Nina Cassian was born in Galati, Romania on November 27, 1924. Her first poetry collection, Scale 1:1 was published in 1947, but was badly received by the critics because it ran against the Socialist grain of the time. She then wrote several books that were flattering to the regime. In 1985, the Securitate, the Communist-era secret police, found her critical poems, which satirized the Communist regime, in the diary of her friend Gheorghe Ursu. The authorities considered the poems to be inflammatory and Cassian, then visiting the United States, was granted asylum. She wrote over 50 collections of poetry during her lifetime including Take My Word for It, Continuum, and C'� Modo e Modo di… Sparire. She also wrote children's books and translated the works of William Shakespeare, Moliere, Bertolt Brecht, Christian Morgenstern, Yiannis Ritsos, and Paul Celan. Her work appeared in several publications including The New Yorker and The Atlantic Monthly. She died of a heart attack on April 14, 2014 at the age of 89.