Laura Orem is our National Poetry Month Poet and she lives in the great state of Pennsylvania. She teaches at Goucher College in Baltimore where she's a major force in American letters - getting students to recognize commas as essential life elements. While wrestling grammar to the ground (and winning) Laura is a contributor to the BEST AMERICAN POETRY Column and is known for her expertise on popular culture: especially cinema, music, celebrity - well everything actually within the 20th and 21st century. Laura's poetry is powerful, intense, ambitious, complex and impeccably crafted; and, we are proud to present her work as it is amazingly both personal and universal. - Grace Cavalieri

Here are "paintings" of Italy in poetry. A poet wanders through the crowded street of vendors; a poet feels the lash of Winter, the bite of Summer's African winds. Meet Sabine Pascarelli, whose philosophy creates a portrait of life through language. She writes in English, although that is just one of her mastered languages; in fact, she translates professionally in German and Italian as well. English seems to be the emotional language that she chooses to speak here. It's a beautiful thing to meet a new poet, whose heart is an open window without prevailing norms, who defines a new reality, letting us watch as she creates - and explores her world. - Grace Cavalieri

For our March poet, we are proud to present KIM ROBERTS who lives and works in Washington D.C. She is a woman of the web whose spirit extends beyond the cloud's horizon; and more, she is a strong poet who sweeps her narrative into the science of life. Kim's work embodies the sensual and the intelligent with its melodic counterpoints. Although we have no choice but to move forward in life, what we leave behind is the content of the past and therefore a morality of its time. To read Kim Roberts is to know the imperative meaning of how it is to accept the world - said with vision and grace. -- Grace Cavalieri

We honor January, 2013 as the opening month of Anno Della Cultura Italiana (Year of Italian Culture) featuring an Italian American poet. Italian Americans have added the luster of their parents' country with the passion and glitter of America. Several poets have been journalists. Louise Bogan, formerly Poet Laureate of the U.S. wrote for the New Yorker. Another famous name is Stephen Crane who chronicled the details of the Spanish American War along with his own personal verse and stories.

Maria Lisella writes for AFAR, Fra Noi, FOX News.com, Flanders, France Guide, German Life, Global Foodie, i-italy.org [blog], NY Daily News, Sherman?s Travel, The Peak and Travel and Leisure. Not surprisingly, her poetry is poetry of the world with its noisy populations, its museums, its rough love. She's a New Yorker and carries its energy in her lines.

Several poets have been journalists. Louise Bogan, formerly Poet Laureate of the U.S. wrote for the New Yorker. Another famous name is Stephen Crane who chronicled the details of the Spanish American War along with his own personal verse and stories.

Maria Lisella writes for AFAR, Fra Noi, FOX News.com, Flanders, France Guide, German Life, Global Foodie, i-italy.org [blog], NY Daily News, Sherman's Travel, The Peak and Travel and Leisure. Not surprisingly, her poetry is poetry of the world with its noisy populations, its museums, its rough love. She's a New Yorker and carries its energy in her lines. -- Grace Cavalieri

Dai Sil Kim-Gibson comes from a world whose art is one of dignity, respect, and humility. She brings to that deep feelings and the open consciousness of a woman who has lived in eastern and western cultures. Some of her poetry was born when her beloved husband died - much of her writing harks back to the land of her birth before North and South Korea were torn apart. Whatever the topic, Dai Sil writes with a patient grace, and we read her knowing the words are good and true. - Grace Cavalieri