Andrew Calimach


Andrew Calimach is a Romanian-American author, known for his writings on the subject of same-sex relations in Greek mythology.

Works

Calimach researched and compiled homoerotic Greek myths. He published his research in 2002 under the title of . Included in the collection is a dialogue by Lucian titled "Erotes", featuring a debate between a lover of women and a lover of youths. At the 15th Lambda Literary Awards, held in 2003, Lovers' Legends was nominated in the "Children's/Young Adult" and "Spirituality" categories. The work has been praised for being true to its sources: "Generally, the 're-tellings' are lively and imaginative, adhering quite closely to the original sources, which have been carefully trawled."
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.
In 2008 a derivative work by Calimach was published in Romanian, titled Legendele Iubirii. It featured the homoerotic Greek myths in translation, as well as the Lucian dialogue. The foreword was authored by the late Canadian classical philologist James L. Butrica. The Romanian publication of this work has been described as "a cultural event of the first magnitude" and an effort to recreate not just the stories, but classical civilization itself, and the type of man who was representative of Greek antiquity.

Biography

Born in Romania, Calimach is a descendant of the Callimachi noble family of Moldavia. Calimach reached the United States in 1966 with his parents. 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. His spiritual practices have informed his approach to Greek mythology and helped him recognize the spiritual elements in the stories.
An independent scholar and polyglot who writes on gender studies and other social issues, Calimach divides his time between New York and Bucharest, and continues his studies and writing.