Ilya Kaminsky

Poet, critic, translator and professor

Ilya Kaminsky

Born|  (1977-04-18) April 18, 1977 (age 46)
Odesa
Language| English, Russian
Citizenship| American
Alma mater|

* Georgetown University
* University of California, Hastings College of the Law

Genre| Poetry
Spouse| Katie Farris

Ilya Kaminsky (born April 18, 1977) is a USSR-born, Ukrainian-Jewish-American poet, critic, translator and professor. He is best known for his poetry collections Dancing in Odesa and Deaf Republic, which have earned him several awards.

In 2019, the BBC named Kaminsky among "12 Artists who changed the world".[1]

## Life[edit]

Kaminsky was born in Odesa, former Soviet Union (now Ukraine), on April 18, 1977, to a Jewish family.[2] He became hard of hearing at the age of four due to mumps.[2] He began to write poetry as a teenager in Odesa.[3] His family was granted asylum to live in the United States in 1993 due to anti-semitism in Ukraine, and settled in Rochester, New York.[4] He started to write poems in English in 1994.[5]

Kaminsky is the author of critically acclaimed collections of poetry, Dancing in Odesa (2004) and Deaf Republic (2019). Both books were written in English, Kaminsky's second language.[6]

Over the years, Kaminsky has also become known for his passionate advocacy of translation of international literature in the United States. A long time poetry editor at  Words Without Borders,[7] and Poetry International,[8] he has also edited several anthologies of poetry from around the world, including Ecco Anthology of International Poetry (HarperCollins),[9] which is widely used in classrooms all over the country. He has also founded and edited Poets in the World, a book series[10] which is dedicated to publishing compilations of poetry from around the globe, including places such as Iraq, China, Eastern Europe, South America, and elsewhere.[citation needed] He has also edited and translated several collections of poetry from Ukraine.

Kaminsky has worked as a law clerk for San Francisco Legal Aid and the National Immigration Law Center. More recently, he worked pro-bono as the Court Appointed Special Advocate for Orphaned Children in Southern California.[11] Currently, he is a professor at Princeton and lives in New Jersey.

## Honors and awards[edit]

* 2023 Kulturhuset Stadsteaterns Internationella Litteraturpris, Sweden, finalist, for "Dansa i Odessa" (translated by Lars Gustaf Andersson) [12]
* 2022 Prix Alain Bosquet, France, for République sourde (translated by Sabine Huynh)
* 2022 Premio Laudomia Bonanni, Italy [13]
* 2020 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Deaf Republic: Poems[14]
* 2020 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, given to works that make important contributions to understanding racism and appreciation of rich diversity of human culture.[15]
* 2019 Academy of American Poets fellowship[16]
* 2019 National Book Award finalist for Deaf Republic [17]
* 2019 National Book Critics Circle Award finalist for Deaf Republic [18]
* 2019 Named by BBC as one of "12 artists who changed the world in 2019"[19]
* 2019  The New York Times  Notable Book of the Year for Deaf Republic [20]
* 2019 National Jewish Book Award[21]
* 2019 TS Eliot Prize finalist[22]
* 2019 Forward Prize for Poetry, finalist[23]
* 2018 Guggenheim Fellowship[24]
* 2013 Neustadt International Prize for Literature finalist[25]
* 2008 Lannan Literary Fellowship
* 2005 Whiting Award
* 2005 American Academy of Arts and Letters Metcalf Award
* 2001 Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship[26]

Best Book of the Year

Deaf Republic was listed as The New York Times Notable Book[20] and was called Best Book of the Year by numerous publications, including NPR,[27] The Washington Post,[28] The New York Times Book Review,[29] Times Literary Supplement,[30] Publishers Weekly,[30] Financial Times,[31] The Guardian,[32][33] Irish Times,[34] Library Journal,[35] The Daily Telegraph,[36] New Statesman,[37] Slate,[38] Vanity Fair,[39] Lithub,[40] Huffington Post,[41] The New York Public Library,[42] The American Library Association.[43]

## Work[edit]

Kaminsky is best known for his poetry collections, Dancing in Odesa (2004) and Deaf Republic (2019). He is also known for his work in literary translation, his anthologies of international poetry and his literary essays.

