B.L. Bruce's Blog

The Spring 2025 Issue of Humana Obscura features work from 63 contributors from around the globe, including cover art by Caroline Brown, back cover art by Maureen Bennett, interviews with artists Lisa Cassell-Arms and Rick Bogacz, and spotlights on the work of photographer Stéphanie Labé and poet Hilda Weiss.

Available in print and digital formats.

Contributors include Abigail Sims, Alexandra Karnasopoulos, Amber Lauder, Amy Aiken, Andrew Bashford, Anni Rannisto, Binx River Perino, Brook J. Sadler, C.X. Turner, Carlin McCarthy, Debbie Robson, Debbie Strange, Devin Wilson, Diane Perazzo, dl mattila, Elizabeth Barlow, Ellen Doré Watson, Eric Brunet, Frances Scott, Herb Tate, Hudson Plumb, Ian Parker, Jacob Friesenhahn, Jaimie Ladysh, Jason Dean, Jenny Ward Angyal, Jesse Breite, Joanne Esser, Joshua St. Claire, Karen Kilcup, Karen McAferty Morris, Kathleen McTigue, Kathryn P. Haydon, Kristine Amundrud, Lacy Benton, Laura Keeling, Liza Moore, LJ Ireton, Marianne Smith Dalton, Marlowe Emerson, Melissa Dennison, Michael C. Roberts, Michael V. Tulloch, Jr., Najib Joe Hakim, Phillip Sterling, Rashmi Vesa, Retura Claar, Rose-Marie Keller-Flaig, Sam Aureli, Shamani Surendran, Shane Coppage, Shannon Cates, Stella Damarjati, Stephanie Lee Evans, Stuart Trenholm, Tammy Trusheim-Rahmiller, and Will Kimbrough.

This stunning anthology, curated by Humana Obscura’s Editor-in-Chief Bri Bruce, explores the many shades of “blue”—from the depths of the ocean to the vastness of the sky, from the serenity of twilight to the melancholy of a storm. Featuring poetry and visual art inspired by nature’s most evocative hue, Blue captures the essence of water, air, emotion, and the ever-changing world around us. Each piece, whether a lyrical meditation on a quiet lake or a vibrant painting of a coastal horizon, invites readers to immerse themselves in the beauty, mystery, and depth of the color blue.

Available in print and digital formats.

Blue features poetry from Amy Nash, Amy G. Smith, Andrea Aldrete, Anique Sara Taylor, Anna Lucia Deloia, Annie Cody Holdren, Audrey Colasanti, Ayushi Dubey, C.X. Turner, Cynthia Pratt, Dagne Forrest, Deb Baker, Diana Fusting, Diane Funston, Erin Benton, Gary Young, Harold Sneide, Hayley Phillips, Jane Desmond, Janna Knittel, Jennifer Magliano, Jesse LoVasco, Jessica Cory, Jessica Bell Rizzolo, Jocelyn Elizabeth, John Vukmirovich, Joshua St. Claire, Joyce Brinkman, Joyce Meyers, Kathryn P. Haydon, Katie King, Kelly Terwilliger, Kenneth Johnson, Kersten Christianson, Kimberly Ann Priest, Linda Conroy, Lindsay Kellar-Madsen, Lohitha Kethu, Luther Allen, Lyndsie Conklin, Malcolm MacClancy, Mary Anna Scenga Kruch, Mary Michna, Melissa Dennison, Melissa Laussmann, Nadine Ellsworth-Moran, Naomi Pliskow, Neha Misra, Nicholas Olah, Pamela Hobart Carter, Pamela Hughes, Patricia Hemminger, Robert Walton, Sally Anderson Boström, Sarah Das Gupta, Shannon Marzella, Sharon M. Carter, Stefan Balan, Taylor Blayse, Tiffany Harris, Tim Dwyer, W. Luther Jett, and Sally Zaino. With cover art by Melanie Schoeniger, Blue features visual art by Amber Lauder, Andrew Abraham, Annette Wijdeveld, Brigitte B. Burckhardt, Caroline Brown, David Mosher, Janelle Lynch, Jill E. T. Bemis, Jocelyn Elizabeth, Karin Wegmann, Laura Tafe, Leanne Trivett, Lee-Anne Schmidt, Lisa Cassell-Arms, Maureen Bennett, Najib Joe Hakim, Retura Claar, Ron C. Moss, Rose-Marie Keller-Flaig, Shar Marie, Sonia Illner, Vivien Zepf, and Wendi Schneider. 

The Winter 2024 Issue features work from 44 contributors from around the globe, including cover art by Maggie Lerum, an interview with artist Sally Podmore, and spotlights on the work of photographer Jason Dean and poet Alison Granucci.

Available in print and digital formats.

