Ilya Kaminsky was born in Odessa, former Soviet Union in 1977, and arrived to the United States in 1993, when his family was granted asylum by the American government.
Ilya is the author of Dancing In Odessa (Tupelo Press) 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. Dancing In Odessa was also named Best Poetry Book of the Year by ForeWord Magazine.
Kaminsky was awarded Lannan Foundation's Literary Fellowship.
Poems from his new manuscript, Deaf Republic, were awarded Poetry magazine's Levinson Prize and the Pushcart Prize.
Recently, he was on the short-list for Neusdadt International Literature Prize.
His anthology of 20th century poetry in translation, Ecco Anthology of International Poetry, was published by Harper Collins in March.
His poems have been translated into numerous langauges and his books have been published in many countries including Turkey, Holland, Russia, France, Mexico, Mecedonia, Romania, Spain and China, where his poetry was awarded the Yinchuan International Poetry Prize.
Kaminsky has worked as a law clerk for San Francisco Legal Aid and the National Immigration Law Center. He curently works as the Court Appointed Special Advocate for Orphaned Children in Southern California.
Currently, he teaches English and Comparative Literature at San Diego State University.
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