Courtesy | Anna Navrotskaya
Anna Navrotskaya is a professor of French at Hillsdale College. This interview has been edited for length, clarity, and style.
What is the most interesting place you’ve been?
As I come from a Jewish family, it was Jerusalem. When I went there for the first time, I got off the plane and started crying. There is a concept of a “mitzvah,” a good deed, in the Jewish tradition. Every step in the land of Israel is a “mitzvah,” so I made my first “step” stepping into the airport. I spend my whole life being a minority and all of a sudden you are surrounded by people like you.
What were some of your favorite fashion trends growing up?
I grew up in the Soviet Union and your choices were really limited. I was one of the lucky ones when I was a teenager because my father, who was a captain, sometimes sent things to me and my sister. He sent me a pair of jeans which were too small because we hadn’t seen each other for a few years. I had to rework them. I took bits and pieces from old clothes, even part of a tent. It was a mosaic of all colors, and I wore it from when I was 12 or 13 until I was about 20.
What is something you believed when you were younger that you still believe today?
Frogs are beautiful. Nobody believes me. My nickname for years has been “frog.” When I was married, if my husband called me “frog,” I knew everything was great between us, but if he called me Anna, I knew something was fishy.
What is your favorite French word?
Rivière (river) is one of the words that I really do like. I like anything related to water, and it has this “r” sound in it, twice.
What is your favorite French name?
“Guillame,” which in English is William. Maybe because of William the Conqueror, but also because of one of the most beautiful art pieces in France, the Tapestry de Bayeux.
What popular foods do you dislike?
I don’t like anything sweet. My son doesn’t either. For several years, on his birthday, he would ask for a cake. He would have a very specific idea of what that cake should look like, and I would spend more than a day making it. And then he would not touch it because he doesn’t like cake. It’s a matter of principle — there has to be a birthday cake.
If you could go back in time and change one thing from your life, would you change anything?
When my father passed away, I was 16. As a kid, I was really attached to him, then my parents divorced and I didn’t see him for a few years. The next time I saw him was his funeral. I wrote my father a letter before he died, basically accusing him of not making the first step. It showed him clearly that I loved him. I had no idea he was sick at the time — he died of cancer. If what my aunt told me was true, he died with that letter in his hand. If I knew that was the last letter, I would’ve written a different text.
What other career paths have interested you?
I wanted to be a Stone Age archeologist. I studied archeology and French as an undergraduate degree. Sometimes the only option you have is to work in the museum, and I wanted to be out in the field. I do miss my time sitting in a dig.
Have you ever been told you look like any celebrities?
In Paris, there was an exhibit of fayum mummy portraits from Egypt which my friend saw and said, “It looks exactly like you.” It did look like me. To check it, he put this photograph on an envelope, and I sent the letter to my aunt in Ukraine. My aunt called me later and said, “Why do you put your photograph on the envelope?”
If you could visit any fictional city, which would you visit?
Camelot.
If you could have any historical figure give a speech at Hillsdale College, who would you choose?
In Russia and Ukraine, there was a similar tradition to the Arthurian tradition. There are stories about Prince Vladimir, who was similar to King Arthur. I would love to see King Arthur and Prince Vladimir talking to each other and debating.
What is one thing you wish other people knew about you?
I am very talkative. I absolutely enjoy telling stories. My students know a lot about me because I tell them stories constantly.
What is one piece of advice you try to live by?
My grandmother said if you want to do something, do it. It sounds obvious, but if you think you want to sing in the choir but you’ll do it next year because you’re too busy, do it this year. Because next year you will be busy, and the next year you will be busy as well.
