The Gift

This “Mother’s Day” week we’re featuring stories about mothers. Please join us for our first prime-time, online event “On Mothers” at 8PM next Sunday, May 10 (watch on our Facebook page or YouTube channel).

Mihai Grünfeld was born in Cluj, Romania where he lived until age eighteen. In 1969 he and his older brother traveled to Czechoslovakia, then escaped to Austria. Thus began a journey that took him to Israel, Italy, Sweden, and Canada in search of a home in the West. Settled in the United States, he obtained his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley and since 1987 has been a professor of Spanish and Latin American Literature at Vassar College. Published books include the memoir, Leaving – Memories of Romania, and another novel was adapted into the 2017 play “The Dressmaker’s Secret,” which enjoyed a month-long sold out run in New York City. He lives with his family in Poughkeepsie, New York.