A national spotlight on BLR's 25 years of stories on illness and recovery

When Danielle Ofri and fellow doctors/writers launched BLR 25 years ago, it was immediately clear how deeply the journal’s themes connected with readers and writers.

Audience members enjoy a recent storytelling event hosted by BLR and Writers Read at City Winery in New York City

BLR's issues and programming create spaces where stories of health, illness, and healing are welcomed, valued, and shared.

PBS News Hour’s Jeffrey Brown reports on BLR’s anniversary and its impact in the fields of literature and healthcare

There's lots of writing about health out there, but most of it is very prescriptive, top 10 tips for your asthma or diabetes — but not a lot dealing with what it feels like to be ill.”

— Danielle Ofri, editor-in-chief of Bellevue Literary Review

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, May 26, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Bellevue Literary Review – the literary arts organization that uses storytelling and poetry to deepen understanding of health, illness, and healing – was recently featured on PBS News Hour’s CANVAS series with a story about its 25th anniversary. Who could have imagined that 25 years after “three doctors, two poets and a fiction writer walked into a windowless hospital conference room," BLR would not only still be publishing, but thriving, expanding its programming, and part of an amazing community of readers, writers, patients, caregivers, and clinicians.

In the feature, BLR editor Danielle Ofri and BLR writers spoke with PBS senior arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown about why poetry, storytelling, and writing matter, especially in moments of illness.

“There's lots of writing about health out there, but most of it is very prescriptive, top 10 tips for your asthma or diabetes,” said Ofri. “But not a lot dealing with what it feels like to be ill. The vulnerability of illness is so intense and universal.”

The first literary journal to arise from a medical setting, BLR emerged from a simple but radical idea: that stories are essential to understanding illness, caring for patients, and sustaining those who work within healthcare. Over the past 25 years, BLR has become a vital forum for writers, clinicians, patients, and caregivers, publishing work that explores vulnerability, mortality, resilience, and the complex emotional terrain of being human in the face of illness.

“Connection feels increasingly rare,” Ofri noted. “BLR reminds us that stories—told honestly and artfully—can still bring us together.”

For more information about Bellevue Literary Review, its anniversary events, or subscription details, visit the BLR website.

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PRAISE FOR BELLEVUE LITERARY REVIEW

“No human thing is more universal than illness, in all its permutations, and no literary publication holds more credibility on the subject than Bellevue Literary Review.” – NewPages.com

"Bellevue Literary Review probes our understanding of the human body and mind in new ways. It is essential reading for anyone who deals with sickness and health, anyone interested in narrative medicine, anyone who simply needs a dose of deep grace and humanity.” – The Oliver Sacks Foundation

Stacy Bodziak
Bellevue Literary Review
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