Contributors include Abby Harding, Amy Aiken, Anne Kulou, C.X. Turner, Civil Winters, Cristina Sanchez, D. Dina Friedman, Dani Selyebi, Dawn Erickson, Debbie Strange, Deirdre Hennings, Doug Stone, Hilda Weiss, Holly Willis, Janet Ruth Heller, Jenny Ward Angyal, Jonny Rodgers, Karin Wegmann, Kathleen Christensen, Kathryn P. Haydon, Lindsay Rockwell, Lucía Tartaglione, Lucie Bonvalet, Luke Levi, Marcie Flinchum Atkins, Randy Brooks, Rebecca Weil, Robert René Galván, Rick Bogacz, Rose-Marie Keller-Flaig, Sally Arapari, Sarah Hewitt, Sean Felix, Shane Coppage, Stella Damarjati, Susan Marsh, Tim Dwyer, Victoria Bracher, Walter Heineman, and Wendi Schneider. 

The Fall 2024 Issue features work from 49 contributors from around the globe, including cover art by Rose-Marie Keller-Flaig, an interview with poet Tiffany Mackay, and with spotlights on the work of photographer Jocelyn Elizabeth and poet Grant Clauser.

Available in print and digital formats.

Contributors include Rose-Marie Keller-Flaig, Tiffany Mackay, Jocelyn Elizabeth, Grant Clauser, Lucy Griffith, Samantha Imperi, Lynne Schilling, Sharon Johnson, Rebecca Weil, Amy Smith, Marcia L. Hurlow, Libré Cory, Swetha Amit, Andrea Aldrete, Elysha Snider, Michael Taylor, Cami DuMay, John Vukmirovich, Caleb Edmondson, Jayne Marek, Zeta Ferrer, Debbie Strange, Emily Uecker, Mikael Kales, Zeke Shomler, Shane Coppage, Richard Jeffrey Newman, Michelle DiSarno, Foster W. Donnell, Diane Perazzo, Gail Hosking, Kay Bomans, K. DeCristofaro, Melissa Laussmann, David A. Goodrum, Heidi Spitzig, Jess Cherofsky, Mandy Merkel, Rosemary H. Williams, Anne Kulou, Emily Rankin, Karin Wegmann, Kelly Schulze, Kristin Camitta Zimet, Lisa Cassell-Arms, Rosie Feather, Amalia Díaz, Kayla Marie Anley, and Azeb Hameed.

Blue California Sky by B. L. Bruce is a must-read! This stunning compilation of poetic prose delves into the deep and complex emotions of life—from grief and sorrow to the beauty of the outdoors and the thrill of romance.

Bruce’s writing is like a breath of fresh air, filled with rich, evocative language that paints vivid images in your mind. The way she explores heavy topics like psychological and physical suffering, suicide, and longing is both poignant and powerful. Yet, amid the sadness, there’s an undeniable sense of awe at nature’s beauty and the simple joys of life.

Each piece in this collection is a journey, taking you to unexpected places and leaving you with a sense of wonder. The blend of raw emotion and striking imagery makes this book a true stunner. If you’re in the mood for a read that’s as beautiful as it is heart-wrenching, Blue California Sky is the book for you. Prepare to be moved and inspired by Bruce’s masterful prose.

Review by Mansi Ramwani, Book Influencer, What Mansi Reads

NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER
AT A DISCOUNTED RATE
UNTIL AUGUST 23, 2024
FROM FINISHING LINE PRESS!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Award-winning author and two-time Pushcart Prize nominee, California poet Bri Bruce (writing as B. L. Bruce) has been called the “heiress of Mary Oliver.” With a bachelor’s degree in literature and creative writing from the University of California at Santa Cruz, her work has appeared in dozens of anthologies, magazines, and literary publications. Her poetry most recently appears in The Lakeshore Review, Red Wolf Journal, Bivouac Magazine, The Sunlight Press, Riverstone Literary Journal, and Gone Lawn, among many others. Bruce is the recipient of the Ina Coolbrith Memorial Poetry Prize and the PushPen Press Pendant Prize for Poetry, as well as the author of four books: The Weight of Snow, 28 Days of Solitude, The Starling’s Song, and Measures. Her highly praised debut collection, The Weight of Snow, was the 2014 International Book Awards poetry category finalist and the 2014 USA Best Book Awards poetry category finalist. The Starling’s Song, released in February of 2016, was selected as Honorable Mention in the Pacific Rim Book Festival. Blue California Sky is her fifth book. Follow her on Twitter @b_l_bruce and on Instagram @thepoesis.

