Grade was born in Vilna, Poland, where he received a thorough education in the talmudic academies of the region. He began writing poetry in 1932 and soon won literary recognition. He escaped the Nazi onslaught as a refugee in the Soviet Union, only to return to Poland after the war to find his mother and wife killed and his hometown destroyed. His later work, both poetry and prose, reflect the tragic Holocaust theme and is dedicated to the re-creation of a world that is no more. His characters are deeply rooted in Jewish tradition and the lore of his native land; his poetry is forceful and dramatic, with the pathos of national and personal tragedy.
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