Written as a book-length sequence in two acts, Deaf Republic begins when soldiers occupying the fictional town of Vasenka shoot a deaf boy during a puppet performance.

In response, the townspeople collectively refuse to hear: deafness becomes both a language of resistance and a dangerous form of solidarity as private love, public violence and political rebellion begin to converge. Kaminsky combines lyric poetry, dramatic narrative and illustrations of sign language to examine what people do—and fail to do—when violence becomes ordinary. The collection is formally inventive without losing its human centre: lovers protect one another, neighbours become accomplices, and silence shifts between refusal, complicity and grief. First published in 2019, it was a National Book Award finalist.

Graywolf Press, 2019, seventh printing. Paperback in near-fine condition with minimal shelf wear.