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
  • Ghon Focus

    Ghon Focus

    by Jonathan Strysko. “He had the urge to immediately order a CT scan, but the patient being his daughter, he didn’t have the luxury of calling the shots. His mind instead wandered to the more obvious epidemiologic questions: How? When?” // continue reading

  • Kale

    Kale

    by Marilyn Abildskov. “Is this why, when she finally gets out of her car and sets out to walk with the sun shining on her face–a blessing, sunlight like that–that every grievance, petty or perceived, begins to drain away? She… // continue reading

  • In Lieu of a Better Plan

    In Lieu of a Better Plan

    by Elizabeth Downs. “One otherwise pleasant evening at the asylum, I—a known murderess and recently declared Vice President of Ward G—escape through a partially opened, third-story window.” // continue reading

  • Going South

    Going South

    by Natalie Pearson. “I make amends with small gifts—a loaf of crusty bread, a Louie Prima CD, lilacs in a mason jar. This little drive to nowhere would be just such a gift.” // continue reading

  • Our Eyes Were Watching Marcia

    Our Eyes Were Watching Marcia

    by Samuel A. Autman. “Television had always been a perfect distraction from our family’s drama and trauma, soothing us more than our Baptist faith.” // continue reading

  • The Next Bullet

    The Next Bullet

    by Jeremy Griffin. “Despite my respect for my students, I was afraid of them. Afraid of the  way they watched me as I delivered a lecture, afraid of whispers, silences.” // continue reading

  • Dear Shooter,

    Dear Shooter,

    by Rachel Ullah. “Bloodstains left / on the sidewalk / Body bags, / Yellow tape, / Why don’t you think about the consequences / You’re going to have to face?” // continue reading

  • In the Briars

    In the Briars

    by Colleen McKee. “As I walked to Lake Divine, I remembered I’d forgotten / To fill my pockets with rocks. I’m the type who forgets…” // continue reading

  • Bones

    Bones

    by Anne Pierson Wiese. “Big leg bones / of cows sawed / into round sections / that when broiled / erupt thick burps of marrow…” // 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