A ticking clock diligently marks the unflinching forward march of time, but B. L. Bruce takes a more organic approach in her elemental poetry collection, Blue California Sky. Tender buds, fallen snow, and fledgling birds chronicle the passage of time, while emphatic verse touches hearts and journeys through the quotidian experiences that assuredly shape our lives. Nature’s dynamism, majesty, subtlety, and freedom invite readers to pause and reflect on such graceful threads of human connection, despite personal hardships. A few poems embody desire and longing with stirring expressions such as, “In the beginning, I consumed you”. Unmitigated hunger crumbles into desperation and despair as new love fades into a dull patina of its once-glistening self. The emotion is penetrating yet relatable as we read, “I called out your name. Your side of the bed was cold.” Grief is another affliction the author highlights and heightens with well-chosen words. Who among us can’t relate to the helplessness we feel when we observe others endure crippling loss? “I saw the way grief entered your body—all at once and consuming—and stayed, eating you away.” The author’s terse style is impactful and intense, an emotional experience for audiences who are willing to open themselves up to it.

Bruce’s unfiltered voice cuts through life’s distracting background noise and settles in a place not limited to the physical plane. Reverence for plants, animals, the human body, and Earth’s elegant, predictable cycles ground the work, while painfully guarded traumas resonate deeply. A range of sensitive topics forms the tender framework of this verisimilar collection, though none more affecting than the poem “Roses on the state park overpass”. A painfully honest reflection on what might lead a person down the dark path toward irreparable self-harm, it concludes with the heartbreaking line, “I wondered if the woman chose to fall faceup, hoping for one last glimpse of blue sky.” You might rightly anticipate sadness in a book like this. Still, a poem that describes a pair of hawks being forced from their home hits even harder than expected, artfully representing the ongoing toll of change. Thoughtful, engaging, and arresting, B. L. Bruce’s transportive poetry reminds readers of places they’ve been and prepares them for where they’re going, while gently honoring the understated beauty surrounding all of us.

Review by Jennifer Jackson

NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER
AT A DISCOUNTED RATE
UNTIL AUGUST 23, 2024
FROM FINISHING LINE PRESS!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Award-winning author and two-time Pushcart Prize nominee, California poet Bri Bruce (writing as B. L. Bruce) has been called the “heiress of Mary Oliver.” With a bachelor’s degree in literature and creative writing from the University of California at Santa Cruz, her work has appeared in dozens of anthologies, magazines, and literary publications. Her poetry most recently appears in The Lakeshore Review, Red Wolf Journal, Bivouac Magazine, The Sunlight Press, Riverstone Literary Journal, and Gone Lawn, among many others. Bruce is the recipient of the Ina Coolbrith Memorial Poetry Prize and the PushPen Press Pendant Prize for Poetry, as well as the author of four books: The Weight of Snow, 28 Days of Solitude, The Starling’s Song, and Measures. Her highly praised debut collection, The Weight of Snow, was the 2014 International Book Awards poetry category finalist and the 2014 USA Best Book Awards poetry category finalist. The Starling’s Song, released in February of 2016, was selected as Honorable Mention in the Pacific Rim Book Festival. Blue California Sky is her fifth book. Follow her on Twitter @b_l_bruce and on Instagram @thepoesis.

The Summer 2024 Issue features work from 63 contributors from around the globe, including cover art by Amber Lauder, interviews with Kimber DeVaney and Alex Dawson, and with spotlights on the work of photographer Elle Bruce and poet Erich von Hungen.

Available in print and digital formats.

Contributors include Joshua St. Claire, Miriam Calleja, C.X. Turner, Nicholas Olah, Vicki Hewitt, Maria Provenzano, W. Luther Jett, Garrett Stack, Jeffery Allen Tobin, Patrick Kitchen, Stephanie Stein, Joseph Howse, Phillip Sterling, Robbin Farr, Krista Glavich, Elise Chadwick, Patricia Hemminger, Rick Bogacz, Tammy Greenwood, Anja Mujić, Sally Zaino, Elica Sue, Jennifer Perry, Chris Dahl, Bill Anderson-Samways, Linda Briskin, Vanessa Napolitano, Joyce Brinkman, Anne Kulou, Erin Benton, Mary Ann Larkin, Luke Levi, Sarah Garland, Shane Coppage, Thomas Francis O’Donnell, Rhiannon Scray, Sarah Hewitt, Di Slaney, Shannon Cates, D. Dina Friedman, Debbie Strange, Alison Granucci, Taylor E. Sloan, Hannah Rodabaugh, Alexander Etheridge, Alex Prince, Michael Kunzinger, Jennifer Browne, Gary Young, Tiara Safic-Martin, Bel Wallace, Anna Maughan, MJ Okawa, Sally Anderson Boström, Eileen Begley, Jaimie Ladysh, Maggie Lerum, and Rose-Marie Keller-Flaig.