### Writings[edit]

* Musica Humana (poetry, Chapiteau Press, 2002)[44] ISBN 978-1-931498-32-6
* Dancing in Odesa (poetry, Tupelo Press[45] in USA and Faber[46] in UK, 2004)
* Sonya's Fairytale (poetry, Bonnefant Press, Holland, 2010)[47]
* It is the Soul that is Erotic (lyric essay, Orison Press, 2017)[48]
* A Soul's Noise (lyric essay, Five Hundred Places Press, 2017)[49][50]
* Deaf Republic (poetry, Graywolf[51] in USA and Faber[52] in UK, 2019)
* I See a Silence (a place-based poetry and installation at the former nuclear testing site,[53] Artangel, UK National Trust, Suffolk, United Kingdom, 2021)[54]

#### In translation[edit]

* Sagir Cumhuriyet, translated into Turkish (Harfa, Turkey, 2020)[55]
* Kurtide vabariik, translated into Estonian (Loomingu Raamatukogu, Estonia, 2020)[56]
* Dansað í Ódesa, translated into Icelandic (Dimma Publishers, Iceland, 2017)[57]
* Tanzen in Odesa, translated into German (Klak Publishing House, Berlin, 2017)[58]
* Танцувајќи во Одеcа, translated into Macedonian (Blesok Publishers, Macedonia, 2014)[59]
* Bailando en Odesa, translated into Spanish (Valparaiso Ediciones, Mexico, 2014)[60]
* Bailando en Odesa, translated into Spanish (Tupelo Press, USA, 2018)[61]
* Musika Narodov Vetra, translated into Russian (Ailuros Publishing, 2013)[62]
* Selected Poems and Essays, translated into Chinese (book, Shangai Literature and Art Publishing House, 2013)[63]
* Bailando en Odesa, translated into Spanish, Libros del Aire, Madrid, 2012[64]
* Dovenrepubliek, translated into Dutch (Azul Press, Amsterdam, Holland, 2011)[65]
* Odesa'Da Dans, by Ilya Kaminsky, translated into Turkish, Cervi Siir, Istanbul, 2010[66]
* On Dance a Odesa, by Ilya Kaminsky, (a book, Editions D'Art Le Sabord, Quebec, 2010)[67]
* Бродячие музыканты translated into Russian (Moscow, Yunost, 2007)[68]
* Dansand in Odesa, tr. into Romanian by Chris Tanasescu, (book, Editura Vinea, Bucharest, 2007)[69]

#### Translations[edit]

* "Traveling Musicians: Poems of Polina Barskova" (Yunost Publishers, 2007)[70]
* "This Lamentable City: Poems of Polina Barskova" (Tupelo Press, 2010)[71]
* "If I Were Born in Prague: Poems of Guy Jean" (Argos Press, 2011)[72]
* "Mourning Ploughs Winter: Poems of Guy Jean" (Marick Press, 2012)[73]
* "Dark Elderberry Branch: Poems of Marina Tsvetaeva" (Alice James Books, 2012)[74]
* "A Small Suitcase of Russian Poetry: An Anthology of Translations" (Henry Miller Museum, Ping-Pong Free Press, 2016)[75]
* "The Country Where Everyone's Name Is Fear: Poems of Boris and Ludmile Khersonsky" (Lost Horse Press, 2022)[76]

Anthologies editor

* "Ecco Anthology of International Poetry" (HarperCollins, 2010)[77]
* "Homage to Paul Celan" (Marick Press, 2012)[78]
* "A God in the House" (Tupelo Press, 2012)[79]
* "Gossip and Metaphysics: Russian Modernist Poems and Prose" (Tupelo Press, 2014)[80]
* "In Shape of a Human Body I am Visiting This Earth: Poems from Far and Wide" (McSweeneys, 2017)[81]
* "In the Hour of War: Poetry from Ukraine" (Arrowsmith Press, 2023) [82]

Book series edited

Poets in the World, a Book Series Edited by Ilya Kaminsky[10]

* Pinholes in the Night: Essential Poems from Latin America, editors Raul Zúrita and Forrest Gander (Copper Canyon Press)
* Seven New Generation African Poets, editors Kwame Dawes and Chris Abani (Slapering Hol Press)
* Fifteen Iraqi Poets, editor Dunya Mikhail (New Directions)
* Another English: Anglophone Poems from Around the World, editors Catherine Barnett and Tiphanie Yanique (Tupelo Press)
* Elsewhere, editor Eliot Weinberger (Open Letter Books)
* Bones Will Crow: An Anthology of Burmese Poetry, editor Ko Ko Thett and James Byrne (Northern Illinois University Press)
* Landays: Poetry of Afgan Women, editor Eliza Griswold, Special Issue of Poetry magazine[83]
* New Cathay: Contemporary Chinese Poetry, editor Ming Di (Tupelo Press)
* Something Indecent: Poems Recommended by Eastern European Poets, editor Valzhyna Mort (Red Hen Press)
* The Star by My Head: Poets from Sweden, editors Malena Mörling and Jonas Ellerström (Milkweed Editions)
* Open the Door: How to Excite Young People about Poetry, editors Dorothea Lasky, Dominic Luxford and Jesse Nathan
* The Strangest of Theatres: Poets Writing Across Borders, editors Jared Hawkley, Brian Turner and Susan Rich (McSweeneys)

