Blue Heron Review Issue 21 / Spring 2026 Is Now Available to Read Online!

Posted on by under Uncategorized

 

(Cover artist credit: j lewis)

 

Welcome to the latest issue of Blue Heron Review (BHR Issue 21 / Spring 2026 / “Wholeness”). To read and enjoy our full issue of poetry and artwork, please visit the BHR 21 page of our website.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Poets:
David Anson Lee * Emily Tee * Ellen Rowland * Jill McGrath * Barbara Krasner * Jenna Wysong Filbrun * Mary L Serantoni * Jean Janicke * Kate Young Wilder * Michael Hettich * Lynne Burnett * Debora Tremont * Vivian Faith Prescott * Jeannie E Roberts * Francis Opila * Catherine McGuire * Daniel Thomas * Donna J Gelagotis Lee * Faith-Anne Bell * John Willson * Carolyn Chilton Casas * Janet Ruth * Patricia Nelson * Susan Shaw Sailer * Paula Schulz * Sophia Joan * Abha Das Sarma * Christine Daleiden

Artists:
j lewis (cover artist) * Kurt Huebner * Karen VandenBos * Paula Lietz

EDITOR’S NOTE:

What provides us with a sense of wholeness in life? I hope that you find some inspiration for your own path when reading these thoughtful, heartfelt, and powerful poems. A wonderful variety of experiences are shared in this collection. For some, wholeness is about the bonds of love and family. For others, it is the mystical presence of nature that provides a sense of completion. For others still, it involves the connections made while traveling or the deep fulfillment of an artistic pursuit. May you find yourself in these stanzas. May you seek wholeness. This issue is definitely meant to be savored. Read a few, reflect, then return for another sip.

Cristina M. R. Norcross, Editor
Blue Heron Review
(*Founded 2013)

Submissions for Blue Heron Review Temporarily Closed / Next Issue Due Out End May 2026

Posted on by under Uncategorized

(Artist credit: Daniel Adams)

 

Submissions for Blue Heron Review are temporarily closed until our next open call which will be updated here on the BHR website and on social media closer to that time. Thank you to everyone who sent in their work on the theme of “wholeness” for consideration. Each submission will be read with great care. Please allow 8-10 weeks from the time you submitted your work to receive a response. Our spring issue will be published online at the end of May 2026 (or possibly earlier). It is a true pleasure and honor to read the poems sent to Blue Heron. Every call for submissions brings with it a multitude of gifts. I never take it for granted that writers are choosing to share poems crafted with great intention and personal meaning.

Cristina M. R. Norcross, Founding Editor
Blue Heron Review

Our Next Reading Period for BHR Issue 21 / Spring 2026 will be January 15-30, 2026

Posted on by under Uncategorized

(*Artist credit: Photo by Jimmy Woo on Unsplash)

READING PERIOD FOR BHR ISSUE 21 / SPRING 2026 WILL BE:

JANUARY 15-30, 2026

THEME: WHOLENESS

What does it mean to feel whole? The more whole, healed people there are in the world, the better our society will function. What activities, gatherings, experiences, pursuits, or passions in life provide you with a sense of wholeness? What types of interactions with loved ones or friends make your heart feel whole? Perhaps, it’s about feeling more connected to ourselves and other people? Please send me your more most heartfelt stories of wholeness in the form of poetry.

(*Note: Please do not send submissions prior to January 15th. They will not be read or considered. Please visit the submission guidelines page for a complete list of instructions.)

I look forward to reading your poems!

—Cristina M. R. Norcross
Founding Editor, Blue Heron Review

Blue Heron Review Pushcart Prize Nominations

Posted on by under Uncategorized

Congratulations to all of our poets nominated for a Pushcart Prize this year! It is always very difficult to choose just 6 poems. I am so proud of the very fine work published in every single issue of Blue Heron Review! I hope you enjoy browsing our 2 issues from 2025, to read all of the beautiful, thoughtful selections.

