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Ilya Kaminsky

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Ilya Kaminsky
Born (1977-11-11) November 11, 1977 (age 46)
Odessa
LanguageEnglish and Russian
CitizenshipAmerican
Alma materGeorgetown University;
University of California, Hastings College of the Law.
GenrePoetry
SpouseKatie Farris

Ilya Kaminsky (born April 18, 1977 in Odessa, Soviet Union, now Ukraine) is a hard-of-hearing Ukrainian born Russian-Jewish-American poet, critic, translator and professor. He began to write poetry seriously as a teenager in Odessa, publishing a chapbook in Russian entitled The Blessed City.[1] His first published poetry collection in English was a chapbook, Musica Humana (Chapiteau Press, 2002). His second collection in English, Dancing in Odessa (Tupelo Press, 2004), earned him a 2005 Whiting Award, the American Academy of Arts and Letters Metcalf Award, the Ruth Lilly Fellowship, and the Dorset Prize, and was named the 2005 ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year in Poetry. In 2008, he was awarded a Lannan Literary Fellowship.[2] His poems have appeared in literary journals and magazines including The Kenyon Review,[3] New Republic, Harvard Review, Poetry.[4]

Dancing in Odessa and its chapbook forbear, Musica Humana, have earned Kaminsky superlative praise from reviewers and prominent poets. The Philadelphia Enquirer wrote, "Like Joseph Brodsky before him, Kaminsky is a terrifyingly good poet, another poet from the former U.S.S.R. who, having adopted English, has come to put us native speakers to shame."[5] Jane Hirshfield wrote, "Inventiveness of language, the investigative passion, praises, lamentation, and a proper sense of the ridiculous are omnipresent. Kaminsky’s poems are wholly local yet unprovincial, intimate yet free of ego. This first full-length book is a breathtaking debut."[6]

Carolyn Forché wrote,

Kaminsky is more than a promising young poet; he is a poet of promise fulfilled. I am in awe of his gifts.[7]

Kaminsky is particularly well known for his passionate, almost ecstatic reading style.

Life

Kaminsky was born in Odessa, former Soviet Union (now Ukraine), on April 18, 1977. According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, "Kaminsky lost most of his hearing at age 4. He lost his homeland at age 16, when family sought political asylum."[8] At the time, he spoke no English, and continued to write in Russian while learning English.[9]

Kaminsky earned his Bachelor of Arts at Georgetown University, and went on to receive his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. He has been invited to teach and read poetry at literary centers, colleges and universities from Harvard to Naropa. He has also worked as a Law Clerk at the National Immigration Law Center, and more recently, at Bay Area Legal Aid, helping the poor and homeless to solve their legal difficulties. He currently teaches in the graduate creative writing program at San Diego State University, is a faculty member at The Frost Place Conference on Poetry,[10] and lives in San Diego with his wife, Katie Farris.[4][11]

Honors and awards

Published works

Full-Length Poetry Collections

  • Dancing in Odessa (Tupelo Press, 2004) ISBN 978-1-932195-12-5

Chapbooks

  • Musica Humana (Chapiteau Press, 2002) ISBN 978-1-931498-32-6

Editor

  • "Ecco Anthology of International Poetry" (Harper Collins, 2010)

Reviews

References

  1. ^ The Centrum Writers Exchange- August 1, 2008 - The Sunlight of Odessa: Poet Ilya Kaminsky by Jordan Hartt
  2. ^ Tupelo Press > Author Page > Ilya Kaminsky
  3. ^ The Kenyon Review > February 2009 > That Map of Bone and Opened Valves by Ilya Kaminsky
  4. ^ a b Blue Flower Arts > Author Page > Ilya Kaminsky
  5. ^ June 2, 2004 > In His Memories of Odessa, A Poet Pays Tribute to His Forebears by John Timpane
  6. ^ Ploughshares Spring 2006 > Authors & Articles: Editor's Shelf > Dancing in Odessa by Ilya Kaminsky
  7. ^ Chapiteau Press Titles > Musica Humana by Ilya Kaminsky
  8. ^ Seattle Post-Intelligencer (seattlepi.com) > Friday, September 10, 2004 > Ilya Kaminsky's Poetry Turns His Losses into gGifts to Readers by Eric McHenry > Special to the Post-Intelligencer
  9. ^ The Centrum Writers Exchange > August 1, 2008 > The Sunlight of Odessa: Poet Ilya Kaminsky by Jordan Hartt
  10. ^ "Meet Ilya Kaminsky, Frost Place Poetry Seminar Faculty". The Frost Place. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  11. ^ Ilya Kaminsky's Website > Bio
  12. ^ Poetry Foundation > Previous Ruth Lily Poetry Fellowship Recipients
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