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

  • Issue 51
  • Issue 50
  • Issue 49

  • all
  • news
  • events
  • interviews

— Everything BLR —

— See what’s new with us at BLR —

— Come join us, online, or in person —

— Read interviews with BLR authors, editors, readers, and more —

— A new set of great reads with each click —

  • fiction
  • nonfiction
  • poetry
  • 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

  • The Little Things

    The Little Things

    by Joan Malerba-Foran. “I’ve never been what you would call a good sleeper. I make it through the night about twice a week, and those nights are never consecutive.” // continue reading

  • The Liver Nephew

    The Liver Nephew

    by Susan Ito. “And so Parker didn’t say no, but he didn’t say yes. He had conversations with his uncle’s physicians, both the primary-care doctor and the hotshot guy in charge of the transplant team, who spoke rapidly and repeated… // continue reading

  • Tethered to the Body

    Tethered to the Body

    by Jane Kokernak. “There is only illness, and there is no way to make that sexy. After several years as a medical device wearer, I know.” // continue reading

  • The Empath

    The Empath

    by Stephanie C. Smith. “New Orleans—my home from the start. I fit better on streets that sag, where live oaks lay low, where rain falls in sheets all afternoon…” // continue reading

  • Lost Vessels

    Lost Vessels

    by Jehanne Dubrow. “Memory is not kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing damaged ceramics with a mixture of lacquer and powdered gold. There are ugly seams. There is no glittering dust poured into the fractures between sentences.” // continue reading

  • Eye Examined

    Eye Examined

    by Cortney Davis. “In the darkened room, vision dims. / The doctor leans close, looks eye to eye; / his light invades my pupil’s rim.” // continue reading

  • Serratia Marcescens  

    Serratia Marcescens  

    by Peter Sordillo. “That night, I dreamed of a city older than knowledge, / Dreamed of Serratia, climbed up from the soil, / Drawn over the fields like a long dress…” // continue reading

  • The Shed

    The Shed

    by Elana Bell. “Each time something went missing— / the photo album of my first / year, postcard from a forgotten friend…” // 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