N. A. Diaman (as known as Nikos Diaman, Nickolas Anthony Diaman; 1 November 1936—8 November 2020)[1][2] was an American novelist, Queer activist, and photo artist. He was a pioneer in the Gay Liberation Front (GLF), and he was gay.[3][1]
N. A. Diaman | |
|---|---|
Ν. α. Διαμαντιδης | |
| Born | Nikolaos Aristotle Diamantidis[1] November 1, 1936[1] |
| Died | November 8, 2020 (aged 84)[1] |
| Known for | Queer activist, novelist |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | www |
Early life and education
editHe was born Nikolaos Aristotle Diamantidis on November 1, 1936, in San Francisco, California, into a Greek family.[1] His parents were both from Icaria, an island in the Aegean Sea.[3] Diaman received a BA degree in 1958 from the University of Southern California, with a major in humanities.
Career
editHe returned to San Francisco, and was introduced to the local poetry scene by George Stanley. Diaman became part of the Jack Spicer circle in North Beach and joined Robert Duncan's poetry workshop at the San Francisco Public Library.
After moving back to San Francisco in the fall of 1972, Diaman was the executive director of the Antares Foundation, which sponsored the San Francisco Gay Video Festival, and published Paragraph: A Quarterly of Gay Fiction.
During the early 1970s, Diaman was an early member and active in the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Revolution Party.[1] Diaman was also active in other Queer clubs and movements like the Radical Faeries, the Billy Club, and others.[1] He wrote for Zygote magazine and Come Out!! before co-founding Queer Blue Light, an independent video production group.
In 2000, he launched a new career as a photo-based artist. His work is in private and corporate collections in Paris, Santa Fe, San Francisco and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. He lived in San Francisco but had travelled regularly to San Miguel de Allende, Athens, and the Aegean Islands of Icaria and Samos, where his parents and grandparents were born.
Death
editHe died on 8 November 2020, in Athens, after an emergency surgery.[1] He was survived by a son, Aaron Sachowitz.[1]
Bibliography
editEd Dean Is Queer, was his first novel, was published in 1978.
- Diaman, N. A. (1978). Ed Dean Is Queer. San Francisco, California: Persona Press. ISBN 9780931906008.
- The Fourth Wall (1980)
- Second Crossing (1982)
- Reunion (1983)
- Castro Street Memories (1988)
- Private Nation (1997)
- Following My Heart (2007)
- The City (2007)
- Paris Dreams (2009)
- Athens Apartment (2009)
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Laird, Cynthia (November 11, 2020). "GLF pioneer Nikos Diaman dies". Bay Area Reporter.
- ^ "A Farewell to Nikos Diaman". San Miguel Times. November 17, 2020.
- ^ a b Diaman, NA (1992), "On Sex Roles and Equality", in Jay, Karla; Young, Allen (eds.), Out of the Closets, New York University Press, p. 262, ISBN 0-8147-4183-5
Further reading
edit- Len Richmond and Gary Noguera, The Gay Liberation Book, Ramparts Press, 1973
- Donn Teal, The Gay Militants, Stein and Day, 1971
- Jeanne Pasle-Green and Jim Haynes, Hello, I Love You, Almonde 1975, Times Change Press 1977
- Dudley Glendinen and Adam Nagouney, Out for Good, Simon & Schuster, 1999
- Winston Leyland, Out in the Castro, Leyland Publications, 2002
- Karla Jay and Allen Young, Out of the Closets, World Publishing (1972), New York University Press (1992)
- Lewis Ellingham and Kevin Killian, Poet Be Like God, Wesleyan University Press, 1998
- David Carter, Stonewall, St. Martin's Press, 2004