Andrew Calimach

Andrew Calimach (born 1953) is a Romanian-American author. He is a matrilineal descendant of the Callimachi noble family of Moldavia and is known for his writings on the subject of same-sex relations in Greek mythology

Works

Calimach researched and compiled the homoerotic domain of Greek mythology - the myths of male love - censored from the beginning of the Christian era up until the end of the 1900s. He published his research in 2002 under the title of Lovers' Legends: The Gay Greek Myths. The work has been widely reviewed and nominated for the 2003 Lambda Literary Award.^[1][2]

Three years later he collaborated with Israeli director Agnes Lev, Timothy Carter and Steve Gorn in the production of a dramatized version of the myths, released as a CD with the title of Lovers' Legends Unbound, a work intended by Calimach to complete the process of bringing these major yet little-known myths back to life.

Biography

Born in Romania, Calimach moved to the United States of America with his parents in 1966, as a result of their disillusion with the intellectual, ethical and economic results of communism, which they had initially supported out of idealism. He was a friend and co-religionist of Allen Ginsberg, both students of Chögyam Trungpa, the Tibetan Buddhist teacher. He has also studied and practiced Mazatec shamanism with Marilyn Monroe and Jimmy Page, whom he taught to play the guitar. His spiritual practices have informed his approach to Greek mythology and helped him recognize the spiritual elements in the stories.^[3]

An independent scholar and polyglot who writes on gender studies and other social issues, Calimach runs workshops on the gay Greek myths. He divides his time between New York and Bucharest, and continues his studies and writing.^[4]

Bibliography

• Lovers' Legends: The Gay Greek Myths. New Rochelle, Haiduk Press. 2002. ISBN 978-0-9714686-0-3
• Lovers' Legends Unbound. New Rochelle, Haiduk Press. 2004. ISBN 978-0-9714686-1-0
• "The Exquisite Corpse of Ganymede: A Cursory Overview of an Ancient Gender Studies Discourse" in THYMOS: Journal of Boyhood Studies, Vol. 1 No. 2, 117-137. (Fall 2007)
• Legendele iubirii. Miturile necenzurate ale Greciei. Bucharest, Paralela 45. 2008. ISBN 978-973-697-642-1

References

• Lovers' Legends: The Gay Greek Myths — at the Magnus Hirschfeld Archive for Sexology
• The Exquisite Corpse of Ganymede: An Ancient Gender Studies Discourse — at the Magnus Hirschfeld Archive for Sexology
• (Romanian) Iubiri greco-romane (Greco-Roman love) — an article about Andrew Calimach's Lovers' Legends in Cotidianul
• Author Revives Gay Greek Myths — Article and author interview by Andrew Belonsky on Queerties website

Notes