A profile of 1998-2005 recipient of the Robert F. Clark Graduate Fellowship in Ukrainian Language and Literature, Mark Andryczyk
When you help Dr. Mark Andryczyk, you help many
Mark Roman Andryczyk is the administrator of the Ukrainian Studies Program and lecturer in Ukrainian Literature at the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at Columbia University.
He grew up in the Ukrainian American community of Philadelphia, going to a Saturday School and enjoying his time in the Ukrainian American Scouting Organization, Plast USA. It was in the 1990’s, however, when he began traveling to Ukraine, that he developed his real interest in the country and its culture.
“There were exciting things going on in Ukraine. I became really interested and involved in its culture and literature.”
After several trips to Ukraine, including brief periods living there, he returned home and back to university. Already with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering under his belt, he wanted to concentrate on his newly developed fascination. He earned a Masters in Central and European Studies from Le Salle University in Philadelphia.
He continued his studies at the University of Toronto Department of Slavic Languages and Literature, first earning his Masters and later his PhD in Ukrainian Literature.
“University of Toronto has one of the best, most diverse Slavic programs in North America. It’s doubtful anyone involved in Ukrainian studies anywhere is unaware of it.” The financial commitment required to earn a PhD is onerous for any student. Not being a resident of Ontario, it was an even bigger challenge for Mark. He believes he would not have been able to do it without the help of CFUS. To support his studies at U of T, CFUS awarded him the Robert F. Clark Graduate Fellowship in Ukrainian Language and Literature.
As well as lecturing at Columbia, Mark continues to research, write and translate. In 2012, he published The Intellectual as Hero in 1990s Ukrainian Fiction, the first English monograph on post-Soviet Ukrainian literature. A CFUS Scholarly Publication Grant (insert link when available) enabled him to hire an indexer to prepare the work for publication by University of Toronto Press.
“Many of the writers in this first wave are leading writers in Ukraine today. Able to write and publish freely, they established paradigms that are still being followed.”
Mark thinks the support CFUS gives to the publication of translations and scholarly works is imperative. Some of the cost of publication falls to writers themselves. And there is a growing body of translation, his own and others, that remains unpublished. He and other lecturers depend on these works to teach. More then helping just the writer, they help every professor and every student of Ukrainian studies.
“The more materials students can work with, the better.”
Mark is currently working on an anthology of Ukrainian literature translations. He plans to spend the summer of 2013 in Ukraine presenting his own book and meeting and working with writers. Among the writers he’ll be working with is Yuri Andrukhovych, whose work he plans on translating.
Mark Andryczyk is also the recipient of the 2011 CFUS Scholarly Publications Program Grant.