### Non-fiction[edit]

In 2018, Kaminsky published in The New York Times Magazine a widely discussed lyric essay about deafness and his return to Odesa, Ukraine, after many years away.[84]

He also writes essays on various subjects such as borders, creative life in the age of surveillance, and poetics of Paul Celan, for publications such as The Guardian, The New York Times, and Poetry.[85][86][87]

## Critical reception[edit]

Writing for The New Yorker, Kevin Young calls Deaf Republic "a contemporary epic. Evident throughout is a profound imagination, matched only by the poet's ability to create a republic of conscience that is ultimately ours, too"[88]

In The New York Times, Parul Sehgal says: "I was stunned by Ilya Kaminsky's Deaf Republic, lyric poems presented as a play in two acts, set in a country in crisis, inspired both by Odesa, where Kaminsky grew up, and America, where he now lives. It's a book about censorship, political apathy, torture — "the nakedness / of the whole nation" — but also about tomato sandwiches, the birth of a daughter and the sudden, almost shocking joys of longtime married life."[89]

In The Guardian, Fiona Benson says: "I fell hard for Ilya Kaminsky's Deaf Republic. Part folklore, fable, war story and love poem, it imagines an occupied town falling deaf in response to the shooting of a child. Often devastating, always humane, this is a book of the century, let alone this year."[90]

Washington Examiner calls Deaf Republic "a contemporary masterpiece. This book is proof that in 2019 great poetry can enjoy tremendous popularity."[91]

About Kaminsky's first book, Dancing in Odesa, Robert Pinsky writes: "Passionate, daring to laugh and weep, direct yet unexpected, Ilya Kaminsky's poetry has a glorious tilt and scope."[45]

### Selected poems and essays[edit]

Poems

* Poems from Deaf Republic in The New Yorker[88]
* A Selection of Kaminsky's Poems at Poetry website[92]
* A Selection of Kaminsky's Poems at The Academy of American Poets website[93]
* A Selection of Kaminsky's Poems at The Massachusetts Review website[94]
* Musica Humana at Poetry International Rotterdam website[95]
* Elegy for Joseph Brodsky at Poetry International Rotterdam website[96]
* We Lived Happily During the War  at Poetry Magazine website[97]
* Author's Prayer at Poetry website[98]

