Coming soon! BLR’s 25th anniversary issue
The first issue of Bellevue Literary Review was published 25 years ago, in the fall of 2001. And each year since, we’ve had the privilege of putting together two issues of incredible poems, stories, and essays for our readers. It’s still a thrill to know that a new BLR is on the horizon, and that we get to share it with you.
And this one is special: it’s our 25th anniversary issue!
Along with a stellar mix of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry (check out the list of authors below), the anniversary issue of BLR includes:
- a roundtable about how writing intersects with health, illness, and healing, featuring reflections by Edward Hirsch, Sarah Ruhl, Susannah Cahalan, Porochista Khakpour, Theresa Brown, and Damon Tweedy
- an inspiring essay by Meghan O’Rourke that shares the wealth of poems that sustained her through her own illness (and that will appear in her forthcoming anthology, The Story of the Body)
- a section of recommendations from some of BLR’s stalwart book reviewers, who offer you bucket lists of books, poems, and even single lines to turn to when you need solace or support
- a color insert highlighting Art in Public Hospitals, with works curated from the NYC Health + Hospitals, Arts in Medicine collection.
You can pre-order your copy now and be among the first readers to receive it, hot off the press! We’re thrilled to share this issue with you.
Featuring writing by:
Fiction:✏️ Wilson Comey, Catherine Treu Ehmann, Griffin Gudaitis, Pitoyo Hartono, PJ Henry, Sarah Juma, Susie Yeden Kim, Zibusiso Mpofu, Scarlett Diaz Power, Yan Ruan, Kaylie Saidin, Lisa Sardinas, Nadya Todorova, Becky Tuch
Nonfiction ✏️ Paul V. Brock, Mahru Elahi, Cheryl Jean Kelley, Kat Moore, Lisa Nikolidakis, Meghan O’Rourke, Novi Zheng
Poetry ✏️ Anna Boughtwood, Marion Starling Boyer, Ari B. Cofer, Jan Donley, Cheryl Dyer, Taylor Franson-Thiel, Douglas Fritock, Mihan Han, Terence Hawes, Ken Hines, Peter Kaczmarczyk, Mubanga Kalimamukwento, Marianne Kunkel, R. Nikolas Macioci, Hannah McLeod, Ed Meek, Lucia Owen, Trystan Popish, Aaron Rabinowitz, Candice Reffe, Andrea Scarpino, Claire Scott, Prartho Sereno, Ursula Shepherd, Peggy Ann Tartt, Charles L. Templeton
Roundtable Reflections ✏️ Edward Hirsch, Sarah Ruhl, Susannah Cahalan, Porochista Khakpour, Theresa Brown, Damon Tweedy
Book Reviewer Recommendations ✏️ Rachel Hadas, Dante Di Stefano, Donna Baier Stein, Jack Coulehan, Peter Bricklebank, Monique Ferrell, Jane Mushabac, Amelia Christmas Gramling
About the cover artist
Cover artist Romare Bearden (1911–1988) is best known for his vibrant collages that explore themes of African American life, combining painting, photography, and found materials. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and raised in Harlem, he drew inspiration from jazz, the Great Migration, Cubism, the rural South, the Harlem Renaissance, and urban neighborhoods.
From the Foreword
“As I write this foreword, I’m keenly aware that I was doing the exact same thing, twenty-five years ago, for the inaugural issue of Bellevue Literary Review. Of course, it was all terra incognita at the time—everything from choosing the fonts and finding a printer to reading through the bounty of submissions and curating a balance of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction….
I wrote the foreword to BLR Issue 1 while sitting in my clinic office at Bellevue Hospital. The poems, stories, and essays were laid out on the exam table…”