Articles & Media
Protecting Immigrant Patients
It was hardly two weeks after the election when a doctor in our clinic received a letter from one of her patients, an undocumented immigrant. The patient had diabetes and suffered from rotator cuff tendinitis, which makes reaching backward quite painful. “Is there any possibility you can write a letter,” she asked, “stating that if they handcuff me, can they please handcuff me with my hands in front of me?” As a physician, it was hard to read this without feeling sickened…. More
BLR’s Narrative Arc
Danielle Ofri hosts the Narrative Arc: The Journey From Writer to Reader. Readers get to choose their favorite BLR stories, poems, and essays, and then get to interview the writer. It’s matchmaking in the best literary style! More
BLR’s Fall Reading
Danielle Ofri hosts an evening of author readings and interviews, celebrating BLR’s 47th issue. Meet the writers—Mehr-Afarin Kohan, Sean Sam, and Laura LeMoon—as well as the BLR editors who interview them: Danielle Ofri, Saleem Hue Penny, and Alanna Weissman. More
Book Talk with Tyriek White
Danielle Ofri teams up with Joy D. Calloway and Frank Clark to interview BLR author Tyriek White, on the occasion of his very first novel, We Are a Haunting. The conversation covers grief, loss, inspiration, writing, and cultural transformation. More
A Grave Prognosis for the Affordable Care Act
Shambolic “repeal and replace” attempts are no longer needed to render a grave prognosis for the Affordable Care Act, the law that provides medical coverage for 45 million Americans. The most virulent threats are proliferating in the judicial system. More
Another Hospital Billing Trap
We needed a X-ray to rule-out a fracture so opted for an urgent-care center, which did it quickly and efficiently. As the three employees closed up shop for the day, I reflected on how urgent-care centers filled a perfect niche between the ER and the impossibility of snagging an immediate orthopedic appointment. But this is health care in America, and nothing ever closes up tidily. Two weeks later a bill arrived…. More
Sunday Crossword Puzzle Clue
On a recent Sunday, my editor from Beacon Press was killing time doing the Washington Post crossword puzzle. Imagine her surprise to come across 86-across–a book that she had edited! More
Studio Visit: Nicole Cohen
Danielle Ofri, Bellevue Literary Review‘s Editor-in-Chief, visited the studio of multimedia artist Nicole Cohen in Lower Manhattan. Nicole weaves together past and present using video, drawing, painting, archival photos, and installations. BLR is honored to have Nicole’s “portraits in books” as the cover of Issue 46, featuring the winners of the 2024 BLR Literary Prizes. … More
Studio Visit: Alexander Gorlizki
Danielle visits the studio of Alexander Gorlizki in Dumbo, Brooklyn. Gorlizki’s vibrant art graces the cover of BLR Issue 44, featuring the 2023 BLR contest winners More
Studio Visit: Tatana Kellner
Danielle visits the studio of Tatana Kellner in upstate New York. Kellner’s touching art graces the cover of BLR Issue 45, which is focused on the theme of Taking Care. More
Covid Vaccine Heebie-Jeebies
Few patients seem to have specific reasons for declining the Covid vaccine. There’s just a vague hedge, or an abashed, “I don’t know, I just don’t.†It’s as though they have a communal case of the heebie-jeebies. More
“When We Do Harm” in Chinese
ä½ å¥½ NÇ hÇŽo Beacon Press is excited to announce that When We Do Harm is now available in Chinese! Click here to order. Also available in Chinese: What Patients Say, What Doctors HearWhat Doctors Feel: How Emotions Affect the Practice of Medicine More
Disability and Creativity
Danielle Ofri interviews poet Lynn Strongin about her experience with polio, its impact on her poetry, and the irrepressible creative impulse. More
It Shouldn’t Be This Easy to Lose Health Insurance
Why do Americans even have to “remember†to get health insurance every year? We don’t ask citizens to remember to enroll with the fire department every year, or to remember to sign up for electricity service or water. More
The Art of Taking Care
Go behind the scenes of BLR’s special issue on Taking Care. Meet poets, writers, editors, artists, and caregivers. More