Essays

* Searching for a Lost Odesa -- and a Deaf Childhood in The New York Times Magazine[84]
* Of Strangeness that Wakes Us: On Mother Tongues, Fatherlands, and Paul Celan in Poetry[87]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "12 artists who changed the world in 2019". BBC. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
2. ^ a b Armitstead, Claire (2019-07-19). "'I will never hear my father's voice': Ilya Kaminsky on deafness and escaping the Soviet Union". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
3. ^ "The Centrum Writers Exchange- August 1, 2008 - The Sunlight of Odessa: Poet Ilya Kaminsky by Jordan Hartt". Archived from the original on 1 May 2009.
4. ^ Kaminsky, Ilya (2019-02-11). "Deaf Republic". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
5. ^ "Ilya Kaminsky". Poetry Foundation. 2019-11-16. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
6. ^ "ForeWord Magazine - Book Of The Year Awards - 2004 Finalists Print Out". Foreword Reviews. 19 May 2006. Archived from the original on 19 May 2006. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
7. ^ "Ilya Kaminsky". Words Without Borders. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
8. ^ "Poetry International @ SDSU". poetryinternational.sdsu.edu. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
9. ^ "The Ecco Anthology of International Poetry". HarperCollins. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
10. ^ a b "The Poetry Foundation's Harriet Monroe Poetry Institute Launches Its Poets in the World Series". Poetry Foundation. 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
11. ^ "City of Asylum Performers Enter Finals at National Book Awards". Long Shot Books. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
12. ^ "Svensk Bookhandel: Kulturhuset Stadsteaterns internationella litteraturpris 2023" (in Swedish-Sweden).`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
13. ^ "Premio Bonnani: Ilya Kaminsky p". Virtuqutidiane (in Italian). 18 November 2022. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
14. ^ "Los Angeles Times Book Prizes: Ilya Kaminsky, Poetry". Los Angeles Times. 17 April 2020. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
15. ^ "Deaf Republic". Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
16. ^ Poets, Academy of American. "Academy of American Poets Fellowship | Academy of American Poets". poets.org. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
17. ^ "Deaf Republic". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
18. ^ "Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky: 2019 Poetry finalist". National Book Critics Circle. 2020-02-28. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
19. ^ "Artists who changed the world in 2019". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
20. ^ a b "100 Notable Books of 2019 (Published 2019)". The New York Times. 2019-11-25. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
21. ^ "| Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts". iac.gatech.edu. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
22. ^ "Deaf Republic (Shortlisted, 2019 TS Eliot Poetry Prize; Winner, 2019 Forward Poetry Prize)". dura-dundee.org.uk. 2019-07-10. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
23. ^ "Forward Arts Foundation in Conversation with Ilya Kaminsky". Forward Arts Foundation. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
24. ^ "Ilya Kaminsky". gf.org.
25. ^ "America's Nobel: The Neustadt International Prize for Literature". Publishing Perspectives. 2013-08-12. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
26. ^ "Poetry Foundation > Previous Ruth Lily Poetry Fellowship Recipients". Archived from the original on 7 January 2011.
27. ^ "NPR's best books of 2020". apps.npr.org. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
28. ^ "Bestpoetry collections of 2019". washingtonpost.com.
29. ^ "Talking About the 10 Best Books of 2019". The New York Times. 26 November 2019.
30. ^ a b "Books of the Year 2019 - Arts & books roundups".
31. ^ Crawford, Maria (22 November 2019). "Best books of 2019: Poetry". Financial Times.
32. ^ "The best recent poetry – review roundup". TheGuardian.com. 10 July 2019.
33. ^ "Best poetry of 2019". TheGuardian.com. 30 November 2019.
34. ^ "Christmas gifts for readers: The Irish Times guide to best books of 2019". The Irish Times.
35. ^ "Best Poetry 2019".
36. ^ Saunders, Tristram Fane (4 December 2019). "The best new poetry books to buy for Christmas 2019". The Telegraph.
37. ^ "Books of the year". Retrieved 15 June 2023.
38. ^ Kois, Dan (3 December 2019). "The 10 Best Books of 2019, According to Slate's Books Editor". Slate.
39. ^ "The Best Books of 2019, as Chosen by the Editors of Vanity Fair". Vanity Fair. 26 December 2019.
40. ^ "The Ultimate Best Books of 2019 List". 11 December 2019.
