Adam International Review , magazine

Adam International Review was a literary magazine published in English and French, its title an acronym for Arts, Drama, Architecture and Music. The original periodical Adam, founded in 1929 in Bucharest, was by 1938 edited by Miron Grindea (born in Romania, 1909, d 1995). Educated at Bucharest University and the Sorbonne, he worked in Romania and Paris as a music and literary critic during the 1930s, and he and his wife Carola, a pianist, were members of Romania's artistic avant-garde. They settled in London in 1939, and in 1941 the first London issue (no 152), known as Adam International Review, appeared, including contributions from H G Wells, G B Shaw, Thomas Mann and Cecil Day-Lewis. However, wartime paper rationing caused the cessation of publication. The review reappeared in 1946. It provided a vehicle for expression for many literati exiled from Nazi Europe. A number of contributors were Jews in exile. It covered literature, art and music, publishing English and French writers and translations of work by other European authors. Some issues dealt with a single subject and usually contained new material. Many contributions were secured without payment to the authors. Adam was subsidised at different times by various bodies, including the Arts Council. Numbers 455-467 (1985) were published in collaboration with King's College London. From 1985 an annual Adam lecture was held at King's College to mark its acquisition of the Adam archive. The magazine celebrated 500 issues in 1989. Grindea was awarded Prix de l'Academie Francaise, 1955, Lundquist Literary Prize, Sweden, 1965, Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur, 1974, the MBE in 1977, the OBE in 1986, and an Honorary DLitt degree from Kent, 1983, and was Commander, Order of Arts and Letters, France, 1985. In 1990 BBC2's Bookmark devoted a special programme to him. Grindea's own publications include Malta Calling (1943); Henry Wood, a symposium (1944); Jerusalem, a literary chronicle of 3000 years (1968), 2nd edition Jerusalem, the Holy City in literature, preface by Graham Greene (1982); Natalie Clifford Barney (1963); The London Library, a symposium (1978); and contributions to many periodicals and newspapers.