Laurel Kallen is a poet, writer, and educator who teaches at the New York City College of Technology/CUNY.  She is the recipient of the 2009 Stark Short Fiction Award and the Teacher/Writer Award. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Global City Review, Legal Studies Forum, Scapegoat Review, La Petite Zine, Atlanta Review, Big Bridge, Portland Review and Devil’s Lake. The Forms of Discomfort, a collection of poetry, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2012. Laurel has been a featured reader at Perch Café, Cornelia Street Cafe and The CUNY Graduate Center. She has reviewed poetry for American Book Review, Pleiades, and Big City Lit. Laurel was a speechwriter for former New York City Mayor David Dinkins.