Writer’s Guide to Self-Care

For the last few months, I have been dealing with depression. It feels like someone is randomly shooting arrows at me. I dodge as many of them as I can, but some have lodged themselves in my flesh. It hurts… 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

4 Reasons You Should Submit to Literary Magazines

Some mornings I wake up channeling my favorite movie or book characters. This morning, I woke up feeling very Voila Davis’s character, Aibileen, from The Help. And when I allowed my imagination free reign, this is the message she gave… Continue Reading