B. L. Bruce’s newest collection of poetry, “Blue California Sky,” is now available for pre-order from award-winning, women-owned press Finishing Line Press.

Blue California Sky is both homage to the varied and rich landscapes of California and poignant glimpses into the human experience: grief, trauma, loss, change, and also love, joy, wonder, and connection—to one’s self, to others, and to the natural world. Expressed in accessible yet poetic prose, the poems in Blue California Sky are haunting, lyrical, and powerful.

Included in the collection is poem “Once each year,” nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2022 and winner of the 2023 Los Gatos Poetry Contest awarded by the town’s poet laureate, in addition to three poems featured in the Fevers of the Mind Poetry Showcase in August of 2023.

NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER
FROM FINISHING LINE PRESS!

“A ruminative look at grief and our lives through the small moments of nature.” – Kristine Eckart, Independent Book Review

“Spoken in meditative prose poetry, award-winning Bruce’s latest work is an ode to life’s acuity. She captures the poignancy of grief and provokes reflection on those defining moments that render us forever changed. . . .  A gorgeous collection that brims with sagacity and compassion; haunting and beautiful.” – The Prairies Book Review

“This unique and gorgeous collection boasts rich, evocative wording that transports the reader to unexpected places, accompanied by striking images all along the way. A stunner.” – BookView Review (“Recommended” Award)

Award-winning author and two-time Pushcart Prize nominee, California poet Bri Bruce (writing as B. L. Bruce) has been called the “heiress of Mary Oliver.” With a bachelor’s degree in literature and creative writing from the University of California at Santa Cruz, her work has appeared in dozens of anthologies, magazines, and literary publications. Her poetry most recently appears in The Lakeshore Review, Red Wolf Journal, Bivouac Magazine, The Sunlight Press, Riverstone Literary Journal, and Gone Lawn, among many others. Bruce is the recipient of the Ina Coolbrith Memorial Poetry Prize and the PushPen Press Pendant Prize for Poetry, as well as the author of four books: The Weight of Snow, 28 Days of Solitude, The Starling’s Song, and Measures. Her highly praised debut collection, The Weight of Snow, was the 2014 International Book Awards poetry category finalist and the 2014 USA Best Book Awards poetry category finalist. The Starling’s Song, released in February of 2016, was selected as Honorable Mention in the Pacific Rim Book Festival. Blue California Sky is her fifth book. Follow her on Twitter @b_l_bruce and on Instagram @thepoesis.

The Spring 2024 issue of Humana Obscura features work by 87 new, emerging, and established contributors from around the globe.

Available in print and digital formats.

Contributors include Jocelyn Ulevicus, Lisa Jean, Deb Baker, Tiara Safic-Martin, Lauren Carson, Lindsay Rockwell, Sally Anderson Boström, Dawn Stoltzfus, Kristine Narvida, Yvette Neisser, Ed Meek, Kevin Flynn, E. D. Watson, Natalie Herrera-Pacheco, Gabriel Welsch, Kelly Schulze, Rachel Orta, Kate Lab, Walt McLaughling, Stephanie Ann Devito, Zak Schafer, Arvilla Fee, Stephanie Hanlon, Anastasia Noelle Pirri, Roberta Beach Jacobson, Rosemary Wells, Amy Ratto Parks, Sylvia Sun, Anna Lueck, Vimla Sriram, Diane Elam, Ron C. Moss, and more.

The Fall/Winter 2023 issue of Humana Obscura features work by 53 new, emerging, and established contributors from around the globe.

Available in print and digital formats.

Contributors include Amy Aiken, Bryan Stewart, Debbie Strange, Mary Catherine Creel, Vian Borchert, Marjorie Hanft, Joyce Meyers, Harry Bauld, Denise Miller, Sarah Garland, petro c. k., Jocelyn Velush, Rose-Marie Keller-Flaig, Janna Knittel, Lucy Flood, Chris Powici, Megan Muthupandiyan, Kerri Bowen, Lissa Watson, Adele Webster, Kimberly Phinney, Rachel Jeffcoat, Maureen Bennett, Rebecca Lacey, Tak Erzinger, Nicholas Olah, Tim Dwyer, Audrey Colasanti, Shane Coppage, Sarah Das Gupta, Kerry McPherson, Anna Freyne, Dustin Marley Hackfeld, Talitha May, Melissa Laussmann, José A. Alcántara, Patricia Rockwood, Jodi Balas, Kerstin Schulz, Ann Howells, Sally Anderson Boström, Jerome Berglund, Joshua St. Claire, Luke Levi, Kimber Devaney, Deron Eckert, Wally Swist, Vanessa Pejovic, Harold Sneide, Jennifer Browne, and Jennifer Steensma Hoag.