poetry
BLR Spring Reading: Winning Words
A celebration of BLR’s 44th issue and the winners of the 2023 BLR literary prizes. Featuring winners Lara Palmqvist, Jehanne Dubrow, and Caroline Harper New. Interviews by BLR editors Doris W. Cheng, Scott Oglesby, and Abba Belgrave. Additional readings by honorable mentions Karen K. Ford, Sabah Parsa, and Karan Kapoor. Hosted by Danielle Ofri. More
The Healing Power of Art
BLR Editors Danielle Ofri and Abba Belgrave, along with BLR writers Sharon Pretti and Samuel Autman, explore the power of art to help both the ill and their health providers grapple with the medical and psychological challenges of illness. More
Can Storytelling Prevent Gun Violence?
“Can Storytelling Prevent Gun Violence?” is a multimedia project from BLR and the Northwell Center for Gun Violence Prevention about how gun violence disrupts our relationship to society and to each other, and how can we bring the arts and storytelling into the conversation. In grappling with the enormity of gun violence, we asked how we can approach gun violence prevention with a creative lens. More
Danielle Ofri interviews playwright Sarah Ruhl
Sarah Ruhl–acclaimed playwright, two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, MacArthur “genius” — joins BLR editor-in-chief Danielle Ofri for a fascinating conversation about her life, her career, and her extraordinary journey to reclaim her own face. Her book, “Smile,” was a New York Times best-seller. More
The Power of the Pen
These past few years have brought human vulnerability to the forefront of our collective conscience and a recognition that the human spirit needs as much tending as the human body. Join Bellevue Literary Review (BLR) to celebrate ‘The Power of the Pen,’ exploring how writing can transform healing. More
Poetry & Parkinson’s
Hal Sirowitz is poet with Parkinson’s disease, He was one of the original performers at the Nuyorican Poets’ Cafe and is BLR’s most published poet! Danielle Ofri hosts a film screening and conversation about poetry, Parkinson’s, and finding your voice. More
The Beauty of Medical Language
The clinical language is so dry that it sticks in my throat like the grits they used to serve in our hospital cafeteria. It handily abides by our hospital’s infection control guidelines; the writing is so sterile that nary a staphylococcus could hope to achieve mitosis in its midst. It is as though the practitioners of the scientific literature of medicine reached a covert agreement to ban even the slightest of hint of creativity, the slimmest suggestion of beauty. Of course, it was not always that way… More
NPR’s ShortWave podcast
Emily Kwong interviews NPR Arts Reporter Neda Ulaby about her story on Danielle Ofri and BLR’s 20th Anniversary for the ShortWave Podcast. More
NPR’s Morning Edition
NPR’s Neda Ulaby interviews Danielle Ofri and Celeste Ng on “Morning Edition” about BLR’s 20th Anniversary (and how a literary journal came to be founded in a storied public hospital). More
BLR Turns 20!
For 20 years, Bellevue Literary Review has been at the forefront of publishing at intersection of healthcare and the arts. For 20 years, Bellevue Literary Review has been at the forefront of publishing at intersection of healthcare and the arts. BLR publishes fiction, poetry, & nonfiction about health, illness, and healing. Watch the historic celebration. Co-hosted by BLR editor-in-chief Danielle Ofri and actor Kelly AuCoin More
BLR Spring Celebration
Danielle Ofri hosted this event celebrating the winners of the 2021 BLR literary prizes: featuring exciting new works of fiction, nonfiction and poetry, plus interviews by BLR editors More
Reading the Body: Poetry, Dance & Disability
“Reading the Body,” explores disability through dance and poetry. Four acclaimed dancers create original choreography based on BLR poetry, More
Gaudeamus Igitur by John Stone
“Gaudeamus Igitur” is one of my favorite poems of all times. John Stone was a poet and cardiologist at Emory University, He wrote this poem (the title means “Therefore, Let us Rejoice” for a graduating class at Emory Medical School. More
Medical Humanities
When your body threatens mutiny and you are peering into the abyss, you want a doctor who has contemplated mortality in a deep way. Being sick is indeed hell and every patient deserves a Virgil. Infusing the medical training with a bit more Virgil just might be the key. More
Why Medicine Needs Poetry
“When patients come to us with headache, and stomach pain, and foot pain, and 300 other issues, they are really speaking in metaphor. We may call it somatization disorder, or write them off as “complainers,” but in fact, it is metaphor. To be skilled clinicians—and to get the right diagnosis—we must be able to interpret our patients’ metaphors.” More
