Poet Ilya Kaminsky to give reading in Buffalo

Just Buffalo Literary Center welcomes poet Ilya Kaminsky, author of the books “Deaf Republic” and “Dancing in Odessa,” for a reading on April 2 as part of the organization’s “STUDIO” series.

The event, which begins at 7:30 p.m., is free and open to the public and takes place at Just Buffalo Literary Center, 468 Washington St., second floor. Sign language interpretation services will be provided by Service Bridges Inc.

“Ilya Kaminsky’s poetry is art as resistance,” said Barbara Cole, artistic and associate executive director of Just Buffalo Literary Center. “It reminds us of the power of language in the face of complacency.”

Kaminsky is a poet and translator whose most recent book, “Deaf Republic,” imagines an occupied town that falls deaf in response to the shooting of a child. A finalist for the 2019 National Book Award for Poetry, it was named a Best Book of 2019 by The Washington Post, NPR, New York Times Book Review, and the Times Literary Supplement.

Born in the former Soviet Union, Kaminsky came to the U.S. as a teenager when his family was granted asylum; he is now an American citizen. He has received a Whiting Award, a Lannan Literary Fellowship and a Guggenheim Fellowship, and was named a finalist for the Neustadt International Prize for Literature. His work has been translated into more than 20 languages.

More information can be found at justbuffalo.org.