Join us on the last Wednesday of every month for Words on Wednesday, a new reading series at Gallery 40 that celebrates the diverse voices of Hudson Valley authors. Each month, an author will share insights into their writing process, read selections from their work, and engage in an hour-long discussion about the craft of storytelling. It’s an intimate and engaging way to connect with local writers and their stories.
Come discover your next favorite book - and its author - at WoW@Gallery 40!
Our guest in June is Mihai Grunfeld. Mihai will introduce his book with a reading from his memoir and will speak about finding his place in the world.
Mihai Grunfeld was born in Cluj, Romania, where he lived until he was eighteen. In January 1969 he traveled to Czechoslovakia and escaped to the West. This was the beginning of a long journey that took him to Israel, Italy, Sweeden and Canada in search of a home. Eventually he settled in the United States. He obtained a Ph.D. from US Berkeley and recently retired from Vassar College where he taught Spanish
and Latin American Literature. His autobiography, Leaving. Memories from Romania was published in 2008. Together with Sarah Levine Simon he adapted his novel into a play, The Dressmaker’s Secret, which enjoyed a successful run in New York City.
His translation of his uncle’s memoir Inherited Words. A Testimony of Resilience, about Zoltan Roth’s survival of the labor service in the Hungarian army, and incarceration in several concentration camps, was published by Yad Vashem in Jerusalem in 2023. Mihai is now completing a second memoir.
Book will be for sale and will be signed by the author.