English Translations of Lesia Ukrainka's Fairy Drama "The Song of the Forest"

This scholarly analysis highlights key features of Ukrainian folk traditions reflected in the much-loved fantasy drama by Lesia Ukrainka The Song of the Forest, exploring the contributions by five historical English translations of this famous work to our understanding of Ukrainian culture and identity. The author, Dr Patrick John Corness, an experienced specialist in the theory and practice of literary translation with particular interests in Ukrainian literature, and the recipient of prestigious awards for his previous work, including an honorable mention from the American Association for Ukrainian Studies for his own translation of The Song of the Forest, offers unique insights into a neglected aspect of Ukrainian translation studies.

About the author

Patrick John Corness holds a PhD in Literary Translation Studies from the University of Warwick. Formerly a university teacher of languages for over thirty years, in the 1990s he co-ordinated the co-operation of Coventry University with Lviv State Polytechnic University in a major four-year EU-funded project promoting development of the teaching of English and German in universities of western Ukraine. Since 2000, he has specialized in the theory and practice of literary translation, and he has an extensive portfolio of publications in this field. In 2013, he was awarded a Silver Medal by the Faculty of Philosophy, Charles University, Prague, for achievements in the international dissemination of Czech culture and scholarship. From 2014 to 2023 he was Visiting Professor of Translation at Coventry University, England. In 2015, as co-editor and translator from the Polish of Selected Drama and Verse by Franciszka Urszula Radziwiłłowa (1705-1753), published by Iter Academic Press, he received the Josephine Roberts Award from the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women and Gender for the best scholarly edition of 2015 in the field of women's studies and gender. In 2023, he was awarded Honorable Mention by the American Association for Ukrainian Studies for his scholarly bilingual edition of Lesia Ukrainka's Лісова пісня (The Song of the Forest) published in 2021 by the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies Press.