Author Ilya Kaminsky to give readings in San Marcos, Kyle

Posted by Jayme Blaschke
University News Service
September 9, 2008

Ilya Kaminsky, author of Dancing in Odessa, will give two readings Sept. 25 and 26.

Presented by the Katherine Anne Porter House, Kaminsky will read at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 25 in room 407 of the Lampasas Building on the Texas State University-San Marcos campus as part of the Honors Coffee Forum. The following day, Sept. 26, he will present a reading at 7:30 p.m. at the Katherine Anne Porter House, 508 W. Center Street in Kyle. Both events are free and open to the public.

Kaminsky was born in Odessa, Soviet Union, in 1977, and arrived to the United States in 1993 when his family was granted asylum by the American government. He is the author of Dancing In Odessa (Tupelo Press, 2004), which won the Whiting Writer's Award, the American Academy of Arts and Letters' Metcalf Award, the Dorset Prize, the Ruth Lilly Fellowship given annually by Poetry magazine, and was named Best Poetry Book of the Year 2004 by ForeWord Magazine. He also writes poetry in Russian. His work in that language was chosen for "Bunker Poetico" at Venice Bienial Festival in Italy.

Kaminsky co-founded Poets For Peace, an organization that sponsors poetry readings in the United States and abroad with a goal of supporting such relief organizations as Doctors Without Borders and Survivors International. He teaches contemporary world poetry, creative writing and literary translation in the master of fine arts program in creative writing at San Diego State University.

The event is cosponsored by the Therese Kayser Lindsey Reading Series and the Texas State University Department of English. For more information, contact Michael Noll at (512) 245-6637 or via email at mn19@txstate.edu.