CHAIM GRADE (1910-1982) is "one of the twentieth century's preeminent writers of Yiddish fiction" (The New York Times). Born in Vilna (now Vilnius), Lithuania, Grade fled to New York after losing his first wife and mother to the Holocaust. With his second wife, Inna, he lived in the Bronx for the remainder of his life. Grade is the author of numerous works of poetry and prose, including the novels The Agunah, Rabbis and Wives, and Sons and Daughters.

CURT LEVIANT is an acclaimed novelist, literary critic, and the translator of works by major Yiddish authors including Sholom Aleichem, Isaac Bashevis Singer, and Lamed Shapiro. He is also the translator of Chaim Grade's The Agunah.