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

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— A new set of great reads with each click —

  • fiction
  • nonfiction
  • poetry
  • 1 a.m. Refill

    1 a.m. Refill

    by Rebecca Grossman-Kahn. “It’s 1:00 a.m. and the emergency department is cold. The bright overhead lights illuminate the rows of empty desk chairs. I hear the tap-tap of rubber clogs shuffling in a far corner. There are only two patients… // continue reading

  • Given

    Given

    by Nancy Devine. “This must be the first harvest from our acreage: our young vineyard singing, the plastic, ribbed grow tubes that make little greenhouses for each of the young grape plants catching wind and, like a throat and its… // continue reading

  • Every Day Anew

    Every Day Anew

    by Pia Jee-Hae Baur. “I dislike switching doctors, primarily because every time I have to recount my medical history, I have to decide how much I should lie.” // continue reading

  • Telephone

    Telephone

    by Judy Katz. “These days I think of you / on the yellow chaise / with your Parkinson’s / and hatred of telephones, / and make myself call.” // continue reading

  • The Tender Roof

    The Tender Roof

    by Kent Leatham. “These things happen. There’s nothing / beautiful about it. She gave up her breasts / two years ago, but the cancer returned, pushing / through the sutures, the larval wasp consuming…” // continue reading

  • Describe a morning you woke without fear.

    Describe a morning you woke without fear.

    by Jacqueline Jones LaMon. “It is four in the darkness and you cannot breathe. / You cannot will your chest to expand, and suddenly, / this is all right.” // 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