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

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— Everything BLR

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— A new set of great reads with each click —

  • fiction
  • nonfiction
  • poetry
  • Assisted Living

    Assisted Living

    by Louise Aronson. “Mary’s not at dinner and no one knows why. Roy is limping but at least he’s up walking again after last month when he fell by the mailboxes and dislocated his new knee.” // continue reading

  • Plazoleta

    Plazoleta

    by Eric Stener Carlson. “The ants climbed up the front of Macedonio’s sweater, circling the buttons.  They arrived at Macedonio’s chest, interested in a yogurt stain. ” // 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

  • The Tag

    The Tag

    by Elizabeth Crowell. “Dr. H’s earnestness was more apparent the second time we met with him, when we weren’t hearing the bad news for the first time. In a full-lit room not dimmed for ultrasounds, he was a handsome, dark-haired… // continue reading

  • Harvest Moon

    Harvest Moon

    by Julia Michie Bruckner. “He’d looked perfect – nothing deformed or discolored, no hair out of place, both shoelaces tied. The life had been shaken out of him.” // continue reading

  • Askew

    Askew

    by Esther K. Willison. “It gets hold of me, I wrote less than a year after her death. Somehow  it creeps up.” // continue reading

  • Etymology of Chlorophyll

    Etymology of Chlorophyll

    by Caroline Harper New. “Love, / from Germanic lufu, is intestinal and milky / like undug onions squeezed from mothers.” // continue reading

  • Patient Belongings

    Patient Belongings

    by John Willson. “Belongings: The short-sleeved blouse, / its paisley rayon desperate / to breathe light in your form; / the comb that hungers / for the pull of your hair; / the wristwatch, clicking in stir…” // continue reading

  • Particle

    Particle

    by Jan Bottiglieri. “like light is / like my speckled skin: brim / and brink. verge…” // 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