Ilya Kaminsky



Ilya Kaminsky (born April 18, 1977 in Odessa, Soviet Union, now Ukraine) is a Russian-American poet, critic, translator and professor. He 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 began to write poetry seriously as a teenager in Odessa, publishing a chapbook in Russian entitled The Blessed City.

He lost his homeland at age 16, when family sought political asylum." At the time, he spoke no English, and continued to write in Russian while learning English.

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), was widely acclaimed. In 2008, he was awarded a Lannan Literary Fellowship. His poems have appeared in literary journals and magazines including The Kenyon Review, New Republic, Harvard Review, Poetry.

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 teaches in the graduate creative writing program at San Diego State University. He lives in San Diego with his wife, Kathryn "Katie" Farris.

Writing
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." Jane Hirschfield 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." Carolyn Forche wrote, "Kaminsky is more than a promising young poet; he is a poet of promise fulfilled. I am in awe of his gifts."

Recognition
His first full-length poetry collection, Dancing in Odessa (2004), won the Metcalf Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, ForeWord Magazine’s Best Poetry Book of the Year award, and the Dorset Prize from Tupelo Press. Other honors he has won include honors include a Whiting Writers’ Award, the Milton Center’s Award for Excellence in Writing, the Florence Kahn Memorial Award, the Levinson Prize and Ruth Lilly Fellowship from Poetry, Philips Exeter Academy’s George Bennett Fellowship, and a Lannan Foundation fellowship.

Honors and awards

 * 2008 Lannan Literary Fellowship
 * 2005 Whiting Writers' Award
 * 2005 ForeWord (magazine) Book of the Year Award in Poetry
 * 2005 American Academy of Arts and Letters Metcalf Award
 * 2002 The Dorset Prize
 * 2001 Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship

Poetry

 * Musica Humana (Chapiteau Press, 2002) ISBN 9781931498326
 * Dancing in Odessa (Tupelo Press, 2004) ISBN 9781932195125

Edited

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

Reviews

 * Review: Patricia Fargnoli reviews "Dancing in Odessa" in Valparaiso Poetry Review
 * Review: TE Ballard reviews "Dancing in Odessa" in Tryst
 * Review: Sally Ball reviews "Dancing in Odessa" in Pleiades
 * Review: Ace Bogges reviews "Dancing in Odessa" in Adirondack Review
 * Review: Erick McHenry on "Dancing in Odessa" in Seattle Post Intelligencer
 * Review: Aviya Kusher on "Dancing in Odessa" in The Jerusalem Post
 * Review: Adam L. Dressler on "Dancing in Odessa" in Perihelion
 * Review: Eric Gudas on "Dancing in Odessa" in Slope
 * Review: Jeannine Hall Gailey on "Dancing in Odessa" in The Pedestal
 * Review: Jerome Rothenberg on "Dancing in Odessa" in Poems and Poetics
 * Review: Peter Kline on "Dancing in Odessa" in Meridian