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
  • 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

  • Born on Sunday 

    Born on Sunday 

    by Mark Rigney. “All of the Peace Corps medics are male and white. The most retiring of these, Claude Renner, is the one unlucky enough to be nearest the entrance when the soldier bursts inside, carrying his unconscious son in… // continue reading

  • The Awful Thing

    The Awful Thing

    by Christina Robertson. “I am finding the experience terrifyingly similar to what I imagine it would be like to witness my mother drown. I stand on the shore and throw ropes to her, but she has no idea what to… // 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

  • 71 Grams

    71 Grams

    by Nicki Porter. “At home, you unload each item with a quiet smile and feel a pinching like a tiny crab below your belly. You imagine a poppy seed nestling in, burrowing, seeking shelter within you, preparing to stay.” // 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

  • Duende

    Duende

    by Elizabeth J. Coleman. “If I were a musical instrument, I’d be / a guitar, or violin, one that cries out, / the way the clarinet belted out / Smile When Your Heart is Breaking…” // continue reading

  • Prisoner  

    Prisoner  

    by John Stone. “This is the house of Anopheles / in the city of malaria / that infects 500 million souls a year…” // 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

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