—Cristina M. R. Norcross
Editor, Blue Heron Review

*

From BHR Issue 19 / Spring 2025
(*To read the selections below, please visit the BHR Issue 19 page. Simply scroll down to find the work of each author within the issue)

Helen Bournas-Ney / “A Prayer for My Granddaughter”
Mary Anna Scenga Kruch / “When Souls Find Comfort: Ode to a Lake”
Faith Paulsen / “I Imagine Hildegard von Bingen Finds an Egg”

*

From BHR Issue 20 / Fall 2025
(*To read the selections below, please visit the BHR Issue 20 page. Simply scroll down to find the work of each author within the issue.)

Dianna MacKinnon Henning / “Scent of Solitude”
Alison Hurwitz / “To the Man Playing Bach for a Pair of Ducks”
Sarah Sadie / “The Only Argument with Time That Wins”

Best of the Net 2026 Nominations / Blue Heron Review

Posted on by under Uncategorized

Best of the Net Nominations from BHR 19 Spring 2025 (Published June 28, 2025)
(*Please visit the BHR 19 page of this site to read all of these beautiful poems. Simply scroll down to find the work of each author within the issue.)

*

Helen Bournas-Ney / “A Prayer for My Granddaughter”

Lori Ulrich / “Heaven’s Rainbow”

Amrita Skye Blaine / “camaraderie”

Mary Anna Scenga Kruch / “When Souls Find Comfort: Ode to a Lake”

Faith Paulsen / “I Imagine Hildegard von Bingen Finds an Egg”

*

*Editor’s Note:
Choosing nominations for the Best of the Net Anthology is always a very difficult task. I am so proud of all of our very fine writers. Congratulations to the authors above on their nominations. I hope you’ll take some time to visit our BHR 19 page to read and enjoy these poems.

Cristina M. R. Norcross, Editor
Blue Heron Review
(*Founded 2013)

BLUE HERON REVIEW ISSUE 20 / FALL 2025 IS NOW AVAILABLE TO READ ONLINE!

Posted on by under Uncategorized

(*Cover artist credit: Michael Jeske)

Welcome to the latest issue of Blue Heron Review (BHR Issue 20 / Fall 2025 / “What We Gather for Tomorrow”). To read and enjoy our full issue of poetry and artwork, please visit the BHR 20 page of our website.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Poets:
Yvette Viets Flaten * Cheryl Byler Keeler * Glenn Falacienski * Carol Alena Aronoff * Ronnie Hess * Annette Towler * Jackie Langetieg * Dianna MacKinnon Henning * James P Roberts * Cynthia McCain * Rachel Dacus * Diana Woodcock * Alison Hurwitz * Mary C Rowin * Anneliese Finke * Elizabeth McCarthy * Jenna Wysong Filbrun * Karen A VandenBos * Susan Martell * Sarah Sadie * Kathie Giorgio * Wendy Vardaman * Melissa Huff * Penny Harter * Tom Lagasse * Erik Richardson * Thomas A Thrun * Elisabeth Harrahy * Mary Dean Carter

Artists:
Michael Jeske (cover artist) * Karen A VandenBos * j lewis * Paula Lietz

EDITOR’S NOTE:

What if we could gather together the support that others need, compassion for those around us, empathy for the plight of others? The poems in our latest issue may not solve the world’s problems, but If nothing else, you will feel encouraged and find a sense of hope here.  The arts have the power to inspire us during challenging times. I hope that this issue makes you feel less alone and more connected to your fellow human beings.

Cristina M. R. Norcross, Editor
Blue Heron Review
(*Founded 2013)

Blue Heron Review Issue 19 / Spring 2025 Is Now Available to Read Online!

