Dimitris J. Calandranis was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1936. He studied accounting, hotel management and foreign languages. In Greece he worked for 30 years in an airline. After his retirement he lives permanently in Paros, where he has developed strong social activity. He writes short stories and essays on Paros News and on Paros Voice. He has published two poetry collections, and
the English book Getting to understand the Greeks, which is translated into French. The Ascetic is his first novel.