womanly problems. When I moved to America for graduate school last summer, I believed this new country would shield me from those nagging afflictions.” // continue reading

  • Okahandja Lessons

    Okahandja Lessons

    by Emily Rapp. “Welcome to Namibia! The battered wooden sign stood at the edge of a highway that was strewn with piles of twisted, smoking metal.” // continue reading

  • Cancer, So Far

    Cancer, So Far

    by Elizabeth Crowell. “Last summer, the moths clung to the shingles of our house. They fluttered right past us, mottled wings snapping, through our open door.” // continue reading

  • Getting Over a Cold

    Getting Over a Cold

    by Margaret Kogan. “First open the windows and empty the garbage. / Next start the laundry, lights and darks. / Strip the bed, wash sheets, pillowcases, / mattress and quilt covers, mats and towels.” // continue reading

  • House of Endurance

    House of Endurance

    by Haolun Xu. “She called me to pick her up, but by the time I drove to the block, / three men in total pandemic suits were walking her out.” // continue reading

  • When the Self Goes, It Goes

    When the Self Goes, It Goes

    by Jean LeBlanc. “into the folds of the purple iris which, at dawn, / becomes the hub for spider silk, filament after / filament…” // 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