Posted on by under Uncategorized

(*Cover artist credit: Karren Jeske)

Welcome to the latest issue of Blue Heron Review (BHR Issue 19, Spring 2025 / “Offerings”).  To read and enjoy our full issue of poetry and artwork, please visit the BHR 19 page of our website.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Poets:
Helen Bournas-Ney * Isaac James Richards * Colette Tennant * CMarie Fuhrman * Giles Goodland * Emily Tee * Arvilla Fee * Pat Phillips West * Fred Briggs * Eileen Pettycrew * Lisa Wiley * Tara Menon * Elena Quinones * Melissa Mitchell * Lori Ulrich * Alice Foxall * Jim Landwehr * Carol Mikoda * William Rudolph * Cortney Davis * Amrita Skye Blaine * Lynette Reini-Grandell * Caitlin Gemmell * John Davis * Laura Barr * Mary Anna Scenga Kruch * Faith Paulsen * Katrina Serwe * Tricia Knoll * Sandra J Lindow * Carol Alena Aronoff * Anita Pinatti

Artists:
Karren Jeske (cover artist) * Michael Jeske * Jeannie E Roberts * Kai Coggin * Donna Hilbert

EDITOR’S NOTE:

Welcome to the spring 2025 issue of Blue Heron Review. Our special theme for this issue is OFFERINGS. Poets were invited to reflect on the topic of what we give (and what we receive), and how this makes a difference in our lives. After having the great pleasure of reading this beautiful collection several times over, I am struck by how many poems involved the tremendous impact that giving has on the person doing the giving—how this, too, becomes a sacred gift. These are brave, vulnerable poems. These are true offerings of self that come from deep waters. I hope that you will take time out of your busy day to taste and savor a few poems at a time, and then come back to read more. I know that you will be moved by these stories of heart and gratitude as much as I am.

All kind thoughts,
Cristina M. R. Norcross, Editor
Blue Heron Review
(*founded 2013)

Our Next Issue of Blue Heron Review Due to Be Launched Online, Late June 2025

Posted on by under Uncategorized

NOTE TO OUR READERS AND CONTRIBUTORS:

Slight delay — Our forthcoming BHR issue #19 on the theme of OFFERINGS will be published online in late June 2025.  Thank you for your patience and understanding.  It will be a beautiful, insightful collection of poems and fine art photography (and other artwork), featuring some of the most talented, contemporary voices in poetry today.  Stay tuned.

(*Photo by Ranurte on Unsplash)

Our Spring Blue Heron Issue Is Due to Be Published Online in Mid-late May 2025 / Submissions Temporarily Closed Until Next Reading Period

Posted on by under Uncategorized

 

(*Artist credit: Photo by Eran Menashri on Unsplash)

Thank you to everyone who submitted work for the spring 2025 OFFERINGS issue of Blue Heron Review! All response letters have been sent out now. We received such a beautiful, heartfelt array of poems for this special issue. If one of your poems was not chosen, please know that we received a very high number of high-quality poems and could not offer a spot to everyone. Know that your work was read with great care and attention. Our spring issue is due to be published online in mid-late May 2025. An announcement and link will be posted on the BHR website and on social media at that time.

Spring offers a time of new beginnings. I hope you embark on a new writing project that inspires you!

Happy writing!
Cristina M. R. Norcross, Founding Editor
Blue Heron Review

Submissions for Blue Heron Review Now Temporarily Closed Until the Next Reading Period. 

Posted on by under Uncategorized

Our forthcoming BHR issue #19 on the theme of OFFERINGS will be published in late spring 2025 (date TBD). Thank you to everyone who submitted work for this issue. All submissions will be read with great care. *Responses will be sent out approximately 8-10 weeks after receiving a submission.  (Please do not ask about the status of your submission until after 10 weeks have passed. We do NOT have an automated response system, and we do NOT send out auto reply messages about your submission being received.)

A Special Note From the Editor:

After almost 13 years of publishing issues, please be aware that we receive a very high number of submissions for Blue Heron Review.  As a result, the most common reason for not being able to include someone’s work is that we have too many poems under consideration and too few spots available in our issue.  Each submission is read and re-read with great care and deep appreciation for the time and dedication that goes into creating new work.  Thank you for your patience during the decision making process.

All kind thoughts,
Cristina M. R. Norcross

(*Artist credit: Photo by Bermix Studio on Unsplash)