My name is Bella Cohen. I was born in Kishinev, Moldova in the former Soviet Union in 1957. My native tongue is Russian, and from a very early age I was influenced by amazing Russian poets, among them Anna Akhmatova and Marina Tzetaeva. I started writing poetry at twelve years old. When I turned sixteen years old, my family immigrated to Israel. There I majored in English Literature, and was introduced to many English and American poets, among them Emily Dickinson and Christina Rossetti. I have lived in the USA for the past forty years, teaching and writing. ‘Soulful' is my second book of poetry.