Michael M. Naydan

Michael Marion Naydan (born 1952) is an American literary scholar and translator, the Woskob Family Professor of Ukrainian Studies at Pennsylvania State University.^[1] He is known for his translations of Ukrainian and Russian literature and for his academic work in Slavic studies.^[2]

Naydan was born in 1952. He is the son of Ukrainian immigrants who were forced laborers during World War II.^[2] He earned a B.A. (1973) and M.A. (1975) in Russian Studies from American University.^[1] He completed his graduate work at Columbia University, receiving an M.Phil. in 1980 and a Ph.D. in Slavic Languages in 1984.^[1]

Naydan began his academic career as a lecturer at Yale University (1982–1986) and Rutgers University (1986–1988).^[1] In 1988, he joined the faculty of Pennsylvania State University, where he was appointed the inaugural Woskob Family Professor of Ukrainian Studies in 2007.^[1][2]

From 1993 to 1999, Naydan served as the editor-in-chief of the Slavic and East European Journal.^[1] He has been awarded two Fulbright Scholar grants for research in Lviv, Ukraine.^[2]

• Lina Kostenko. Selected Poetry of Lina Kostenko: Wanderings of the Heart. Garland Publishing, 1990. ISBN 978-0-8240-2532-8
• Marina Tsvetaeva. After Russia (Posle Rossii). Co-translated with Slava Yastremski. Ardis Publishers, 1992. ISBN 978-0-87501-077-9
• Yuri Andrukhovych. Perverzion. Northwestern University Press, 2005. ISBN 978-0-8101-1964-2 (Winner of the 2005 AAUS Translation Prize)^[3]
• Herstories: An Anthology of New Ukrainian Women Prose Writers. Edited and co-translated by Michael M. Naydan. Glagoslav Publishers, 2014. ISBN 978-1-909156-01-2
  • A review in East/West Journal of Ukrainian Studies noted that the anthology "achieves its ambitious objectives quite successfully."^[4]
• Abram Terz (Andrei Sinyavsky). Strolls with Pushkin and Journey to the River Black. Co-translated with Slava Yastremski, Olha Tytarenko, Maria Badanova. Columbia University Press, 2016. ISBN 978-0-231-17822-8
  • A review in the Slavic and East European Journal praised the translation for its "accuracy and creativity."^[5]
• Yuri Andrukhovych. My Final Territory: Selected Essays. Co-translated with Mark Andryczyk. University of Toronto Press, 2018. ISBN 978-1-4875-0175-4 (Winner of the 2018 AAUS Translation Prize)^[6]
• Maria Matios. Sweet Darusya: A Tale of Two Villages. Co-translated with Olha Tytarenko. Spuyten Duyvil, 2019. ISBN 978-1-949966-45-9
  • A Slavic Review article described it as a "superb translation" that captures the novel's "stylistic richness."^[7]
• Serhii Rudenko. Zelensky: A Biography. Co-translated with Alla Perminova. Polity Press, 2022. ISBN 978-1-5095-5306-8

• Seven Signs of the Lion (novel). Glagoslav Publishers, 2016. ISBN 978-1-78437-943-8 (Translated into Ukrainian in 2017).^[1]

• AATSEEL Outstanding Contribution to the Profession Award (2024): A lifetime achievement award from the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages, recognizing individuals with a "significant impact on the profession."^[2][8]
• George S. N. Luckyj Ukrainian Literature Translation Prize (2013): Awarded by the Canadian Foundation for Ukrainian Studies.^[9]
• AAUS Translation Prize: Awarded multiple times by the American Association for Ukrainian Studies. Wins include 2005 for Yuri Andrukhovych's Perverzion and 2018 for Andrukhovych's My Final Territory.^[3][6]

• Michael M. Naydan faculty profile at Pennsylvania State University
• Michael M. Naydan contributor profile at World Literature Today