Дэвид Дефи

David Dephy is a Georgian-American poet, novelist, essayist, and multimedia artist who lives and works in New York City. Working across literature, performance, and visual art, his practice explores themes of freedom, identity, exile, and the human condition. He is the founder of Poetry Orchestra, an internationally recognized poetry video art series.

During the 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia, Dephy led the headquarters of civil solidarity under the slogan “Stop Russia.” In 2017, he was forced into exile and later granted political asylum in the United States with support from organizations including Artistic Freedom Initiative and PEN America. That same year, he was invited by Columbia University as a featured guest poet alongside Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk.

Dephy has participated in major literary and cultural events including the PEN World Voices Festival, where he presented The Second Skin with Laurie Anderson, Yusef Komunyakaa, and Salman Rushdie. He has held residencies at Art Omi and currently serves as Poet-in-Residence with Brownstone Poets (2024–2026). His work has also been included in academic programs at institutions such as Stanford University, Cornell University, and the University of Wisconsin.

An award-winning writer, Dephy has received honors including the New York Nassau County Poet Laureate Society Poetry Award (2025), the Nelson Mandela Premium Award (2022), and the Artists Forum First Prize in Poetry (2021). His writing has been widely published and anthologized internationally, including his short story Before the End, featured in Best European Fiction.

He is the author of numerous books, including Rays Never Were So Near As Now (2025), A Double Meaning (2022), and Eastern Star (2020), as well as multiple poetry and music collaborations. His poem “A Sense of Purpose” was included in the Polaris Trilogy and sent to the Moon by NASA as part of The Lunar Codex project.

Dephy holds a master’s degree in fine art and currently teaches poetry and art in New York City.