41. ^ "The Year I Fell in Love with Reading Poetry Again". 8 December 2019.
42. ^ "Best Books for Adults 2020".
43. ^ "2020 Notable Books List: Year's best in fiction, nonfiction and poetry". 26 January 2020.
44. ^ "Chapiteau Press Titles".
45. ^ a b "Dancing in Odessa by Ilya Kaminsky - Tupelo Press". Tupelo Press.
46. ^ "Dancing in Odessa by Ilya Kaminsky | Books & Shop, Poetry". Faber. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
47. ^ "Amazon.com". Amazon. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
48. ^ "It's the Soul That's Erotic: An Essay on Adélia Prado, by Ilya Kaminsky".
49. ^ "fivehundred places".
50. ^ "Ilya Kaminsky: A soul's noise, Sanya Kantarovsky, Fivehundred places".
51. ^ "Deaf Republic | Graywolf Press".
52. ^ "Deaf Republic | Faber & Faber". Archived from the original on 2020-01-06.
53. ^ Armitstead, Claire (3 August 2021). "Orford Ness: The apocalyptic art zone at war with nature". The Guardian.
54. ^ "Afterness". www.artangel.org.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
55. ^ "Sağır Cumhuriyet: Ilya Kaminsky'nin Direnişi Şiirle Buluşturan Eseri Türkçede". 19 November 2020.
56. ^ "Ilya Kaminsky "Kurtide vabariik"".
57. ^ "Dansað í Ódessa". Dimma. 10 September 2018.
58. ^ "Ilya Kaminsky, Tanzen in Odessa. Gedichte | KLAK VerlagKLAK Verlag".
59. ^ "Шеста серија од поетската едиција "ЕваТас" на "Блесок"". 26 November 2014.
60. ^ "Bailando en Odesa de Ilyá Kamínsky en Valparaíso México". 23 November 2014.
61. ^ "Bailando en Odessa by Ilya Kaminsky - Tupelo Press".
62. ^ "Илья Каминский "Музыка народов ветра" - Издательство "Айлурос" и другие". Archived from the original on 2012-06-22.
63. ^ "Books | Ilya Kaminsky".
64. ^ "Bailando en Odesa : Ilyá Kamínsky : 9788494038730".
65. ^ "Ilya Kaminsky - Azul Press". Archived from the original on 2020-10-11. Retrieved 2020-10-06.
66. ^ Kitapyurdu, Kitapla buluşmanın en kolay yolu. Artshop Yayıncılık. 12 January 2013. ISBN 9786055102159.
67. ^ Book cover lesabord.qc.ca
68. ^ "Книга "Travelling Musicians / Бродячие музыканты" – купить книгу ISBN 5-88653-087-8 с быстрой доставкой в интернет-магазине OZON".
69. ^ "Ilya Kaminschy, Dansand in Odessa | Okazii.ro".
70. ^ Барскова, Полина (2007). Travelling Musicians / Бродячие музыканты — Полина Барскова. ISBN 9785886530872.
71. ^ "This Lamentable City by Polina Barskova - Tupelo Press".
72. ^ "If I Were Born In Prague « Argos Books".
73. ^ "Mourning Ploughs".
74. ^ "Dark Elderberry Branch: Poems of Marina Tsvetaeva — Alice James Books".
75. ^ A Small Suitcase of Russian Poetry: Russian Poetry in Translation. 29 March 2016. ISBN 9780997379501.
76. ^ "The Country Where Everyone's Name is Fear: Poems of Boris and Ludmila Khersonsky — Lost Horse Press".
77. ^ "The Ecco Anthology of International Poetry – HarperCollins".
78. ^ "Homage to Paul Celan, G.C.Waldrep".
79. ^ "A God in the House: Poets Talk About Faith - Tupelo Press".
80. ^ "Gossip & Metaphysics, edited by Ilya Kaminsky - Tupelo Press".
81. ^ "Poetry - The McSweeney's Store".
82. ^ "In the Hour of War: Poetry from Ukraine – Arrowsmith Press)".
83. ^ "Landays: Poetry of Afghan Women". static.poetryfoundation.org. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
84. ^ a b Kaminsky, Ilya (9 August 2018). "Searching for a Lost Odessa — and a Deaf Childhood". The New York Times.
85. ^ "Living on the border in Trump's America: 'walls don't stop people from crossing'". TheGuardian.com. 3 March 2017.
86. ^ Kaminsky, Ilya (3 January 2020). "Opinion | an Empty Street in Daylight". The New York Times.
87. ^ a b "Of Strangeness That Wakes Us by Ilya Kaminsky". 23 November 2021.
88. ^ a b ""Deaf Republic"". The New Yorker. 11 February 2019.
89. ^ Garner, Dwight; Sehgal, Parul; Szalai, Jennifer (5 December 2019). "Times Critics Discuss Their Year in Books, from New Talents to Old Favorites". The New York Times.
90. ^ "Bernardine Evaristo, Lee Child and more pick the best books of 2019". TheGuardian.com. 30 November 2019.
91. ^ "'Deaf Republic,' open ears | Washington Examiner". 5 April 2019.
92. ^ "Ilya Kaminsky | Poetry Foundation". 23 November 2021.
93. ^ "Ilya Kaminsky". Poets.org. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
94. ^ A Selection of Kaminsky's Poems
95. ^ "MUSICA HUMANA (poem) - Ilya Kaminsky - USA - Poetry International".
96. ^ "ELEGY FOR JOSEPH BRODSKY (Poem) - Ilya Kaminsky - USA - Poetry International".
97. ^ "We Lived Happily During the War by Ilya Kaminsky | Poetry Foundation". 11 March 2022.
98. ^ "Author's Prayer by Ilya Kaminsky". 23 November 2021.

## External links[edit]

* Official website
* Profile at The Whiting Foundation
* Tupelo Press > Author Page > Ilya Kaminsky Archived 2007-10-24 at the Wayback Machine

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* Germany
* Italy
* Israel
* United States
* Czech Republic
* Korea
* Netherlands

Other|

* IdRef