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
  • String Theory

    String Theory

    by Venita Blackburn. “Something happens to people that rescue other people, a covenant of sorts… The promise is the same: when I see you, I will keep you safe. I looked at Mariko, the quasar of freckles between her eyes,… // continue reading

  • The Mona Lisa

    The Mona Lisa

    by  Robert Oldshue. “Now it might seem that a nursing home with only two floors and forty – seven residents would be a hard place to lose somebody.” // continue reading

  • Bus

    Bus

    by Joan Leegant. “I’d sit there and look at the glossy paper in my lap, at the strings of black letters arranged in neat columns on the shiny vellum, my twenty-four-year-old son next to me in his infusion chair joking… // continue reading

  • Breathing

    Breathing

    by Shanda McManus. “My office is quiet except for the noise I make: the click of the light switch, the hum of the computer, the crinkle of my paper gown as I unwrap it. I pull on my PPE—gown, gloves,… // continue reading

  • The Consolation of Anatomy

    The Consolation of Anatomy

    by Kurt Magsamen. “Cadavers don’t look much like anatomy drawings. They don’t smell much like anatomy books. The drawings are clean, ordered, the striations of muscle cells combed out tight and smooth, like the strings of a harp…” // continue reading

  • Snapshots of Bellevue

    Snapshots of Bellevue

    by Dewitt Stetten, Jr. “On the east side of First Avenue, between 26th and 31st Streets in Manhattan, stood the ancient brick pile that was Bellevue Hospital.” // 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