Articles & Media
Why Do Doctors Write?
The first patient I ever wrote about wasn’t actually my patient; as a first-year medical student, that possessive grammatical construct—“my patient”—hadn’t yet entered my consciousness, much less my lexicon. In any case, by the time I met him, he was already dead. More
Winning Words 2025
A celebration of BLR’s 48th issue and the winners of the 2025 BLR literary prizes. Hosted by Danielle Ofri More
Oliver Sacks: His Own Life
Danielle Ofri hosts a conversation with editor Kate Edgar and writer Bill Hayes about the documentary of Oliver Sacks’s remarkable life More
Reading the Body—Panel Discussion and Film
Danielle Ofri hosts a panel discussion on dance, poetry, and the examination of “body politic,” along with a screening of the award-winning film, “Reading the Body.” More
Studio Visit: Mary Lacy
Danielle visits the studio of muralist and artist Mary Lacy in Northampton, Massachusetts. Mary does both large-scale public murals and intimate multimedia work that explores human anatomy. Her gorgeous ceramic mosaic portraits are featured on the cover of BLR Issue 47, featuring poetry, fiction, and nonfiction on the theme of Body Politic. More
The Book Doctors Are In!
Danielle Ofri hosts fellow medical writers Perri Klass, Esther Choo, and Damon Tweedy to talk publishing advice, creative writing, patient consent, the medical/writing life, and how to wrestle ethical dilemmas onto the page. More
The Assault on Science
The memo came out on a Wednesday, and agencies had until 5 p.m. on Friday to scrub their websites of anything that might “promote or inculcate gender ideology.” As a result, hundreds of government websites were shorn of articles, pages, and data sets. The Trump administration is signaling its contempt for evidence-based science and its disregard for human health and life. More
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 visits 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
