Double Impostor Syndrome: Being of Color in an MFA Program

Your stomach is double-knotting, your palms are clammy. Your nerves bang inside your skull. What did I get myself into? you think as you sit in this classroom for the first time. You are stuck somewhere between chatty and shitting… Continue Reading

Summer Reads with Blue Mesa Review

The first day of the semester at the University of New Mexico is today, but the staff at Blue Mesa Review isn’t quite ready to let go of the summer. Check out our recommendations to read over your lunch break,… Continue Reading

Which Came First: Alcoholism and Mental Illness or Writing?

  As a writer, but even more so as an indigenous writer, I’ve always been plagued by the pervasive image of the self-destructive, mentally ill, alcoholic writer. Think Hemingway, Faulkner, Edgar Allan Poe. And these are just a few on… Continue Reading

Official List of Our 2016 Summer Contest Winners!

We are proud to announce the winners of our 2016 Summer Contest! Poetry, judged by Ocean Vuong 1st Place: “McDonalds” by Anders Carlson-Wee 2nd Place: “Threnody” by Elisabeth Murawski 3rd Place: “Epilogue: Lend Me Your Teeth” by Alabama Stone Non-Fiction,… Continue Reading

5 Things to Consider Before You Hit Submit: Thinking about your literary magazine submission from the perspective of a slush pile reader

If you are actively refining your work for submission into the literary world, praying each time you log-in to Submittable that this will be the time, then think about these things from the perspective of a lit mag submission reader… Continue Reading

Best American Essays of 2015: In Defense of Cheryl Strayed’s Essay, “My Uniform”

I sometimes get sucked into reading Amazon reviews. For many products, they are helpful and warranted (see: Haribo Sugar-Free Gummy Bear 5LB Bag), but I usually stay away from any type of book review on Amazon because they can be… Continue Reading

NATIONAL HUMANITIES AWARD RECIPIENT RUDOLFO ANAYA, AND THE ANAYA LECTURE SERIES

Founder of Blue Mesa Review, Rudolfo Anaya, is among a select few who will receive a 2015 National Humanities Medal tomorrow, awarded by none other than President Obama. The BMR staff congratulates Rudolfo on this well-deserved acknowledgment of his hard… Continue Reading