Music and Poetry with Ilya Kaminsky

The Athens-Clarke County Library is pleased to be participating in the 2022-2023 NEA Big Read with Dr. Melisa Cahnmann-Taylor from UGA’s College of Education. The National Endowment for the Arts Big Read is designed to broaden our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. Our book is Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky. During April, which is both National Poetry Month and Deaf History Month, and concluding in May, we will explore many aspects of this award-winning work in a series of community-wide events. Deaf Republic propels the reader forward through a harrowing story in two acts that opens with the shooting of a deaf boy in a public square by occupying soldiers. In protest, the townspeople go deaf, organizing their dissent through puppetry and sign language. The New York Times said “A visit to this republic will not leave the reader unchanged.” Winner of the National Jewish Book Award for Poetry, Finalist for the National Book Award for Poetry, Finalist for the PEN/Jean Stein Award, Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize Kaminsky was born into a Jewish family in the former Soviet Union, now Ukraine. He lost most of his hearing at the age of four after a doctor misdiagnosed mumps as a cold. His family was granted political asylum by the United States in 1993, settling in Rochester, New York. Read more about Ilya Kaminsky at ilyakaminsky.com. https://www.arts.gov/initiatives/nea-big-read/deaf-republic