Miron Grindea facts for kids

Miron Grindea OBE (born January 31, 1909 – died November 18, 1995) was a writer and editor from Romania who later became a British citizen. He is best known for being the editor of ADAM International Review, a special magazine about literature. This magazine was published for over 50 years! In 1984, people said ADAM was "the world's longest surviving literary magazine." The name ADAM was a clever way to stand for "Arts, Drama, Architecture and Music."

Biography of Miron Grindea

Miron Grindea was born Mondi Miron Grunberg in a town called Târgu Ocna in Romania. After the First World War, his family moved to Bucharest, the capital city of Romania.

He studied subjects like history, literature, and philosophy at the University of Bucharest. He also studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, France. In 1929, Miron Grindea started writing reviews about music and books for a magazine called ADAM. By 1936, he became one of its main editors.

In the same year, he married a talented pianist named Carola Rabinovici. Their daughter, Nadia, also grew up to be a pianist. Miron Grindea and his wife arrived in Britain in September 1939. This was just two days before the start of the Second World War. Soon after, he began working for the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) in London.

ADAM International Review: A Magazine for the World

In 1941, many writers who had left their home countries because of the war gathered in London. Famous authors like Thomas Mann and Stefan Zweig were there. They met at a club for international writers called PEN, led by H. G. Wells. This meeting gave Miron Grindea the idea to start an international magazine about literature.

To avoid rules about starting new publications during wartime, he brought back ADAM in September of that year.

Famous Writers and Artists in ADAM

Many important writers and artists worked with Miron Grindea or contributed to ADAM. Some of them were T. S. Eliot, George Bernard Shaw, Winston Churchill, and Samuel Beckett. The magazine also featured drawings by famous artists like Picasso and Chagall.

ADAM was known for covering many different topics. Its name, ADAM, was an acronym for Art, Drama, Architecture, and Music. Many writers, both famous and new, wrote for the magazine without being paid. They wrote in both English and French.

Miron Grindea edited and helped pay for ADAM from his home in London. He kept the magazine going for decades. Some writers, like Maureen Duffy and Wolf Mankowitz, had their first works published in ADAM.

When Miron Grindea passed away in London in 1995 at the age of 86, he was still working. He was preparing the 500th edition of ADAM.

Awards and Honors

Miron Grindea received many awards for his work and his contributions to literature:

• 1955: Prix de l'Académie française (a prize from the French Academy)
• 1965: Lundquist Literary Prize from Sweden
• 1974: Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur (a high honor from France)
• 1977: Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE)
• 1983: Honorary DLitt degree from the University of Kent
• 1985: Commander, Order of Arts and Letters from France
• 1986: Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE)

Legacy of Miron Grindea

In 2006, a special collection of Miron Grindea's writings from ADAM was published. It was called ADAM: An Anthology of Miron Grindea's ADAM Editorials. His granddaughter, Rachel Lasserson, chose and edited the two-volume book.

Archives and Portraits

Miron Grindea's personal papers and the old files of ADAM magazine are mostly kept at King's College London. In 2003, an exhibition called Miron Grindea and the Art of Literary Journalism was held to remember his work.

Two pictures of Miron Grindea are part of the collection at the National Portrait Gallery, London. One photo was taken in 1939, and another was taken by Barry Marsden in 1989.